AIFF provides clarity on giving I-League trophy to Inter Kashi after Churchill Brothers shout foul

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Saturday provided clarity on giving the I-League trophy – a new one – to Inter Kashi after Churchill Brothers claimed that the entire procedure was ‘illegal’.

“All actions taken by the Federation are in accordance with applicable operational guidelines and after appropriate legal consultations,” the AIFF said in a statement.

The development comes after the Court of Arbitration of Sport set aside the AIFF Appeals Committee’s decision – to deduct four points from Kashi – and declared the Varanasi-based side champions instead of provisional table-topper Churchill Brothers on July 18.

The ruling was challenged by Churchill in the Swiss Federal Court, which rejected it again on July 29.

“Based on the explanation given by the appellant, it cannot be concluded that the interests of the latter clearly outweigh those of Inter Kashi FC, as both clubs involved are at risk of not being able to play in the first division of the Indian Championship,” the court said in its order.

“Under these circumstances, the application for the grant of suspensive effect on a preliminary and provisional basis, as well as for the pronouncement of supervisory and interim measures, must therefore be rejected.”

However, by then the AIFF had completed its awards ceremony, giving Churchill Brothers the winners’ trophy on April 27, which has not been returned following the court’s decision.

As a result, the Federation chose to give Kashi a new replica of the rolling trophy.

“I can understand Churchill’s pain that after fighting so hard, after so many years, they had a chance to win the I-League,” said Kashi president Prithigit Das. Sports stars.

«If they hadn’t made that mistake in the Aizawl match against the foreigner (illegal substitution of Aubin Kouakou), or if they had scored that chance (90th minute) in Kashmir, none of this would have happened. You lost, you have to accept it.»

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Churchill has still not accepted the verdict and moved the Delhi High Court in September, seeking Kashi’s disqualification for playing its home matches in Kalyani despite being a club based in Varanasi.

«The (old) trophy is with me and the matter is with the court. What they (AIFF) are doing is illegal,» Churchill Alemao, the club’s owner, told reporters. Sports stars.

“For years, the number of fans in Goa had been declining, and just as Goa woke up again – when more than 10,000 people packed the stadium in Raia to take home the trophy – what was earned on the field is now being taken off the field,” the club also said in a statement.

Kashi, meanwhile, celebrated the ‘biggest day’ in its history on Saturday and received the trophy and winners’ medals from AIFF’s Deputy General Secretary M. Satyanarayanan and Goa Football Association President Caitano Fernandes.

With the first trophy in the cupboard, it will now play in the Indian Super League, the highest division of men’s football, in the 2025-2026 season.

Published on November 2, 2025