Champions Mohun Bagan suspend first team

Indian champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant have suspended their first team as the country’s top-flight Indian Super League remains on hold, with the national federation, AIFF, struggling to sell the competition’s commercial rights.

On Friday, the AIFF said its invitation for bids for the ISL’s commercial rights had no takers.

Kolkata-based Mohun Bagan will resume their first team operations once there is some clarity regarding the future of the ISL, a senior member of the club’s management told Reuters on Saturday, adding that he was not hopeful that the league would start before mid-January.

“Yes, we’ll definitely be back when the league resumes,” he said. “We’re looking to start training once it’s clear when the ISL kicks off.”

Mohun Bagan, who were also competing at the Asian Champions League Two this season, were withdrawn from the competition after refusing to travel to Iran for a group stage match against Sepahan SC on September 30.

Other ISL clubs, including Odisha FC and Bengaluru FC, also suspended their first teams or stopped paying salaries after the AIFF announced in July that the league was on hold. Bengaluru returned to action last month for the Super Cup.

The AIFF cited stalled negotiations for a contract renewal with their commercial partners, Reliance-led Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), as the reason for postponing the league.

Talks to renew the 2010 agreement stalled after India’s Supreme Court asked the AIFF not to renew their deal with FSDL until its order was handed down, as a case to implement a new constitution for the federation was ongoing.

The federation had invited fresh bids for the league following a Supreme Court order.

“The AIFF bid evaluation committee will convene over the weekend to review the situation and deliberate on the course of action,” the federation added. REUTERS