In a letter written to the Bangalore District Football Association on Monday, Royals secretary SL Anthony cited player pull-outs and injuries as reasons for the drastic move.
“Several college students, who were a part of our team, are not taking part, and coupled with various injuries (to players) we have suffered, we have not been able to field a proper team in the league and therefore have decided to withdraw,” the letter said.
Both teams will automatically be relegated to the ‘B’ Division along with Nationals and BHEL (EPD), who had pulled out before the commencement of the league. Six teams were supposed to be demoted from the 14-team league but with the withdrawal of four teams, only two of the remaining 10 teams will be relegated.
Oriental FC too gave similar reasons for their decision pull out. “I am herewith withdrawing our team from the ‘A’ Division due to several of our players leaving and thus not being able to compete,” Sreedharan, Oriental FC secretary said.
Royals had struggled throughout the competition, going winless in six matches while garnering just one point. They let in 31 goals while scoring just five. Oriental weren’t any better either, earning a solitary point from their six matches. They also conceded 22 goals while scoring only six.
The teams that haven’t played either team will be awarded three points and two goals each.
