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Kolkata giants Mohammedan Sporting SC have decided to not participate in major national football tournaments for the next year, and will focus on infrastructure development. One of the oldest clubs in the country, and a part of the original big 3, along with East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, the club took this decision in a working committee meeting on Saturday in the wake of a crippling financial crisis and the inability to meet the licensing criteria.
The club had not paid their players and coaching staff for the last 3 months, and were coming under increasing pressure from all sides to do the same. The club had also been axed from the I-League for failing to meet the necessary licensing criteria.
In a statement to the media, the club president, Sultan Ahmed, said: “All these speculations that the club was being shut down are baseless. The club working committee decided Saturday not to take part in major tournaments like I-League second division and Durand Cup this time. We have been unable to meet the AIFF club licensing criteria.
“We are facing financial difficulties. We will work on our infrastructure improvement plan. From 2015-16 we will again take part in second division I-League.”
The club was found lagging behind in many sections pertaining to Sporting, Personnel & Administrative, Financial, Legal and Infrastructure as underlined by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Also, without proper sponsors, they were unable to raise the money necessary and were running into major losses.
They are the reigning Durand Cup champions, and will not be defending their title, but will take part in Calcutta Football League Premier Division, the IFA Shield and invitational tourneys next season.
