There was nothing unusual about Salt Lake Stadium on Friday. Hardly anything to write home about. A couple of police cars were parked, a platoon of media personnel was waiting for a news conference to begin. To think, two months back on the same date (December 13) the same stadium had looked like a battlefield as irate fans went on the rampage after feeling cheated by the Lionel Messi ‘no show’.
“Two months today?” a senior police official asked The Telegraph. “Do not remind me about that day,” he said with a smile, which could not mask the mayhem of that December morning.
“The stadium is now more or less ready,” the official said. The scar of that Saturday, however, will remain for life.
First day, first show
Another Saturday comes, and it will see the beginning of ISL 2025-26 with defending champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant hosting Kerala Blasters at the same stadium.
Bagan are expecting some 50,000 fans to turn up for the first match and focus will be on how the crowd reacts.
The league, which generally starts in September, got delayed by five months due to a prolonged legal battle. Finally, sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya had to intervene to set the ball rolling.
The All India Football Federation and its president, Kalyan Chaubey, also earned a lot of flak for the delay.
The single-leg league will be played in the Swiss format with each of the 14 teams — Inter Kashi are the new entrants — playing 13 matches. Churchill Brothers are still nursing hopes of sneaking in as the 15th team, even after the AIFF executive committee unanimously thumbed down their request.
Pressure tactics
Sources said there has been pressure from influential politicians to include Churchill Brothers. Two clubs — Sporting Club Delhi and FC Goa — wilted and said they have no problem with Churchill’s inclusion.
“Churchill Brothers FC is a long-standing club in Indian football, and we recognise the sentiments surrounding the matter. FC Goa will defer to the Federation and the collective judgement of the other participating clubs to decide what they consider appropriate in the overall interest of the competition. We will abide by the decision taken,” the letter from FC Goa stated.
And then Dhruv Sood of Sporting Club Delhi and Ravi Puskur of FC Goa resigned from the interim management committee. While Sood withdrew as a signatory on behalf of the clubs, Puskur resigned from the committee in its entirety. The interim committee constituted representatives from five clubs. Jamshedpur FC, Northeast United and Chennaiyin FC are the other three clubs.
The clubs also dissolved the interim committee. “Pending regrouping and reconstitution of an appropriate representative mechanism, the clubs have collectively resolved that: All decisions relating to the league shall be taken only by an absolute majority (75% of votes) of all fourteen (14) clubs; No communication or proposal shall be deemed binding unless expressly approved by such majority,” the letter to AIFF president Chaubey and deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan said.
“It’s getting murkier,” a senior executive committee member said.
Lobera’s warning
This ISL looks to be a two-horse race, with Bagan and East Bengal better prepared than the other 12 teams. Bagan coach Lobera, who took over from compatriot Jose Molina in November, however, did not want to dwell on those things.
“It will be a difficult season,” he said. “Hopefully, at the end of the season, we can celebrate something important together.”
Forward Dimitri Petratos was asked how he kept himself motivated when there was so much uncertainty around the league, even till a few weeks back. “As professionals, you have to work towards being the best version of yourself,” was his reply.
