Civil Procedure: Entertainment & Sports Law - League Systems Analysis

This report examines civil procedure within the context of entertainment and sports law, with a particular emphasis on the structure and regulations of Indian football leagues. It explores the concepts of closed and open league systems, comparing the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League, and discusses the implications of a potential merger between them. The report delves into the importance of promotion and relegation systems for fostering competitiveness and adherence to FIFA regulations, as well as the qualification criteria for the AFC Cup. It also compares Indian leagues with those from around the world, highlighting key differences in structure and governance. The analysis covers the legal and procedural aspects of these systems, emphasizing the need for reforms in the Indian football landscape to enhance the development of the sport and provide more opportunities for players.

Running head: CIVIL PROCEDURE ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
CIVIL PROCEDURE ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CIVIL PROCEDURE ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
Discussions
Close League System
A closed system is a hierarchy of leagues in a sport. They are also called pyramids
because of their tendency to divide into a maximized number of regional divisions down the
system. In soccer or football, the closed league system is a system where fixed number of
teams plays in the league1. A continent or a country has various divisions of clubs like the
first division clubs, second division clubs and third division clubs. Closed league system is
not good as the open league system as the first division clubs can be relegated and go into the
second division and the second division clubs can be promoted to the first division league.
Every American sports utilises a system of closed league, it is a format in which a league is a
single body that controls all the interactions and the transactions within the teams that consist
of it2. In a close league, it takes a lot of cleverness to piece salaries together and then make
trades those are smart in order to win a league that every team in the league has the
techniques and tools to win the league.
Merge of ISL and I-League
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has confirmed that they are considering a
merger between the two premier club competitions of India that is the Indian Super League
and I-League3. Nevertheless, the idea is in its initial stages and the entire roadmap of the
1 Plumley, D.J., Ramchandani, G. and Wilson, R., 2018. Mind the gap: an analysis of competitive balance in the
English football league system. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing (IJSMM), 18(5),
pp.357-375.
2 Andreff, W., 2019. Origins and Developments of Sports Systems. The SAGE Handbook of Sports Economics,
p.8.
3 Kapadia, N., 2017. Barefoot to boots: The many lives of Indian football. Penguin Random House India Private
Limited.

2CIVIL PROCEDURE ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
merger is not defined yet. In the latest development of the problems, according to the
IndiaToday, the sports Minister of India have confirmed in the Rajya Sabha that the merger
of the two leagues will happen. There are two major leagues in India that is the I-League and
the Indian Super League4. A single league structure in the format of multi-tier will benefit the
growth of football in India.
 The idea of a single league in not a new concept in football across the world. The
countries where football is played professionally follow the format of multi-tier5. It is a
proven means in order to develop the football among the young people of the country,
offering them a platform so that they can showcase their skills and potentials and sharpen
their talent while making sure the monetary rewards
 From the point of view of marketing, a single league in the country will help to avoid the
favouritism of the fans that come to watch and support their favourite teams but the
concurrent ISL and I-league can be harmful to both.
 The time taken in order to finish the whole league must be extended. It will provide the
players with ample time to play the game and much-required exposure to all the players
those are involved with the game6. A competition that is multi-tiered that consists of 20
teams will permit the clubs that have a legacy like MohunBagan and East Bengal, while
offering chances to a large number of players in the first division league.
4김김김, 2018. Sports Leagues in India–Pros & Cons A study of the positive and negative outcomes of the Sports
leagues in India (Doctoral dissertation, 김김김김김 김김김).
5 Graf von Pueckler, C., 2017. The Internationalization Process of a Leading European Football Club.
6 Lisi, C.A., 2017. A History of the US Men's National Soccer Team. Rowman & Littlefield.

3CIVIL PROCEDURE ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
 The I-League has been involved in growing the careers of the youth through different
teams like the Bengaluru FC, Aizwal FC and more clubs. Nevertheless, it is not market
widely and aggressively as the Indian Super League. Less compensation of money, Lack
of sponsors and poor coverage of television means that it is facing a threat of shutting
down and fading.
 The social networking sites have been busy with various debates on the subject that which
of the leagues that is the I-League or the ISL is better for the growth of Indian Football.
The purists consider that the clubs of I-League are at the heart of every football fans in
India and the I-League celebrates the passion of Football in India. However, other are of
the opinion that the ISL has once again brought back the interest in the game of football
of the football fans in India. This league is on the line where the modern game of football
is going.
Qualifying in the AFC Cup
The AFC Champions League that is known as the Asian Champions League is an
annual continental club competition of football that is organized by the Asian Football
Confederation and it was introduced in the year 20027. It is the premier club tournament in
Asia that is equal to the other premier leagues of the world like the UEFA, OFC, CAF and
many more. 32 clubs play in the group stage of the competition. Every club should get the
chance to play in the AFC cup that is the champions’ league of Asia8. It is played by the top 4
teams of each leagues those are played in Asia get the chance to play in the AFC Cup. Like
7 Suppiah, P.K., Lee, J.L.F., Azmi, A.M.N., Noordin, H. and Musa, R.M., 2020. Relative age effect in U-16
Asian Championship Soccer Tournament. Malaysian Journal of Movement, Health & Exercise, 9(1).
8 Omondi-Ochieng, P., 2019. Asia Cup: a resource-based view of football talent. Business & Social Sciences
Journal, 4(1), pp.61-81.

4CIVIL PROCEDURE ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
the Bengaluru FC, Mohunbagan and East Bengal has played AFC Cup several time from
India. The teams must perform well in their respective leagues so that they get a chance to
play the AFC Cup. They must be within first to fourth position in the league table so that they
can play the AFC Cup9. The chances for every club to play the AFC club is very low because
all the teams cannot perform well and cannot be within the 1st to 4th position in the league
table. They should perform well in their respective first division leagues in order to qualify
for the AFC Cup10. The current champion of the AFC Cup is Al-Ahed FC and it is a Lebanese
Football Club. This club is the first champion of the AFC Cup.
Promotion and Relegation System
In various sports league all over the world, the promotion and relegation is a
procedure where the teams of the leagues are transferred between more than one division,
which is based on their performance for the whole season. The teams those are best ranked in
the lower divisions are promoted to the higher division of the league for the next season and
the teams those are worst ranked in the higher division are relegated to the lower divisions11.
In some of the leagues all over the world, qualifying rounds are played in order to determine
the rankings. This procedure can continue through various levels of the divisions with the
teams those are exchanged between the divisions of 1 and 2, divisions of 2 and 3 and
divisions of 3 and 412. During the football season, the teams those are at the top of the league
9 Rowe, D., 2017. The AFC Asian Cup. Sport, Media and Mega-Events, p.185.
10 Fairley, S., Lovegrove, H., Newland, B.L. and Green, B.C., 2016. Sport Management Review.
11 Martinez, M. and Willner, J., 2017. Competitive balance and consumer demand in the English Football
League. Applied Finance and Accounting, 3(2), pp.49-60.

5CIVIL PROCEDURE ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
table and said to be in the promotion zone and those are at the bottom of the league are said to
be in the relegation zone.
All should maintain relegation and promotion system like the other leagues in the
world. This will increase the competitiveness of the league, as every team will fight for the
promotion and as well to fight for not being relegated to the lower leagues. This is very
important for the leagues in India such as the Indian Super League and the I-League. The ISL
should maintain the system of relegation and promotion13. The teams those are relegated from
the league will play the 2nd division league and the team that is promoted will play the AFC
Cup. This will increase the competitiveness of the league and the football fans can enjoy the
games. The promotion and the relegation have the impact of letting the maintenance of the
league’s hierarchy, the divisions that are according to the importance of the football games
played by several teams those have lower ranks at the end of the season, and they may be at
the risk of relegation14. The promotion and the relegation system give all the teams to play the
first division leagues so that they can perform well in the league and win the championship
and qualify for the AFC cup or the other world championships. This system must be
introduced in India so that every team gets the chance to play ISL and to play with the top
players all over the world.
Closed League System Violate FIFA Status
12 Noonan, J., 2019. The Change the NCAA Does Not Know It Needs: A Promotion/Relegation Structure for
College Football. U. Denv. Sports & Ent. LJ, 22, p.191.
13 Bank, S.A., 2020. FIFA, Forced Arbitration, and the US Soccer Lawsuits. Journal of Legal Aspects of
Sport, 30(1), pp.1-17.
14 Mackreth, K., Bond, A.J. and O’Keeffe, L., 2017. Changing a League Structure: Marketing Implications for
Rugby League Clubs in the UK.

6CIVIL PROCEDURE ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
The closed league system is a violation to the status of FIFA and the countries that
have closed league system should be close so that every team should get the chance to play in
the league. The closed league system is a system that has fixed number of teams to play in the
league15. It violates the status of FIFA and it should be closed so that every league should
follow the open league system. The open league system is a system that consists of variable
number of teams and the teams can go to relegation or are promoted. The I-League in India
follows the open league system that is any number of teams can play the league but the ISL is
a closed league as only few teams play the tournament and there is no relegation or
promotion. This is why the two leagues of India must be merged so that the Indian football is
developed and the youngsters of India get the chance to display their talents. After the league
is merged, the system of relegation and promotion must be introduced so that the every team
get the chance to the ISL and the relegated teams will be playing their second division
games16. This merger is very important for the Indian football as it will bring out the new
talents and they will bale to play with the famous footballers all over the world. Therefore,
this system must be introduced by the AIFF and it is very important for the league and the
teams that play in the league.
Comparison between Indian Leagues and the Other Leagues
The comparison between the Indian leagues and the other leagues and the other
leagues all over the world vast and there are major differences among them. In Indian there
are two leagues those are running parallel to each other like the Indian Super League and the
15 Bank, S.A., 2018. Will US Soccer Be Forced to Adopt Promotion and Relegation. J. Legal Aspects Sport, 28,
p.3.
16 Andreff, W., 2019. Sport Manipulations: Breaching Sport Rules for Gaining Advantage. In An Economic
Roadmap to the Dark Side of Sport (pp. 29-61). Palgrave Pivot, Cham.

7CIVIL PROCEDURE ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
I-League but in countries or countries around the world there is only one 1st division league
that is in England it is the Barclays Premier league, in Spain it is the La Liga and many more.
However, in India, there are two first division leagues and this cannot happen and thus, the
two leagues should be merged to make a single first division league17. Another comparison
between the two leagues is that there are no relegation and promotion in the Indian Super
league and there are less number of teams in ISL around 10 teams. Relegation and promotion
is very important for the league because it makes the league competitive, increases the
competitiveness in the league and every team gets the chance to play the first division league.
The other leagues in the world have the system of promotion and relegation and every gets
the chance to play in the first division league. The Indian Super League must introduce the
system of promotion and relegation and it will make the league more competitive. Another
difference is that in the Indian football leagues there is semi final and the final between the
top four teams but it is not the rule of leagues18. In a football league, the team having the
highest point wins the league but such is not the case for the Indian Super League. In the
other leagues all over the world, the team with the highest point wins the league. Therefore,
the All India Football Federation must change the rule of ISL and include more number of
teams in the league. This will help the youngsters of India to display their talents and skills
and it will help to develop the Indian football. The ISL and the I-League should be merged
together in order to bring changes in the Indian Football.
17 Sarkar, S. and Chakraborty, S., 2018. Pitch actions that distinguish high scoring teams: Findings from five
European football leagues in 2015-16. Journal of Sports Analytics, 4(1), pp.1-14.
18 Sil, P., 2019. Analysis of football news coverage in daily news papers of Bengal in respect of world and
Indian football scenario.

8CIVIL PROCEDURE ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
References
Plumley, D.J., Ramchandani, G. and Wilson, R., 2018. Mind the gap: an analysis of
competitive balance in the English football league system. International Journal of Sport
Management and Marketing (IJSMM), 18(5), pp.357-375.
Andreff, W., 2019. Origins and Developments of Sports Systems. The SAGE Handbook of
Sports Economics, p.8.
Kapadia, N., 2017. Barefoot to boots: The many lives of Indian football. Penguin Random
House India Private Limited.
김 김 김 , 2018. Sports Leagues in India–Pros & Cons A study of the positive and negative
outcomes of the Sports leagues in India (Doctoral dissertation, 김김김김김 김김김).
Graf von Pueckler, C., 2017. The Internationalization Process of a Leading European
Football Club.
Lisi, C.A., 2017. A History of the US Men's National Soccer Team. Rowman & Littlefield.
Suppiah, P.K., Lee, J.L.F., Azmi, A.M.N., Noordin, H. and Musa, R.M., 2020. Relative age
effect in U-16 Asian Championship Soccer Tournament. Malaysian Journal of Movement,
Health & Exercise, 9(1).
Omondi-Ochieng, P., 2019. Asia Cup: a resource-based view of football talent. Business &
Social Sciences Journal, 4(1), pp.61-81.
Rowe, D., 2017. The AFC Asian Cup. Sport, Media and Mega-Events, p.185.
Fairley, S., Lovegrove, H., Newland, B.L. and Green, B.C., 2016. Sport Management
Review.

9CIVIL PROCEDURE ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW
Martinez, M. and Willner, J., 2017. Competitive balance and consumer demand in the
English Football League. Applied Finance and Accounting, 3(2), pp.49-60.
Noonan, J., 2019. The Change the NCAA Does Not Know It Needs: A Promotion/Relegation
Structure for College Football. U. Denv. Sports & Ent. LJ, 22, p.191.
Mackreth, K., Bond, A.J. and O’Keeffe, L., 2017. Changing a League Structure: Marketing
Implications for Rugby League Clubs in the UK.
Bank, S.A., 2018. Will US Soccer Be Forced to Adopt Promotion and Relegation. J. Legal
Aspects Sport, 28, p.3.
Andreff, W., 2019. Sport Manipulations: Breaching Sport Rules for Gaining Advantage.
In An Economic Roadmap to the Dark Side of Sport (pp. 29-61). Palgrave Pivot, Cham.
Sarkar, S. and Chakraborty, S., 2018. Pitch actions that distinguish high scoring teams:
Findings from five European football leagues in 2015-16. Journal of Sports Analytics, 4(1),
pp.1-14.
Sil, P., 2019. Analysis of football news coverage in daily news papers of Bengal in respect of
world and Indian football scenario.