National coach Wim Kovermans and technical director Rob Baan met separately with I-League clubs, coaches and owners from Goa, Pune and Mumbai, on the sidelines of the Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) conference on football, on Sunday at a city hotel. AIFF general secretary Kushal Das was present at the meeting, the objective being to explain the long-term vision for Indian football devised by Baan.
Goan clubs Dempo SC, Churchill Brothers, Salgaocar SC and Sporting Clube de Goa were invited for the interaction along with Pune FC and Mumbai FC. Baan’s master-plan for Indian football — titled ‘Lakshya’ — was explained to the coaches.
I-League club owners later met the AIFF trio and put forward suggestions, including a proposal to rule out relegation for I-League teams.
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Kovermans was earlier critical about the delay in implementation of ‘Lakshya’ during an interaction with the media on Saturday. The owners pointed out AIFF’s insistence that clubs reserve a portion of revenue for youth development, without any assistance in building a competitive squad, and hence the ‘no relegation’ suggestion.
The coach had specific plans regarding National team formation, style of play and preparation. Sunday’s meeting with coaches and owners was intended to get them on the same wavelength.
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Kovermans, along with the technical director and federation secretary, will next travel to Kolkata to meet with I-League clubs from the east and north-east.