Soccer-Jamshedpur players make emotional appeal to club owners to reconsider shutdown

Jamshedpur FC players have released a video appealing to the Tata Group to reconsider their decision to shut down the Indian Super League club, citing shock and uncertainty among the players.

A day after Indian Super League club ​Jamshedpur FC announced they were shutting ​down, some of their players ‌released ​a video appealing to the owners, Tata Group, to rethink the decision. Jamshedpur said on Friday they were pulling out ‌of the top-flight ISL, which is yet to give a start date for the 2026-27 season, with a broadcasting partner still to be finalised.

The ISL had a shorter ‌format last season as the Indian federation (AIFF) and Reliance Industries did not renew ‌their commercial partnership, ending a 15-year collaboration amid a Supreme Court case to implement a new AIFF constitution. The league, under a new management model led by clubs, has struggled to grow, with India ⁠ranked a ​lowly 138th in ⁠the world.

"It's been a shock for us ... we were told the club is going to shut operations ⁠and we won't continue after the (ongoing) Durand Cup," said defender Pratik Chaudhari in a video ​posted on his X account on Saturday. Jamshedpur, launched in 2017 by one ⁠of India's biggest conglomerates, won the ISL League Winners' Shield in 2021-22 and reached the final of ⁠the ​domestic Super Cup last year.

Several Jamshedpur players were seen with Chaudhari in the video, as some wiped away tears. "We would like to say on behalf of ⁠all the players, please do rethink about this. Because if this happens, this is ⁠not just a ⁠loss for Indian football ... this is a big loss for all of India," Chaudhari added.

"Please don't let this be the final ‌whistle for ‌Jamshedpur FC."