NEW DELHI: Former India head coach Armando Agnelo Colaco believes the need of the hour for Indian football is to resume the Indian Super League and also believes the introduction of promotion and relegation will further incentivise teams to improve their overall game.
The 2025/26 ISL season was put on hold with the AIFF and FSDL coming to a standstill in regards to their Masters Right Agreement (MRA). The Supreme Court has now directed the football governing body to bring a new commercial partner on board, while the Super Cup will now kick the season off in October.
"We need to quickly resolve the issue surrounding the ISL so that our club football, which is the feeder for the national team, gets back on track. We also need to ensure more game time for the players and to have a dedicated roadmap for both the men’s and women’s team to progress through the international rankings.
"Logistics, planning and greater commitment from all stakeholders is key to future success. We also need to resolve our I-league and ISL issues, and introduce the relegation and promotion format in the ISL, that will incentivise clubs in I-League as well as the ISL to improve their overall game, strategies and tactics.
“Infrastructure and taking the game to the masses is extremely important to be able to tap the right talent and to develop a football-supportive culture. School and college level tournaments are not really happening and if focus is laid on the same, there will be an entirely new layer of development that will help feed the system on top, ” Colaco told IANS, in an Interaction facilitated by Vedanta Limited.
Colaco is an acclaimed player-turned coach who has had the honour of coaching the Indian team in 2011. His coaching stint with Sesa Goa during the 2019-20 season was marked with formidable progress as a side with a balanced defence and attack. He is the first ever Goan to have been conferred with the Dhronacharya Award for lifetime achievement in football.
The Sesa Football Academy has been set up to build and nurture the dreams of the youth in the mining belt and the Academy has done a tremendous job in this regard. Over 230 players have graduated over the years and thousands more have been supported through camps, tournaments and clinics. It is the only academy of its kind in Goa and has helped nurture not only the state level football but also provided so many players for the ISL and the Indian team.