‘Price’ of a short ISL: Low-cost foreigners from unfamiliar leagues

Panaji: Fans have struggled to obtain information about their clubs’ new foreign signings this season. Many of the players have featured in relatively lesser-known leagues and some out of action for a while, before making a move to the top-tier Indian Super League (ISL).
“Where do they find such foreigners,” asked one exasperated fan on social media when Kerala Blasters FC announced the signing of one of their five new foreign players. “This guy is a ghost; you can hardly find anything about him on the internet.”
This is a strange season for Indian football, one riddled with uncertainties, mass exits of foreign players, and the arrival of foreigners, some of whom were playing in the fifth tier at home.
Given the low budget and curtailed league this season, ISL clubs are paying monthly salaries of $1200 (approx. Rs 1.1 lakh) to foreign signings made during the January transfer window. That’s the lowest foreigners have got paid ever since the ISL kicked off in 2014 with plenty of glamour and marquee names like Alessandro Del Piero (Delhi Dynamos), Freddie Ljungberg (Mumbai City), Elano (Chennaiyin FC), Luis Garcia (Atletico de Kolkata) and Robert Pires (FC Goa).
According to sources, some foreigners even offered to play for free in the hope of making a mark and securing a contract for next season.
“This is an exception to a normal season,” said Kerala Blasters CEO Abhik Chatterjee. “You are restricted by financial sensibilities across the board and cannot operate on the same scale like before. We have to be competitive, and since there is relegation, clubs don’t want to leave anything to chance.”
Blasters lost all six of their foreign players due to the uncertainty. With salary cuts then being introduced, the club had to count upon less glamorous signings with Kevin Yoke, Oumar Ba, Victor Bertomeu, Marlon Roos Trujillo and Matias Hernandez making the move.
FC Goa and Bengaluru FC will play with just two foreigners, while NorthEast United will have three, all preferring not to add to their quota after asking players to take a pay cut. “It would be disrespectful to all those who agreed to reduce salaries in difficult times (for the club),” said Goa coach Manolo Marquez.
Only Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Inter Kashi have completed their full quota of six foreigners, quite a contrast with Odisha FC who are only left with captain Carlos Delgado, and Mohammedan Sporting Club, who are forced to field an all-Indian lineup due to their transfer ban.
Brazilian defender Eduardo Kau had agreed terms with Real Kashmir FC before accepting an offer from former ISL champions Chennaiyin. They are not the only ones who have settled for foreigners from the I-League. Four other clubs – Jamshedpur FC, SC Delhi, Kerala Blasters and Inter Kashi – have found comfort with nine players who previously featured in the second division.
“The new arrivals in January will be among the cheapest (foreigners) to play in ISL,” said a top official involved in the signing of players for his club. “The players understand there are financial constraints. Once this is sorted, it becomes easy to negotiate an extension (next season). There is relegation, so clubs did not want to leave their foreign quota unfulfilled since it’s cheaper to sign internationals than domestic players.”
Not all domestic players.
Some domestic players have zero value contracts with the clubs for this season. When these contracts were sent to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the governing body refused to register, asking the clubs to change the value and resubmit the documents.
“We converted the food and travel allowance into monetary value and turned it into a Rs 25,000 (per month) contract,” said another official.