ISL: How Diamond Harbour FC has become 'untouchable' after WB polls

Less than a year back, Diamond Harbour FC was the real deal in Indian football circles — having climbed three tiers in as many seasons and looking all set to take a bow in the elite Indian Super League (ISL) 2026-27. However, as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on Thursday that they would be going ahead with 13 teams for the upcoming season, last season’s I-League winners and promotees will not be part of it.

The official reason is that they haven’t been able to meet the 14 August deadline for their second instalment of the participation fee of Rs 55 lakh and couldn’t even meet an extended deadline of 19 August noon, and the AIFF couldn’t afford to wait any longer as the ISL would now be run by the 13 clubs themselves with the federation acting as facilitator. It is, however, no secret that the default is a result of the club’s financial hardships — a factor attributed to the debacle of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal's recent Assembly elections.

Abhishek Banerjee, the influential TMC MP from Diamond Harbour, was the president and fundraiser of the club, which thrived under Spanish coach Kibo Vicuna and immediately made its mark on debut in the Calcutta Football League (CFL) to qualify for I-League 3.

In three subsequent seasons, Diamond Harbour FC went from strength to strength to win I-League 3, then I-League 2, and then the Indian Football League in 2025-26. Branded the fourth emerging force of Kolkata football, they were being primed for an ISL debut, but the election results in the state changed the picture drastically. 

Diamond Harbour FC became an 'untouchable' overnight, with reports that they were denied access to practice facilities at Central Park in Salt Lake. The footballers in the club rolls, along with support staff, have been left in the lurch, and it was not possible to reach any spokesperson to find out about future plans. They have not been able to field a team in the ongoing CFL either, meeting the same fate as Sreebhumi Sporting, another local club which enjoyed the support of Sujit Bose, an erstwhile influential minister of the Mamata Banerjee government, now in police custody.

The absence of Diamond Harbour FC, runners-up in last year’s Durand Cup, became a talking point in local football circles on Thursday once it became clear that they would be left in the cold, albeit for no fault of the footballers. Asked about the fate of the club, Dr Indranil Khan, the sports minister in the new BJP regime, told the media that the club was being probed for corrupt practices.

‘’There have been a lot of irregularities, violation of  match ethics and lots of allegations have come in. Lots of allegations of corruption, black money trail, allegations of forceful occupation and most importantly, allegations of unethical match practice, starting from fixing referees to fixing matches overall. Lot of allegations are coming up. They are all being investigated,’’ Khan said.

It’s a no brainer that the club’s fate will be in limbo for now unless there is a change of management. Asked whether the AIFF could have given them a longer rope, a senior AIFF official said: ‘’We are told that their accounts are frozen. In fact, we didn’t receive the first instalment of the participation fee of Rs 1.1 crore from them but agreed to set it against the prize money payable for winning the IFL. At this stage, we can’t afford to wait any longer as there are other issues to be tied up.’’

Interestingly, there is a precedent of Jamshedpur FC — owned by the Tata Group — transferring ownership to Goan heavyweights Churchill Brothers as the Tatas did not wish to invest in an ISL team any longer, for a token fee. Sources in the AIFF say that Inter Kashi, promotees from last season, are already looking for a buyout.

Will Diamond Harbour FC be lucky enough so that the local footballers don’t suffer as coach Vicuna has already left for greener pastures (assistant coach of Poland national team) ? It looks extremely unlikely as of now.

13 teams for ISL 2026-27: East Bengal, Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Mumbai City FC, Bengaluru FC, Churchill Brothers, Punjab FC, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters FC, North East United FC, Inter Kashi FC, Odisha FC, SC Delhi, Chennaiyin FC.