New Delhi, Jul 3; Carrying the status of India's premier cup competition, the Federation Cup football tournament will return after a gap of six years from the 2023-24 season, the sport's apex body said on Monday. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has also decided to induct five new teams into the I-League, having "accommodated all five bidders into the I-League, with the vision of expanding the competition to a stronger league." Besides, Satyanarayan M, the secretary of Karnataka State Football Association (KFSA), has been appointed as the new deputy secretary general of the AIFF. These decisions were taken during the federation's executive committee meeting. AIFF Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran Happy with SAFF Championship 2023 Evolvement.

The executive committee, in line with AIFF's Vision 2047 plan, felt it would be "prudent to revive a legacy competition" like the Federation Cup.

To that extent, it decided that the Federation Cup will be the premier cup competition in India from the 2023-24 season onwards, the AIFF said in a press release. As far as the I-League is concerned, five entities had placed their respective bids for corporate entries into the league -- YMS Finance Pvt Ltd (Varanasi, UP), Namdhari Seeds Pvt Ltd (Bhaini Sahib Village, Punjab), Nimida United Sports Development Pvt Ltd (Bengaluru, Karnataka), Concatenate Advest Advisory Pvt Ltd (Delhi), and Bunkerhill Pvt Ltd (Ambala, Haryana).

The top decision-making committee decided to accommodate all five bidders into the I-League. AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said, "This executive committee meeting is being held on a day when the Indian senior men's national team is preparing to battle it out against Kuwait in the final of the SAFF Championship tomorrow.

"Despite two teams from outside the SAFF region, who are regarded as considerably stronger sides, playing in the current SAFF Championship, India made the final and are going for the ninth title. This is ample testimony of India's growing footballing strength. Having reached the FIFA ranking of 100 after winning back-to-back tournaments in Imphal and Bhubaneswar, it is proved that Indian football is moving in the right direction." India vs Kuwait, SAFF Championship 2023 Final Preview: Likely Playing XIs, Key Players, Head-to-Head and Other Things You Need to Know About IND vs KUW Summit Football Match.

He further stated, "The biggest strength of this executive committee is their complete faith in running the game in the country in the most democratic manner. "Perhaps, never before has the federation been run with so much inner democracy, where everybody has the right to air their views and opinions."

India will take on Kuwait in the SAFF Championship final in Bengaluru on Tuesday. AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said, "We had open discussions on Indian football agendas, especially the decision to inculcate five new clubs into the I-League, which is historic."

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