Eight ISL clubs request dialogue with AIFF chief Kalyan Chaubey
Eight of 13 Indian Super League clubs seek a dialogue with the All India Football Federation president, Kalyan Chaubey, since they face operational challenges that have “paralyzed” their youth operations. With the ISL put on an indefinite hold amid a contractual deadlock on the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the AIFF and its marketing partners, Reliance subsidiary Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), clubs have decided to approach Chaubey with a “sense of shared concern and responsibility”. Bengaluru FC, FC Goa, Punjab FC, Hyderabad FC, Kerala Blasters, Odisha FC, NorthEast United, and Jamshedpur FC want clear communication with Chaubey to prevent erosion of a structure that they put in place over the years, once the Supreme Court halted negotiations between the AIFF and FSDL. The two parties had rejected offers and counter-offers in April, leading to the apex court putting a stop to formal communications, adding that any agreement would have to be signed with a new committee that comes into power after elections. The Court has also reserved its judgment on AIFF’s constitution, based on which elections would be held at a yet-to-be-decided date. It led to five of the eight signatories (BFC, Goa, HFC, KBFC, and OFC) pulling out of the ongoing Durand Cup due to the prevailing uncertainty in Indian football. According to a report from News9 Sports, reigning ISL Cup and Shield champions Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting, Mumbai City, and Chennaiyin FC haven’t signed on the letter. “…in the absence of proper interaction and a lack of taking clubs into confidence — either from the All India Football Federation or its commercial rights holder — clubs now find themselves unable to plan with the level of visibility and certainty that professional football operations require,” the clubs wrote. “This has impacted not just short-term decisions but is now beginning to affect the structural backbone of our institutions. Activities such as youth development, player recruitment, staffing, budgeting, and grassroots programming—all of which require months of planning—have become increasingly difficult to sustain. “The longer this uncertainty continues, the greater the risk that years of hard-won progress may begin to unravel. Worryingly, most clubs have also been forced to paralyse their youth operations due to the current climate—halting scouting, coaching, and academy-related activities. Since continued participation in competitions at every age-group level requires “substantial operational and financial commitments”, clubs find sustainability a challenge in a climate where “clarity on the season’s structure, central revenues, and scheduling remains elusive”. “We believe that now, more than ever, constructive dialogue between the AIFF and the participating clubs is critical. We therefore respectfully request a formal opportunity for consultation with your honorable self so that we may align on the present landscape and collaboratively explore how best to navigate this period in a manner that safeguards the collective future of Indian football. We intend to understand — and to contribute wherever possible to — the process of resolution,” the clubs said. An AIFF official confirmed acceptance of the letter but declined to comment, insisting a formal statement will be put out soon.
Nigeria’s women’s soccer team rise above poor management to clinch continental trophy
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Monday hosted and splashed gifts on the triumphant national women’s soccer team who overcame poor preparations and missing payments to win their record-extending 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title. The Super Falcons’ comeback 3-2 victory over host Morocco in Saturday’s thrilling final was applauded by Tinubu and many in Nigeria, a football-loving nation where passion and hard work often triumphs over institutional challenges. The continental success, analysts say, papers over the mismanagement of the women’s team by the country’s authorities. The success of the country had come in spite of the country. “They have been able to dominate even though the Nigerian soccer authorities do not put as much funding, care, attention, and planning into the way the women’s national team is run,” Solace Chukwu, a Lagos-based soccer analyst, told The Associated Press. The Nigerian women’s team has exercised a near-total dominance in African football, which is partly credited to a head-start in the women’s game. Nigeria created the first football league for women in 1978, years before their counterparts on the continent. However, the gains have not catapulted the team to similar achievements on the global stage in what analysts say is a failure of the authorities to capitalize on this early advantage. “The men’s team is huge generally within the administration of Nigerian football as the cash cow,” Chukwu said. The gifts now promised by the president, including money and property, have not convinced the fans. “This one-time payment and apartment does not make any sense. For what? What they need is investment in the facilities, the staff, and payment. The lack of investment in women’s football is one of the reasons why it is not as high quality as the men’s,” Funmi Obasa, a football fan in Abuja who follows the women’s team, told AP. The team had been owed match bonuses for years, once resulting in a training boycott in 2022. Even as they triumphed on the way to the finals in Morocco, the backlog of payments was only approved by the president days before Saturday’s final. They also could not hold competitive friendly matches and their training kits were said to not have been available. It is a common problem in Nigeria where sporting competitions are often dogged by issues of underfunding, corruption and mismanagement that have led to high-profile scandals resulting in athletes choosing to represent other countries in protest.
Harshika Jain first Indian to sign for Romanian club
For Harshika Jain, a 22-year-old footballer from Mumbai, receiving an offer to play in Europe was nothing short of a dream come true. She has now made history as the first Indian footballer to sign with a Romanian top-tier club, CS Atletic Olimpia Gherla. Moving from India to play professional football at the European stage, Harshika is following in the footsteps of Bala Devi, Manisha Kalyan and Aditi Chauhan. Her signing isn’t just about international firsts; it’s also one of persistence, late-night training sessions, lockdown drills, and a young girl breaking into all-boys’ teams. The move to Romania came through trial at Olimpia Gherla, where she impressed legendary coach Mirel Albon, the man behind Romania’s rise in women’s football. After 20 days of trial, the club offered her a contract. “It feels like family here,” Harshika told TOI. “And that’s important to me. I’m close to my family, and the club environment reflects that. They’ve welcomed me with open arms. ” Despite going global, her dream remains rooted in national colours. “Wearing India’s jersey, that’s the dream. Always has been.” Harshika’s football journey began at school, where she could always be found on the football ground. And she could be spotted quite easily, too, as she would be the only girl training with boys. It was the same in her locality, where she would be the only girl training with boys. It was the same in her locality, where she would always have to play with the other boys as no girls joined it. Having earned a spot in the first division Romanian club CS Atletic Olimpia Gherla, the 22-year-old Harshika Jain has also set her sights on fulfilling her dream of playing for the Indian team. Harshika said “My ambition is to of course play for India and have the colours of the Indian flag on my chest when I play. That’s always been the dream and the ambition,” Harshika begun training with her new club, told PTI in an exclusive interaction on Monday. “It feels like family here,” Harshika told The Times of India. “That’s really important to me. I’m very close to my family, and the club has welcomed me with open arms. It feels like home.” “From Kozhikode to Romania. Best wishes to Harshika on her move to CS Atletic Olimpia Gherla. Go shine on the European stage,” Gokulam posted on social media. While several Indian women have previously played for European clubs — Bala Devi with Rangers WFC, Aditi Chauhan with West Ham United WFC, and Manisha Kalyan with Greek club PAOK — Harshika’s signing marks a new milestone.
Gambhir says Bumrah fit, yet to confirm his participation in the Oval Test
India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir spoke on Jasprit Bumrah playing in the fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England starting from July 31 at the Oval. Gautam Gambhir has confirmed India have a whole quota of fit fast bowlers to select from for The Oval Test, which they need to win to level the series. Equally significantly, Gambhir didn’t rule out the possibility of Jasprit Bumrah playing a fourth Test after he had said he was good to play only three in the lead-up to the series. “There has been no discussion about anyone and no decision has been made whether Jasprit Bumrah will play in the last test match or not. Ultimately, whoever plays, whether they play or not, they will try and do the job for the country,” Gambhir told media. Bumrah has been the best bowler for the Indian team in the ongoing series, having grabbed 14 wickets with two fifers at an average of 26.00 and an economy rate of 3.04. He also said, “All fast bowlers are fit, there is no injury.” Gambhir emphasized his focus on results, acknowledging India’s 2-1 deficit in the series. Despite the team’s inexperience, he considers it the best Indian team currently and aims to level the series to 2-2. “You’re asking someone who only believes in results. And I’ve always said that in the past as well. I believe in results. We’re still 2-1 down in the series. This is an Indian team. Yes, there is an inexperience, but this is still the best Indian team right now. So for me, I think we’re still down 2-1, and hopefully we can try and make it 2-2. It would be a great achievement,” he added. Gambhir said this India team was an inexperienced side and the results needed to be seen in that light. But he also said that reason doesn’t change the scoreline of the series. He also didn’t want to get carried away with the achievement of drawing at Old Trafford. “When you are put under pressure, and you end up batting five sessions, I think that’s great character. Anything that you do in these conditions, when you are put under pressure and you come out of those pressure moments, it is always a great feeling, and it just ends up giving a lot of confidence in the dressing room as well. “And I’m sure going into The Oval, we will be high on confidence, but we can’t take anything for granted. I think it’s going to be a new game, it’s going to be against a strong England side, and we absolutely will be up for it.” It will be interesting to see if India risk Bumrah. His speed, after all, had come down significantly on the third evening of the third Test, where he returned figures of 2/112, his poorest show in his seven-year-long Test career. India’s only win has come when Bumrah opted to sit out of the second Test at Edgbaston. It’s not that the Indian bowling can’t hold its own without him.
Anthony excited to receive the best coach’s award named after legendary PK Banerjee
Sudeep Pakrashi: Under his guidance, Gukulam Kerala FC won the elite IWL twice. In his third year of the elite IWL title with East Bengal, Anthony Andrews is finally getting recognition officially. The 29-year-old coach, under whose guidance East Bengal women clinched the elite IWL title in 2024-25, is set to be honored with the ‘Best Coach’s award, named after the late legendary PK Banerjee, jointly with Sanjoy Sen, by East Bengal on the club’s foundation day, August 1. Anthony is excited to receive the award named after the legendary PK Banerjee. He did not have the opportunity to see the legendary coach. But he has gone through a lot of insights about Banerjee’s coaching and success, and he has reportedly found a similarity that late PK Banerjee was a master in tuning the star-studded teams to guide them to achieve laurels. East Bengal women’s team also had a star-studded team, consisting of six to seven national footballers and foreign footballers. Anthony believes the task was not quite easy to create a harmony that built up the spirit of the team. The coach wants to dedicate the award to the players, his coaching staff, the club management, and his family. He believes he could not have had the taste of success in the IWL as well as the state league, Kanyasree Cup, without the help of those individuals who supported him in his effort. Anthony believes any award should inspire the respective individual to progress with the respective activities, and the coach is now looking forward to East Bengal’s maiden participation in the AFC Challenge Cup this year.
