Climax: I-League must emulate ISL's professionalism

04 February,2015 07:54 AM IST |   |  Sundari Iyer

I-League outfit Mumbai FC's midfielders Climax Lawrence and Ashutosh Mehta yesterday lauded the Indian Super League (ISL) and urged the national league to emulate the franchise-based tournament. The ISL has changed the mentality of the Indian viewers towards football. The I-League should emulate the ISL's professionalism

Mumbai FC's Climax Lawrence and Ashutosh Mehta


I-League outfit Mumbai FC's midfielders Climax Lawrence and Ashutosh Mehta yesterday lauded the Indian Super League (ISL) and urged the national league to emulate the franchise-based tournament. "The ISL has changed the mentality of the Indian viewers towards football. The I-League should emulate the ISL's professionalism.


Mumbai FC's Climax Lawrence and Ashutosh Mehta. Pic/Suresh KK

The I-League must ensure players are provided with the best modern facilities like diet, fitness regimes, ice baths, physiotherapist, etc, so that players can perform at this level," Lawrence, who was part of ISL champion outfit Atletico de Kolkata, said on the sidelines of the club's announcement of Playwin as their official sponsor, at Cooperage yesterday.

Lawrence's Mumbai FC teammate Mehta, who was a part of ISL outfit FC Pune City, said that the I-League must treat players better to be at par with the ISL. "There are few differences between ISL and I-League apart from the facilities. In ISL, there are six foreign players (permitted per team), while in the I-League there are four. So there is not a huge difference in the quality of football. But I-League will be at par with the ISL only if players are treated better," he said.

Unlucky Mumbai
Mumbai haven't had a great start to the season having lost all their three matches. Lawrence is confident though that a win in their next home fixture against Sporting Clube de Goa on February 8 at Cooperage will boost their confidence. "It's not that we haven't played well. We have worked hard but have not been lucky to win. But, we'll be playing a home match after a really long time. A win here will can turn things around in our favour," said Lawrence.

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