ISL clubs reject Churchill's inclusion request again

Bengaluru: Churchill Brothers are still trying to join the current season of the Indian Super League and made another attempt through a letter from the All India Football Federation asking for the decision to be reconsidered. However, the request was rejected again because ISL clubs said they are not in favor of expanding the league right now.

Churchill made a late push for their inclusion early February when they wrote to AIFF for their inclusion in the ISL following the last season's I-League champions' controversy with Inter Kashi, which saw the Goan club being stripped of the title following a judgement by the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) that overturned an AIFF's disciplinary committee decision of docking off Inter Kashi's points for fielding an 'invalid foreign player'.

Churchill, however, challenged the decision in the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT) who refused to stay the ruling and are yet to deliver a verdict. This remains the ground for Churchill's inclusion in the ISL as the two-time I-League champions claim the matter is still sub-judice.

The request was not considered at the AIFF's executive committee meeting two days before the start of the league too as the majority of the ISL clubs wrote to the federation that inclusion of a 15th club at the eleventh hour will lead to a schedule reshuffle and further delay in the commencement of the already-delayed season.

However, the Goan club politically influenced AIFF into writing to the clubs last week to reconsider their position for Churchill's inclusion while two of the clubs also gave no objection to their inclusion.

****

The majority of the clubs, however, responded through a letter again, stating: "The ISL 2025–26 league structure is closed and final. It forms the basis of existing sporting, operational, financial and contractual reliance. No expansion or alteration is acceptable at this stage."

The letter also stated that any "ad-hoc inclusion of a club" undermines the competitive integrity of the tournament. It also pointed that "no articulated regulatory mechanism" exists in the governance framework that could allow inclusion of a team after the league begins. 

It further stated that AIFF ExCo already took a position on the matter, and reopening the issue will now question the "regulatory consistency and certainty".