Football is going through a turbulent period in India, with the men’s national team hitting its lowest FIFA ranking in nine years and the top-flight league, the Indian Super League (ISL), put on hold after a disagreement over the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) renewal between FSDL and AIFF. However, there was one more controversy that was as dramatic as it could get, which kept Indian football fans anxious and once again exposed the misgovernance of the sport in the country. The issue revolved around declaring the winners of the I-League 2024-25 season, which was plunged into chaos, player eligibility, administrative errors and legal battles. The matter escalated to the Court of Arbitration (CAS), the global court that resolves issues related to sports, with two major rulings ultimately deciding the fate of the champions.
The matter involved two clubs, Churchill Brothers and Inter Kashi, who produced an engrossing title race in the dramatic 2024-25 I-League season. The trophy decider went to the final matchday with the Goanese club finishing top of the table with 40 points, followed by Kashi on 39. However, it was more than meets the eye as the final points tally for both teams was subjected to resolution on disputes over player ineligibility in some matches and point deductions. Hence, it sparked strange scenes at full-time whistle with both Churchill and Kashi celebrating title triumph despite neither being declared champions at that point.
Incidents and Initial Ruling
Two major incidents led to the confusion in declaring the I-League winners, with both involving Inter Kashi. The first was a disputed match between the Uttar Pradesh-based franchise and Namdhari FC, which was played on 13 January 2025, ending in a 2-2 draw, but the former alleged that the Punjab-based side had fielded an ineligible player. Namdhari’s striker, Degol, was said to be suspended for the game after accumulating four yellow cards, but the club still fielded him against Kashi. The confusion stemmed from a previous game of Namdhari, where the Brazilian was sent off after already being booked and there was a debate whether that yellow card counted toward his suspension in the controversial match.
The AIFF disciplinary committee awarded a 3-0 victory to Inter Kashi initially related to the case, which would have taken the side’s tally to 42 points at the end of the season. However, the ruling was overturned just two days before the conclusion of the season on March 28th by the AIFF Appeals Committee after Namdhari appealed the decision. As a result, the match remained a draw, with Antonio Habas' side stuck in second place, but we were only getting started. Kashi also had a player eligibility problem of their own, which became the main talking point of this fiasco. The issue arose with the re-registration of the player list to include their striker, Mario Barco, in the squad after he was initially ruled out for the season with an injury in the opening week of January 2025.
Barco was replaced by Matija Babovic under Article 6.5.7 of I-League regulations that says: ‘A foreign player can only be replaced by another foreign player by the respective participating club (in case an injury or an illness prevents such foreign player from continuing to play for the rest of the competition or after mutual termination of contract) up to three times in the competition. The participating players can only be replaced with another within the time as notified by the AIFF and not beyond the same.’ However, the Spaniard was registered back into the squad as a replacement for another foreigner, Juan Pérez, whose contract was mutually terminated by the club. The committee found it a violation of the rules as an unregistered injured player supposedly out for the season could not be re-added to the squad, which led to further point deductions. Although they initially overturned this decision, the Appeals Committee reinstated it.
CAS appeal to declare Kashi champions
After a month of thick fog of uncertainty over the winners of the 2024-25 I-League and with two teams making title celebrations, AIFF officially declared Churchill Brothers as champions on 19th April by reaffirming their position at the top of the table. That did not go down well with Inter Kashi, who put the matter to CAS, which issued a stay order prohibiting the AIFF from declaring a winner or holding a medal ceremony on April 27 until the arbitration concluded. Despite this, the AIFF proceeded with a presentation ceremony in Goa, awarding the trophy and medals to Churchill Brothers, claiming they were unaware of the CAS order due to a holiday at the AIFF Secretariat. It opened up the cracks of the governing body in their incompetence in handling such a sensitive situation. Later, Kashi won their CAS appeal of Namdhari’s player ineligibility case, granting them three points in the clash.
Still, they had to win their case regarding Marco Barco after their appeal was rejected by AIFF in May and were hopeful that they would get another ruling in their favour. That is what materialised on July 18th with CAS overturning the AIFF’s decisions on player eligibility disputes, in which the governing body admitted the league committee was ill-equipped to handle the matter, resulting in Inter Kashi receiving three crucial points, which took their tally to 42 points in the season, overtaking Churchill Brothers. With no more drama involved, the first professional club from Uttar Pradesh was declared the legitimate I-League winners in just the second season of their participation. The success also came under the reputed coach Antonio Habas, who became the first manager to win both leagues in India after his ISL achievements.
Will Inter Kashi play ISL?
However, the main concern remained for Inter Kashi whether they would be promoted to the Indian Super League, or ISL, following the deadlock situation between FSDL and AIFF over the MRA agreement, subject to the Supreme Court’s decision on AIFF’s new constitution, which has put the future of the league in disarray. Even if the ISL commences as usual from the 2025-26 season, there will still be question marks on whether the club from Varanasi will participate in the competition, owing to the new proposals given by league owners FSDL for the renewal.
Initially started as a closed league in 2014, ISL accepted I-League winners as promoted teams to the league as per the AFC roadmap decided in 2019, having earned top-flight status the same year.
As a result, Punjab FC and Mohammedan SC earned promotion to the ISL after winning the I-League in the past two seasons. Yet, FSDL has opted against promotion/relegation for the next 10 years and not until complete alignment of lower tiers as per the new roadmap, pre-agreed between parties in their draft proposal to clear the standoff. No club to get promoted to ISL unless it meets strict financial and licensing criteria and has been in existence for at least five years under the same ownership that meets fitness test. It has been one of the reasons for their disagreement with AIFF and the criteria don’t fit well with Inter Kashi either, as they hope for a favourable agreement between the parties in a matter that is not in their hands, unlike their I-League decisions.
