The Churchill brothers withdrew from the Super Cup tournament from April 20 in Bhubaneswar, a protesting against the decision of the All India football federation (AIFF) not to officially declare them as champions of the I-League in 2024-25, calling it as “blatant contempt for rules and preceding” by the national organization of governance. In a letter written on Saturday to the president of AIFF, Kalyan Chaubey, the Goan Club also cited the “irregularities” in the driving of the Super Cup draw as another reason for the shooting of the tournament from April 20 to May 3.
“This letter must inform you of our withdrawal from the Super Cup 2025.
“We have not received any clarification as to the reason for the highly irregular and unconventional process adopted by the AIFF in carrying out the draw, nor the process has not been rectified.” Churchill said: “The fact that different teams were subject to different methods of determining their seed for the competition is manifestly unjust.” “It should be noted that this happened in the context of the AIFF refusing to assign Churchill Brothers FC the I-League trophy 2024-25, as required by rule 14.4 of regulation I-League 2024-25.
“This refusal and contempt for the rules of the competition occurred despite the fact that there is a well -established national and international precedent that the winner of sports competitions must be declared to the conclusion of the competition, regardless of the current legal challenges.
“Thus, faced with the blatant contempt of the alff to the rules, the previous established and the sporting spirit, we have no choice but to withdraw from the Super Cup 2025 to protest.” The Super Cup must participate in 16 clubs (13 from the Indian Super League and three from the I-League) in an eliminating unique elimination format. The ISL teams were seeded for 16 years according to their last championship positions during the 2024-25 season.
While announcing the calendar on April 7, the AIFF said that Churchill Brothers, Inter Kashi and Gokulam Kerala FC had confirmed participation in the tournament.
Churchill said that if the ranks according to the SLL 2024-25 season ranking were followed for the Super Cup sowing process, the same has not been followed for the I-League.
“As a team in first place in the I-League at the end of the 2024-25 season, FC Churchill Brothers should have been the 14th seeded in the Super Cup. However, the AIFF chose to ignore the table and attribute (ED) (ED) the 14th seeded to Inter Kashi thanks to an opaque lot of lots,” said Goan club in the letter.
“Inter Kashi therefore treated their 14th place as the Aiff giving legitimacy to the false affirmation manifestly according to which they are the winners of the I-League 2024-25. The continuous inaction of the AIFF in this regard not only the Churchill brothers, but the reputation of Indian football as a whole.
“This calls into question the competence of AIFF to act as an impartial governor and football regulator in India. The draw adopted by AIFF lacks transparent legitimacy.” Churchill Brothers temporarily finished at the top of the I-League table (with 40 points), but their expectations for the title and a historic promotion at the Indian Super League depends on the verdict of the AIFF call committee which will decide on a case involving Inter Kashi (39 points).
The controversy concerns Inter Kashi’s match against Namdhari SC on January 13, when the latter won 2-0. But the AIFF disciplinary committee later discovered that Namdhari had aligned an ineligible player. The Committee awarded a 3-0 package victory in Inter Kashi with three points.
However, the AIFF appeal committee then made the “ineffective and pending” decision to the final hearing. If Inter Kashi receives the three points, they will win the title I-League because they will then have 42 points.
The AIFF appeal committee was to hear the case on April 28 but advanced the date of April 11. But the council which was to represent Namdhari did not appear for the hearing invoking the “illness” and the AIFF appeal committee did not pronounce a verdict.
Six clubs, whose Churchill, lighten Inter Kashi to obtain the advantages of arbitration errors
In another development, six clubs, including Churchill Brothers, wrote to the AIFF disciplinary committee, raising arbitrary concerns and ethical issues in the I-League. The letter was signed by the real cashmere, Delhi FC, Sreenidi Deccan, Namdhari FC and Aizawl FC, besides Churchill.
“Although we understand that arbitration is supervised by an independent organization and that the AIFF has no direct influence on refereeing meetings or decisions at stake, the recurring model of officiating errors – most, if not all, benefiting in a disproportionate manner to a particular club, Inter Kashi FC – raises serious concerns concerning integrity and impartiality clubs said in the letter.
“As proof … We have annexed a compilation of specific video clips and correspondence incidents, which clearly and objectively demonstrate the officiating inconsistencies and their material impact on the results of the match.” The six clubs also allegedly alleged that “a senior Inter Kashi official had been in indirect communication with various clubs as well as AIFF officials, who could have asked for favors contrary to ethics in favor of Inter Kashi”. “Such actions, if they were true, constitute a serious violation of the principles of fair play and could irreparably harm the integrity and credibility of the I-League. We trust the AIFF and its disciplinary committee to take this representation with the seriousness it deserves.”
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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