New Delhi: Bowing to intense pressure from aggrieved clubs, the All India Football Federation and its commercial partners have decided to show all the I-League matches, which will not be televised, on online platforms Hotstar and Jio TV.
The online broadcast will be underway from Friday, starting with Neroca FC facing Shillong Lajong in the afternoon in Imphal.
"Having worked this out with our commercial partners Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), we have come to the conclusion that the matches which will not be broadcast, will be available online," All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das said.
"These matches will be shown with commentary, highlights and replays."
This comes days after Minerva Punjab owner Ranjit Bajaj on Sunday threatened to move court under the aegis of I-League (Private) Clubs Association if the All India Football Federation (AIFF) did not sort out the telecast row.
The association formed by defending champions Minerva Punjab, Chennai City FC, Neroca FC, Aizawl FC, Gokulam Kerala FC and Shillong Lajong FC were up in arms against the AIFF after it recently announced that it would reduce the I-League TV coverage to just 30 of the 61 remaining matches.
I-League CEO Sunando Dhar said, "The commitment was to show all the matches, and we are happy that they will be live streamed so that football fans can now follow their favourite teams."
The non-televised matches from Saturday can be viewed on Hotstar or Jio TV, starting with the match between Aizawl FC and Indian Arrows, which kicks off at 2 pm.
