National Football League deferred

The fifth edition of the National Football League received a setback following discontent among the top nine clubs, forcing the All India Football Federation to defer the scheduled start of the league on November 25.

AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi on Monday asserted that the League, however, would not be affected and new dates will be announced after an emergency meeting of the AIFF executive committee, in Delhi on November 26.

"There would not be any change in the participants. No clubs are pulling out of the league," Dasmunshi told reporters, two days after nine clubs formed a parallel body -- the Indian Premier Football Association -- at the behest of liquor-baron Vijay Mallya.

Dasmunshi said he discussed at length various issues including the formation of the IPFA with Mallya, who reportedly assured him that he has 'no intentions' to work against the federation.

Citing financial reasons for the cause of discontent among the clubs, the AIFF chief squarely blamed Doordarshan and Prasar Bharati for delaying the payment for television rights of the 1999-2000 edition.