Kolkata, Dec. 30 -- Assuring All India Football Federation (AIFF) of their intention to play, 14 clubs in the top tier league have asked the national body to enquire from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) if India would keep its continental berths after a truncated season. "All clubs attending today's meeting is proof that we want the season to start, maybe even in the first week of February," a club CEO told HT over the phone after Sunday's meeting with AIFF on a virtual platform. "But we need clarity on whether AFC would make an exception and let us keep the Asian berths even if the league season does not have 24 matches for the champions." Not authorised to speak on behalf of the clubs, the CEO requested anonymity. According to the official, the formats proposed by AIFF do not meet AFC's minimum matches criteria. The format that splits 14 teams into two equal zones will have around 120 matches. The champions will play 19 (12 in the league and seven in round robin format among the top four from each zone). The proposal that has teams playing a fixed number of away games in a single-leg format provisions for even fewer matches (91). Clubs want to prune costs in a season where, in the absence of commercial partners, the league does not have a central revenue pool. Most cubs have also said that the uncertainty around the season has led to sponsors backing out. The cost of the conference format, according to the clubs, would be around Rs 30 crore. Clubs have also asked AIFF to explore if state governments, AIFF and even the players can share the extra cost....