PLS stares at AIFF suspension

MUMBAI: The ambitious Premier League Soccer may come a cropper as the AIFF, football?s governing body in India, has asked Fifa to temporarily suspend the six PLS clubs from using the Transfer Matching System (TMS) following the organisers inability to provide documents relating to affiliation of the clubs.

The suspension from TMS means that the PLS would not be able to seek the transfer of PLS? iconic players like Fabio Cannavaro, Hernan Crespo and Jay Jay Okocha as Fifa rule stipulates clubs to recruit international professional players only through the TMS, an online system used by all its members.

The AIFF had withdrew passwords earlier provided to the six PLS clubs following the affiliation controversy.

In order to gain AIFF?s recognition, the PLS clubs have to be affiliated to the IFA, which is the governing body of football in West bengal.

For IFA, under whose affiliation the league has been launched along with its commercial partner Celebrity Management Group, time is running out as the organisers have to provide the necessary documents to the AIFF before 15 February, which is also the international transfer deadline.

If the organisers fail to provide relevant documents by today, the AIFF would withdraw permission to the tournament. The AIFF has called for a meeting of its Emergency Committee, where a final decision on the PLS would be taken.

"We have told the IFA to provide the documents in time but time is running out. For the tournament to be held, FIFA will have to give clearance of the foreign players by February 15. We have not received from IFA the necessary documents of the six clubs till now. "If AIFF does not get the documents by Monday (Feb 13) when the Emergency Committee meets, the permission given to IFA to hold the tournament will be withdrawn," PTI quotes a top AIFF official as saying.

Brushing aside concerns, IFA Secretary Utpal Ganguly said that the necessary documents would be provided by Monday morning before the AIFF Emergency Committee meeting starts.