One team outright refused to hand over the champion’s trophy to the winner of the tournament

On one hand, hundreds of crores were spent on the Lionel Messi G.O.A.T. tour in India; on the other, the future of the Indian Super League (ISL) hangs in the balance due to multiple factors, including finances. Indian football is truly in a state of despair, with no international success and no qualification for the World Cup or the AFC Asian Cup.

And when India’s top-tier league or international team is on the cusp of collapse, how can things be any better in the lower leagues? Take the I-League for instance, which is now considered India’s second-tier league—do you know there was a tug of war for the trophy of the tournament this year between two teams? The court had to intervene to determine the winner of the 2024-25 I-League season.

In this year-end sports article, check out the tug of trophy between Inter Kashi and Churchill Brothers.

Initial champions

(Credit- Outlook India)

The matter dates back to the beginning of the year, when Churchill Brothers, one of the oldest football clubs in India, won the I-League with 40 points. Things should’ve been straightforward with Churchill Brothers gaining a promotion to the ISL. However, Inter Kashi, a two-year-old new club, took matters to court. But why?

Namdhari’s mistake

Inter Kashi capitalised on a mistake made by another club, Namdhari FC, which had fielded a player named Cledson Carvalho de Silva against Inter Kashi on January 13. Kashi claimed that Silva shouldn’t have played against them, given that he had accumulated four yellow cards and, therefore, was ineligible to play under the rulebook.

Inter Kashi had lost that game, but after taking the matter to court, the loss was reversed, and Inter Kashi received three points, putting them above Churchill Brothers. The matter went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which gave its decision in Kashi’s favour.

Two-pronged attack

Namdhari FC was not the only team that got into a legal battle with Inter Kashi. Churchill Brothers questioned Inter Kashi for the signing of Mario Barco. As per the rulebook, a player may be signed three times over the years. However, Barco’s signing was a different situation.

For the record, Mario Barco was signed but ruled out of the season due to an injury. However, another Inter Kashi player was injured, so Mario Barco was re-signed. Churchill Brothers questioned how an already injured player ruled out for the season can be signed back to replace another injured player.

However, CAS said that Inter Kashi was well within the permissible rules regarding the registration of foreign players and therefore reinstated the four points deducted by AIFF. Thus, Inter Kashi became the I-League 2024-25 winner.

Tug of trophy

Despite the court’s decision, Churchill Brothers refused to hand over the trophy to Inter Kashi. At the end, AIFF gave a replica of the trophy to Inter Kashi, stating, “Despite letters to return the trophy, Churchill Brothers did not do so. We will pursue the matter. But since the whole team was here for the Super Cup, we have presented a replica of the trophy as per the CAS order.”

As the year comes to an end, we hope Indian football will undergo a massive overhaul in 2026 so that it can start climbing towards much-needed success.