Players, coaches rally as crisis threatens to derail ISL season | Goa News
Panaji: Players, coaches, and support staff employed by Indian Super League (ISL) clubs are preparing to inform the Supreme Court that all of them have been left in a state of uncertainty with no word yet on when the top-tier league will kick off.ISL captains, which included senior Indian players like Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan, attended an online meeting with All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey and deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan on Wednesday.Now, as the federation prepares to make a mention before the Supreme Court, players and coaches have decided to make their voice heard as well.“If the league is not happening, our contracts will be suspended,” said a national team player. “The clubs are preparing to use the force majeure clause in contracts. We are ready to play, all of us have professional contracts, yet we are waiting (for the league to kick off). Some of the players are not even training at this stage.”The players and coaches together are likely to seek directions to ensure that a commercial partner is appointed at the earliest, through a fair and time-bound process, so that the league can begin without delay.The AIFF has also convened a meeting of ISL clubs on Nov 18 “to discuss the possibilities of conducting the top-tier league between Jan 1 and May 31.”AIFF’s failure to attract any bidder for its rights to monetise the top league, largely due to stringent conditions in the request for proposal (RFP), has now attracted the attention of FIFPro Asia/Oceania, a collective international voice of professional footballers of Asia and Oceania.FIFPro has called for an “immediate resolution to the escalating crisis in Indian football, where ongoing uncertainty surrounding the ISL has left hundreds of players without clarity, income, or job security.”The players’ body has sought the intervention of FIFA, the governing body for world football, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), for a swift resolution.“Despite the severe impact on players’ livelihoods, the AIFF has neither taken meaningful action to address the issue nor consulted with players, in a clear breach of their labour rights,” FIFPro Asia/Oceania said in a statement on Thursday. “Throughout this period of uncertainty, players have shown remarkable professionalism but are now being pushed to breaking point. The consequences extend beyond the domestic game; national team performance is being severely affected, and players are being unfairly targeted by fans for circumstances beyond their control.”
