Mohammedan Sporting take break, to be back in 2015

“We had our executive committee meeting on October 18 and decided to call time. We approached several companies and well-wishers but didn’t get a positive response. We have 2,000 life members and they pay a one-time fee of Rs 15,000. Annual members (4,800) pay Rs 516 per year. This is our only source of income which is not enough to build a team to take part in major tournaments. No more football this term. Next season we will play only the Calcutta Football League if the situation doesn’t get better. But I want to make it very clear that we are not disbanding our team. We can’t do it, for this is a supporter-based club,” he added. \

Mohammedan Sporting spent around Rs 8 crore last season after qualifying for the I-League first division. Then, after the relegation, they cut their budget down to Rs 3.5 crore this year. All of it came through personal contributions.

“The AIFF doesn’t pay the clubs to play in the second division I-League. According to them, we also didn’t comply with the AFC club licensing guidelines to be eligible for the first division. We’ve been wronged but the reality is that we won’t be allowed to play in the top tier even if we win the second division league. So what’s the point?” he said.

The players are understandably frustrated. They haven’t received their salaries for the past two months. More importantly, they haven’t trained since the Calcutta League got over mid-September, where Sporting finished fourth.