The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has articulated the exact definition of a Marquee Player, which as ratified by the AIFF Executive Committee is a must for each I-League club from the 2014/15 Season onwards.

A foreign recruit who has represented his country in any of the Continental Championships like the European Championship, Copa America, African Nations Cup, the Asian Cup or the FIFA World Cup will be called a Marquee Player.

The club can propose a player outside the aforementioned group with creditable record of representing a reputed International Club in a reputed International League and should also have represented his Senior National Team.

In this case, the approval would be given by the AIFF’s Technical Team before the club can contract the Player as a Marquee signing.

“Having a Marquee player in every club will automatically enhance the quality of not only the League but also all players across the board. Spending the Season with a World Cupper will help the players develop immensely,” Airtel I-League CEO Sunando Dhar told AIFF Media.

Previously the likes of Carlos Hernandez, who has been named in the provisional Squad of Costa Rica for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil plied his trade with United SC (then known as Prayag United) in the 2012/13 Season.

Others Marquee Players who have been part of the I-League since it was rechristened in 2007 include Trinidad & Tobago’s World Cuppers Cornell Glenn (Shillong Lajong FC) and Anthony Wolfe (Churchill Brothers SC) and Hernandez’s teammate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Michael Rodriguez, part of United Sikkim’s Squad in the 2012/13 Season.

(Report & Picture courtesy AIFF Media)