The president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Praful Patel has recently said that the Federation believes that there will no long-term on the prospects of the game of soccer with Mahindra United deciding to opt to stay far from the game in times to come.

Patel highlighted the fact that exit of Mahindra has come as a shock to many but it will be only a short-term hurdle and the Indian football will prosper in the coming times.

It may be noted here that the Federation already has two teams - Pune FC and Mumbai FC from Maharashtra in the bag clearing dew drops from the fact that Indian soccer wasn't only about Air India and Mahindra United.

Patel further mentioned the fact that they will be focusing on making the I-league more popular in the Indian subcontinent as even the Mahindra's haven't really exited the game but will be focusing on the grassroots level to hunt for more talent for the long term benefit of the game. It is believed that almost 16 teams will take part in the next season of the I-League.