All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey has appealed to the Tata Group to reconsider its decision to withdraw Jamshedpur FC from the Indian Super League (ISL), saying the governing body would welcome any move that keeps one of Indian football’s most influential institutions in the country’s top flight.
The Tata Group recently confirmed that Jamshedpur FC will exit the ISL as part of a long-planned strategy to focus on grassroots football development. Tata Steel vice-president (Corporate Services) D B Sundara Ramam also clarified that the decision had nothing to do with the uncertainty surrounding the ISL’s commercial future and would not be reconsidered.
Despite that stance, Chaubey said the AIFF remains hopeful of a change of heart.
APPEAL TO TATA
“AIFF would be happy if Tata remains in football, especially in senior top-tier football. If an AIFF request or application can change their mind, the AIFF would like to appeal that, for the interest of the players and football, Tata should remain in the senior football league,” Chaubey told PTI.
“The AIFF welcomes any suggestion and is ready to incorporate the suggestions to ensure the best outcome,” he added.
Tata Steel has already assured that Jamshedpur FC will honour all existing player contracts and help footballers find new clubs following the team’s withdrawal from the ISL.
Chaubey, however, believes the Tata Group’s decision cannot be viewed purely through a financial lens.
“It’s all about, I think, some decision in the boardroom. And I’m sure there are reasons, but it cannot be for Rs 1.1 crore participation fee or management fee. It is not that,” he said.
“They are aware of the football fans’ reaction, but I assume this cannot be only a financial decision because Tata has many enterprises and businesses.”
TATA’S LEGACY
The former India goalkeeper, who graduated from the Tata Football Academy (TFA), paid tribute to the corporate giant’s contribution to Indian football, describing the academy as one of the country’s greatest football institutions.
“We have seen many corporates become very prominent over the last few decades, but we have also seen many corporates go bankrupt thereafter. But Tata is different. It has gained that respect, earned that respect among Indians,” Chaubey said.
“Tata will never consider sports merely as a medium for business, revenue generation, profit, or loss. They have done so much for Indian sport. They have invested in archery and several other areas, and in football, I think most of the youth development system has come through the Tata Football Academy.”
Chaubey also recalled how the academy narrowly escaped closure in the early 1990s after its youth teams impressed during tournaments in Germany and the Netherlands.
“…it was rumoured that TFA would be closed down… But since we won two tournaments in Germany and the Netherlands at the junior level, it became a headline in London. So officers from the London Tata office came and met us. They gave us incentives… So that’s how the Tata Football Academy continued, which was supposed to be closed down in 1992,” he revealed.
Reflecting on his own journey, Chaubey said he owed much of his football education to the academy.
“I learned football through Tata Football Academy. Since 1987 till date, nearly 275 or more players have graduated from TFA. I am also one among them and perhaps Renedy Singh and myself served the longest period in the Tata Football Academy,” he said.
With Jamshedpur FC set to leave the ISL, the Tata Group’s direct involvement in India’s top-tier club football appears to be coming to an end. But the AIFF hopes the company’s long-standing commitment to the game can still persuade it to rethink a decision that many believe would leave a significant void in Indian football.
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