New Delhi, Nov 17: The Executive Committee of the All India Football Federation(AIFF) approved the regulations to be followed in the inaugural ONGC I League which will kick off from November 24, an AIFF statement said here today.

The committee reviewed the progress made by the clubs to adopt the club licensing criteria laid down by the federation. The clubs who have not made much progress in this regard will be referred to the ONGC I League Committee and the Disciplinary Committee which will review the matter and take necessary action.

The Executive Committee also announced additional incentives which will be provided to clubs for participating in the professional I League.

It will provide a subsidy of Rs 2.5 lakhs for fielding a team in the u-19 I League and a similar subsidy for appointing administrative staff.

The statement further added that 90 per cent of the gate collection from matches will be given to the host club after deducting the stadium hire charges. The clubs will be responsible for the sale of tickets and every club will be given two perimeter boards, six fence level boards and six boards at the first tier level.

The prize money for the winners of the tournament has been increased to Rs 50 lakhs whereas the runners-up will receive Rs 28 lakhs. The winners of each match will receive a sum of Rs 35,000, statement added.

The committee has further decided to increase the subsidy for the local organising committee to Rs 50,000 from the present Rs 42,000.

Each club will be allowed to register four foreign players.

However, only three of them can be fielded in a match.

The inaugural I League will see the defending champions Dempo SC lock horns with arch-rivals Salgaocar SC in the opening match at Goa.

UNI