‘This is not football any more'. Churchill pull out of Super Cup over I-League fiasco
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Churchill Brothers have withdrawn from the upcoming Super Cup after alleging that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) took away their I-League title.
The Goan club posted a strongly-worded statement on social media on Sunday. Churchill were expected to play Indian Super League winners Mohun Bagan Super Giant on the opening night of the Super Cup in Bhubaneswar on April 20.
"Churchill Brothers finished top of the I-League 2024–25. We earned the title. We earned the right to face the best. We earned the moment that our fans, players, and families had waited years—even decades—for. And it was stolen from us," Churchill noted in a lengthy post on social media.
Churchill's reaction is understood to have been triggered by reports that an AIFF Appeals Committee was likely to award a pending 'three points' to Inter Kashi, which would make the Varanasi-based side champions of the I-League. The winners of the I-League are promoted to the Indian Super League (ISL), the first division in men's football in the country.
When the I-League season ended on April 6, Churchill had been assumed as the provisional winner. They finished with 40 points, with Inter Kashi second with 39. However, Kashi had an appeal against Namdhari SC pending with the AIFF.
Kashi had lost to Namdhari in a league match, but they argued that the opponents fielded an ineligible player. Kashi argued their case before the Appeals Committee, demanding three points from the match, which, if and when awarded, would take their overall tally to 42 (39+3), making them champions.
The Appeals Committee verdict is expected only by April 28, but it has widely been reported that the AIFF will accept Kashi's claim and award them three more points.
Churchill have said they cannot accept the alleged injustice and withdrawing from the Super Cup was a mark of protest. "Today, our I-League trophy count still reads “2” instead of “3." Not because we didn’t earn it. But because someone decided we didn’t deserve to be celebrated. Because the AIFF stayed silent. And now they want us to quietly play the Super Cup? No. We are withdrawing. Because this is not football anymore. This is theatre—and the ending was scripted," Churchill noted.