AIFF softens PLS stand

After raising apprehensions over the Premier League Soccer (PLS), the AIFF on Monday seemed to have soften its stance over the conduct of the tournament, saying that it just wants to ensure ‘good governance’.

The tournament, proposed to be held from March 24-May 6 in Bengal under the aegis of the Indian Football Association, had run into rough weather after the AIFF asked world body FIFA to temporarily suspend the six PLS clubs from Transfer Matching System (TMS), which allows a club to recruit foreign players.

“There was never an issue related to the Bengal Premier League Soccer. We have no problem with the tournament, it is a good initiative and we want other states also to encourage the league,” AIFF president Praful Patel said after an emergency committee meeting here. “The foreign players are under the FIFA and if there is a FIFA regulation, they have to follow it. It is not an AIFF stipulation.”