Chennai City FC owners transfer sporting license

The outfit won the I-League in the 2018-19 season.

Chennai City FC owner has transferred the sporting license and is out of footballing activities. The new owners will have to start the club from scratch which means they will now have to progress from the lower leagues at the state level. When Khel Now approached a source close to the matter, the person informed us, "Yes, we've transferred the sporting license. Out of football for now."

The club played an integral part in Tamil Nadu football by giving opportunities to local players. Michael Soosairaj, Edwin Sydney Vanspaul, Alexander Romario Jesuraj, Nandhakumar Sekar, Jockson Dhas and Ajith Kumar have all played in the I-League for Chennai City FC and later made their mark in the ISL.

Champions of the I-League

It became the second club from Tamil Nadu to play in the top division after the Indian Bank Recreational Club in National Football League. From 2016 they played regularly in the I-League (until 2020-21) with the home matches being played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Coimbatore. They won the 2018-19 I-League season which turned out to be the most successful one in the club's history.

Uruguay forward Pedro Manzi turned out to be the star scoring 21 goals and a record four hat-tricks. The following season, Pedro got an opportunity to play for Albirex Niigata (Japan's 2nd division league) and is currently contracted with Rajasthan United FC.

After a successful I-League season, Chennai City FC tied up with FC Basel from Switzerland. This was a major move for Indian football in 2019 as it would benefit the Indian players. FC Basel had also bought 26 per cent of the stakes from the I-League outfit.