Churchill Brothers and three other clubs axed from I-League

New Delhi In a stunning development in Indian football twotime champions Churchill Brothers were today thrown out of the ILeague along with three other teams for failing to fulfil the AIFFs club licensing criteriaThe All India Football Federations Club Licensing Committee First Instance Body took the decision after its meeting here Two Kolkata clubs United SC and Mohammedan Sporting and Rangdajied United of Shillong were the other three teams which failed to clear the licensing criteriaAll the four clubs will be out of the ILeague for at least a yearInterestingly all the four clubs finished at the bottom four in the 13team ILeague 201314 which ended last month with Mohammedan Sporting finishing last and Churchill 11thUnder the AIFFs Club Licensing Regulations the clubs are expected to meet several legal administrative sporting infrastructure and financial criteria Licensing is an annual process where all clubs eligible to compete based on sporting merit need to have a License under the AIFFs Indian Club Licensing systemLast year only Pune FC met the requirements with all other clubs being given a once in a lifetime oneyear exemption Churchill had been one of the top club sides in the country in the last few years They won the ILeague title in 200809 and 201213 seasons and they are also the reigning Federation Cup champions Churchill are also one of the few clubs to have played in the AFC Cup ILeague Chief Executive Officer Sunando Dhar told PTI that the four clubs can come back in the ILeague 201516 but through the second division leagueThese licensing criteria are on annual basis They can come back in the 201516 season if they fulfil the criteria by then But they will have to play in the ILeague second division and qualify from there Dhar said Bengaluru FC Dempo SC Pune FC Salgaocar SC East Bengal Mohun Bagan Sporting Clube de Goa Mumbai FC and Shillong Lajong FC were the nine clubs which passed the licensing criteriaBased on the documents provided by all the parties concerned and the Inspection conducted by the AIFF Inspection Team in the month of AprilMay the Committee found that nine out of the 14 applicants have made the grade while four have failed the AIFF said in a statementBengaluru FC Dempo SC Pune FC Salgaocar SC East Bengal Mohun Bagan Sporting Clube de Goa Mumbai FC and Shillong Lajong FC have successfully fulfilled the Licensing Criteria while United SC Churchill Brothers Mohammedan Sporting and Rangdajied United have not been up to the mark thus bringing down the curtains on their participation in the forthcoming Football Season 201415 starting with the ILeague in DecemberNewly promoted Royal Wahingdoh of Shillong who won the ILeague second division have been given an onetime exemption applicable for a year only to tick all the boxesWahingdoh have done exceptionally well in several departments of Club Licensing in such a short time since qualifying for the ILeague Committee Chairman Dr Girija Mungali saidThey deserve a leeway being given to them under the Licensing regulations he added Mumbai FC and Shillong Lajong though have been granted only the National License compared to their counterparts who have both National as well as the AFC Certificate The two clubs cannot take part in AFC competition and even if they win the ILeague or the Federation Cup they cannot participate in the AFC Cup or the AFC Champions League playoffs Both these clubs do not have AFC A class Stadium but were fully compliant of the infrastructure requirement for the National License AIFFs Club Licensing Manager Roma Khanna statedHailing the remarkable progress of the clubs since last year when the committee was formed for the first time Dr Mungali said The nine clubs who have granted the License have come a long way since last year when only Pune FC passed They have all passed with flying colours and it is a heartening sign for Indian Football Clubs becoming professional is the best thing that can happen They have taken Licensing very seriously and credit goes to AIFF The Governing Body has played its role to perfection sensitising the issue s very diligently the chairman added FIFA Regional Developmental Officer for South and Central Asia Shaji Prabhakaran Advocate Ushanath Banerjee Chartered Accountant Punkaj Jain and Dhar are the other members of the First Instance BodyThe message has gone across that AIFF is very serious on licensing and I am glad at the progress of the clubs We have conducted two to three seminars since the First Instance Body met for the first time and gave the clubs a years exemption Dhar said We have been there to help the clubs at all time and we are committed to further aiding them in each and every department of Club Licensing Its nice to see most of them responding so well he added