Last Updated:
Sunil Chhetri urged Tata Group to reconsider pulling Jamshedpur FC from ISL, calling it a “gut punch” and “disaster” for Indian football.
Jamshedpur FC players celebrate after scoring a goal during the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) soccer match between Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC in Bangalore, India, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. Jamshedpur FC won the match 1-0. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
India football legend Sunil Chhetri has urged the Tata Group to reconsider its decision to pull Jamshedpur FC out of the Indian Super League (ISL). Chhetri said it was a ‘gut punch’ and a ‘disaster with no alternative’ for Indian football that one of its ‘pillars’ would no longer be associated with it, asking them to think from their hearts for the sport, even if continuing in the ISL is no longer a good business decision.
The decision was reportedly led by the board at the Tata Group, who believed that continuing the participation in ISL was no longer financially viable for the company. It made them the 20th club to shut shop since 2002, and perhaps the most prominent yet, with a significant fanbase in central India, and a true legacy of support for Indian football in its toughest times.
Chhetri touched on that in his remark, too.
“It takes a lot to be a stakeholder in Indian football,” Chhetri said on X. “It has been like that for some time now. But when everything around looks like it will crumble, you bank on family to hold on to each other. And more often than not, it is the elders in the house that you turn to, for assurance. All of you at the TATA Group, through TFA first, and then @JamshedpurFC, have been one of our pillars,” he added.
“To know that Jamshedpur has folded first team operations is a punch to the gut. The players and staff will be without clubs, and they might find one by the end of it all. The League will have a team less, but the season will go on. However, not having the TATA group involved in the top tier of Indian football – that would be a disaster with no alternative. I understand that some tough decisions in sport are down to what makes sense in the boardroom. But I can only request and hope that the think tank at TATA picks their heart over head and reconsiders this call. It might be a poor business decision, but it will be the one Indian football needs the most at this hour,” he added.
August 02, 2026, 16:29 IST
Read More
