AIFF extends deadline for submitting bids to May 15

New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has extended the deadline for submitting bids to buy two new I-League clubs ahead of the next season to May 15, even as six companies have bought the Request for Proposal (ROP).

The earlier deadline was for Friday. GMR Group, UAE-based Indian company Dodsal Group, Jindal Steel West Holdings, Eagles FC, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services and Trans Stadia were the six business conglomerates to have bought the RFP. "Six companies have bought the RFP and we have extended the deadline to May 15," I-League CEO Sunando Dhar told PTI here today. AIFF organisers were in Dubai last month to meet expatriate Indians in an attempt to get them to fund a cash injection into Indian football. The AIFF had last month floated a tender notice inviting bids for new clubs to be part of the I-League. The winning bidders will be granted the right to own and operate a new club which will compete in the league each year from 2013 onwards and have the opportunity (if applicable and subject to qualification) to compete in the AFC club competitions. The opportunity to set up new football clubs also carries an incentive for investors to invest in the youth and develop the infrastructure necessary to create a State-of-the-Art environment where the youth can be engaged, football teams can be developed and the sport can be promoted. PTI