MARGAO
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) found itself in an unprecedented situation on Saturday when it presented the 2024-25 I-League trophy to Inter Kashi, six months after handing it to Churchill Brothers in Goa.
The AIFF had announced late on Friday that the trophy would be presented to Inter Kashi after their Super Cup clash against Jamshedpur FC at GMC Athletic Stadium, Bambolim. It remained unclear whether the ‘original’ trophy awarded to Churchill Brothers in April would be handed over.
Inter Kashi reportedly spent around ₹3.5 crore to secure two victories at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which declared them champions. Churchill Brothers, however, have refused to return the trophy, citing the matter as sub judice in Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court, despite the dismissal of their request to suspend the CAS order on September 25.
“CAS has never asked us to return the trophy till date. But the final order is yet to be given. We are awaiting the final order from CAS and we will challenge the same in the Swiss Federal Tribunal,” Churchill Brothers said in a statement. “We are extremely shocked by the manner in which the AIFF is dealing with the matter.”
Unable to retrieve the original trophy from Churchill Brothers, the AIFF reportedly commissioned a new trophy, which was flown to Panaji for the presentation on Saturday.
CAS had declared Inter Kashi champions on July 18 after upholding their appeal regarding the registration of a foreign player, Marco Barco, and had directed that no trophy presentation should be held at that time. Despite this, the AIFF went ahead with Churchill Brothers’ coronation in April, claiming the secretariat was “closed” on Sundays.
AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan and the President of the Goa Football Association Caitano Fernandes awarded the trophy and medals to the Inter Kashi team. They also received the prize money, a cheque of Rs 1 crore.
Elated at receiving the trophy, Chairman of RDB Group of Companies, Vinod Dugar, owner of Inter Kashi, said, “When the trophy initially went to Churchill Brothers, we weren’t disappointed. For us, the spirit of football matters more than anything. We respect the AIFF’s authority and the process that followed. The CAS decision brought clarity, and we accepted it gracefully either way,” Dugar avered.
President of the club, Prithijit Das, said, “Victory is finally ours, and we thank the AIFF for being fair and upholding the spirit of the game. They supported the real winners, and now with the trophy, medals, and promotion to the ISL, the journey feels complete.”
“We now wait for November 5 to find out what’s happening with the Indian Super League, after which we’ll plan and build a strong team to compete at the next level,” he said.
