Mumbai: Indian football has enjoyed flashes of joy in recent months — Khalid Jamil’s side clinched a bronze medal at the CAFA Nations Cup, a rare podium that lifted the mood in an otherwise bleak landscape. But beneath the celebration, former India coach Armando Colaco sees a structural rot that he believes cannot be ignored any longer.
“The problem is simple,” Colaco says. “There is no promotion and relegation.”
For him, the absence of this basic mechanism in the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League is slowly strangling competitiveness. Without the fear of relegation, struggling ISL clubs have no real incentive to raise their standards. And without the possibility of promotion, ambitious I-League outfits are locked out of the top flight no matter how well they perform.
The frustration is shared across India’s footballing circles. Earlier this year, the AIFF Appeals Committee scrapped relegation from the I-League, sparking protests from clubs like Aizawl FC, Gokulam Kerala, Dempo SC and Shillong Lajong. These clubs petitioned the Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae, arguing that promotion into the ISL must become reality sooner rather than later.
Yet the system is stacked against them. The Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), which runs the ISL, has circulated a draft framework that effectively keeps the league closed for another decade. Even when the gates open, strict licensing and financial requirements will likely block most I-League teams from entry.
Colaco believes this approach entrenches inequality, preventing the game from growing beyond a handful of privileged clubs. He argues that youth development too has been neglected. Without steady competition for U-19 and U-23 players, without academies producing talent consistently, and without proper turf grounds to extend the season, India will remain stuck in cycles of occasional highs and frequent disappointments.
Now working with Sesa Football Academy under Vedanta Sports, Colaco has seen how infrastructure and coaching can shape young players. But he is realistic: one academy, or even a dozen, cannot transform the system without structural reform at the very top.
“You cannot build a strong house on a weak foundation,” he says. “If Indian football really wants to grow, it has to allow fair competition. Without promotion and relegation, there is no future.”
