Panaji: Nine years after successfully bidding for Jamshedpur to have its own franchise in the Indian Super League (ISL), Tata Steel has withdrawn its team, Jamshedpur FC, from the top tier football league.The steel giants won the bid with Jamshedpur in 2017. Since then, the club won plenty of affection, drawing massive crowd for their home games at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, a place everyone fondly calls ‘The Furnace’. The club even emerged champions in 2021-2022 under Owen Coyle, but when the ISL kicks off in October, the former champions will be missing.“Jamshedpur FC would like to confirm that it will not be participating in ISL from 2026-27 season onwards,” the club said in a statement on Friday. “JFSPL remains committed, in other capacities, to the continued growth and development of football in India. We will continue in our endeavour to promote and develop the game of football, including at the grassroots level. We will continue to identify and develop young football talent across India to create a strong pathway for young players from grassroots to national and international football.”The club did not say why they were forced to withdraw from the top tier league. Sources said there were concerns over growing losses, while questions over the league’s sustainability were also raised in some quarters.Jamshedpur have already communicated their decision to the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Club CEO Mukul Choudhari also convened a staff meeting and told them that the senior team will no longer continue, leaving almost 50 admin and technical staff – across first team, youth and grassroots – fretting.The pullout is a huge blow to India’s top tier football league, which for the first time has a club-led model. The clubs will collectively operate the league through an appropriate league operating entity while the federation retains a 10% ownership interest in the league structure.Jamshedpur have at least 12 senior team players on long term contracts, besides ISL-winning coach Owen Coyle also remains contracted. There is no word on how the club will handle their situation. Six other players who were signed this season are on short-term contracts, onboarded exclusively for Durand Cup duty. These players include former India midfielder Raynier Fernandes, Abhishek Ambekar, Aman CK, Devendra Murgaokar, Leewan Castanha and Provat Lakra.Jamshedpur’s senior team is currently participating in the Durand Cup.The Tata Group has a long-standing relationship with football, starting with its Mumbai-based team that won top tourneys like the Durand Cup, IFA Shield and Rovers Cup. Tatas also created a residential football academy, one that in almost three decades has given India teams close to 150 players.Tata Steel also brought to India some top clubs of Europe (PSV Eindhoven) and South America (Sao Paulo) for friendlies against India.
