CAS ruling on Inter Kashi another snub for under-fire Kalyan Choubey & Co

The Court of  Arbitration for Sports (CAS) ruling against the appeal of All India Football Federation (AIFF), alongwith three I-League clubs, to award the title to Inter Kashi has – in a way – rubbed salt on the wounds of the national body. Not only it now forces the AIFF to take away the I-League champions’ mantle from Goa’s Churchill Brothers, they are now under obligation to pay 55% of the legal expenses incurred for a hearing at the highest appellate body of sport at Lausanne.

 Informed sources feel this will mean a further strain on the AIFF purse strings to the tune of Rs 30 lakhs – at a time when nothing seems to be going right for the Kalyan Choubey-led administration. There is no guarantee as to when the deadlock for the Indian Super League (ISL) will be resolved with the Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) keeping it ‘on hold’ while Choubey’s group is looking over their shoulders for a lifeline from the Supreme Court so that the game does not grind to a halt completely.

 The CAS ruling makes Inter Kashi, a newcomer in Indian football, the 14^th team in the ISL for the 2025-26 season – should it get going later this year. Incidentally, the AIFF has not kept any window for country’s premier league in their calendar for the next season as they and FSDL, the Reliance Group owned marketing arm of AIFF, have failed to agree on the terms of renewal of the Masters Right Agreement (MRA).

What, incidentally, forced Inter Kashi approach the CAS? The AIFF Appeal Committee had, on 31 May 2025, ruled that the registration of a foreign player (Marco Barco) by Inter Kashi FC during their I-League campaign was not valid and stated that all matches played by him should be forfeited by the club. This resulted in a re-jigging of the I-League points table, making Churchill Brothers FC Goa the champions and they were even handed the winners’ trophy.

 Not willing to relent, Inter Kashi FC filed an appeal on 23 June 2025 and sought a reversal of the AIFF Appeal Committee decision. After a final hearing on 15 July, the CAS Panel ordered the federation to revoke the punitive measure on Inter Kashi and to implement the changes in the I-League table accordingly. This now makes Inter Kashi the table toppers and champions on 42 points, followed by Churchill Brothers FC Goa (40), Real Kashmir FC (37) and Namdhari FC (29).

 Speaking to National Herald, sources confided that the AIFF’s decision to stick to the Appeals Committee decision made them a party to the case. ‘’Just imagine the lack of foresight on part of the current regime. What was meant to be a contest between the clubs before the apellate body of sport has ended up making the federation a party unneccessarily – apart from resulting in financial damages,’’ the sources said.

 Meanwhile, the uncertainty over the fate of ISL has also robbed the sheen off the curtain raiser to the season – the Durand Cup – which is beginning in five venues across eastern India with Kolkata as the nodal centre next week. As many as seven high profile teams of ISL: Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyan FC, Kerala Blasters, Hyderabad FC, Mumbai FC, FC Goa and Odisha FC have pulled out of the Durand Cup as they couldn’t start on team building what with the marquee league in jeopardy.

 Asked whether the tournament will lose sheen at the absence of as many as seven of the 13 ISL clubs, Lt Gen Mohit Malhotra AVSM, SM, Chief of Staff HQ Eastern Command and Chairman Durand Cup Organising Committee said on Thursday: ‘’You all are aware of the situation as I cannot comment any further. The FSDL, incidentally, had been very supportive of the Durand Cup.’’

 Durand Cup: Plenty to play for

 However, a 24-team event which includes six ISL teams including the Big Three of Kolkata, will be a part of the tournament – to be co-hosted by the Eastern Command of Indian Army and West Bengal government. The tournament has increased a prize money pool to Rs 3 crores.

 Kolkata will host two groups and a total of 15 matches including a quarterfinal, semi-final, and the finals will be played at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) and the Kishore Bharati Krirangan (KBK). Emami East Bengal FC, Indian Air Force FT and Durand Cup debutants Namdhari FC and Bengaluru based South United FC are drawn in Group A, with East Bengal and South United FC facing each other in the opening match of the tournament on July 23^rd at VYBK.

 Last year’s runners up Mohun Bagan Super Giant, another Kolkata giants Mohammedan SC, Border Security Force FT and another Kolkata side Diamond Harbour FC will be playing in Group B, with the Kolkata derby between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Mohammedan SC will be played on 31^st July at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan.