Hyderabad FC’s employees write to AFC in quest for justice

The ISL outfit have not paid various employees since February 2023.

In 2019, Indian Super League club FC Pune City, established in 2014, shut down without any communication with their fans. Later, various players, staff and non-playing employees claimed that they hadn’t received their salaries from the management. Ironically, Hyderabad FC, who bought the license of Pune City FC before the 2019-20 season, are now in an even worse condition. Unlike top leagues worldwide that conduct background checks on owners before allowing the sale of any club, it remains questionable whether the ISL did any due diligence before permitting the sale of Pune City’s license to Hyderabad FC.

As of 14 June, 2024, Hyderabad FC are facing eight bans for three transfer windows from FIFA for non-payment to their foreign players and coaches. These bans can be lifted only after the club clear all dues. Meanwhile, the AIFF Players’ Status Committee has sanctioned the club in four cases, imposing an unconditional ban for two transfer windows, which cannot be lifted even if Hyderabad clear all dues.

A Struggle for Justice

One of the decisions by the Status Committee, accessed by Khel Now, highlights the severity of the situation. Section 4.5 reads:

“On this note, the AIFF Players’ Status Committee, taking into account the egregious conduct of the Respondent, especially when the relevant breach is so blatant and unjustified as in the matter at hand has directed that sporting sanctions be levied against the Respondent Club in accordance with Article 20.6 of the AIFF Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players as follows:

The club shall be banned from registering any new players, for 2 (two) entire and consecutive registration periods. The club shall be able to register new players, only as of the next registration period following the complete serving of the relevant sporting sanction. It is clarified that this ban will take effect from the next registration window onwards and shall be governed in accordance with Article 20.6 of the AIFF Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players and any other relevant AIFF Statutes.”

While players and coaches are protected by FIFA and AIFF regulations, ensuring they eventually receive their dues, the situation for non-playing staff remains dire. Numerous employees, unpaid since February 2023, are facing significant hardships, including mounting debts and medical emergencies within their families. The financial strain is one aspect; their mental well-being is another crucial concern.

The plight of dedicated employees

To delve deeper into this issue, Khel Now spoke to 16 employees affected by the non-payment. Many of these employees have been with the club since their inaugural season in 2019-20.

“From the very first day, there used to be delays in the payments, but players and staff were accommodating with the delays as the focus was on the betterment of the club, at times even spending from our own pocket. The club captains even communicated to defer their salaries as long as it ensures the lower-paid employees do not suffer. A two-month delay was normal for all of us,” said one department head who has been part of the club since 2019.

Things took a turn for the worse at the start of the 2023-24 season where it felt as if the club had run out of money. The Nizams started their pre-season more than three weeks late, as the players refused to assemble in Hyderabad, leaving Conor Nestor with just six days of training sessions before the first competitive game of the Durand Cup. At one point. there were three different bans imposed on the club and the status of lifting them was unknown.

“Players were asked to play Durand Cup matches after having done just six days of training sessions against teams with more than four weeks of pre-season training. The boys were forced to play two full games in just five days, without enough outfield players available on the bench, as almost half of the squad couldn’t be registered due to the transfer ban. We were all extremely worried about the players’ health at the time,” said a senior member of the medical team.

False promises & continued hardship

Many employees returned to work in the pre-season, assured by the club of securing investment. Their passion for the club kept them going, despite ongoing delays in payment and in spite of receiving offers from other clubs.

The club also misled players’ agents, promising to clear dues soon, while preventing players from transferring in the summer 2023 window.

“Hyderabad FC could have easily secured Rs 6-7 crores or more in transfer fees by selling Chinglensana Singh, Nim Dorjee Tamang, Nikhil Poojary, Hitesh Sharma and Mohammed Yasir in the summer transfer window. But, the club kept telling player representatives that they didn’t want to sell and would clear dues soon after securing investment,” said a top FIFA player agent.

“Shockingly, the club’s stance didn’t change even when the winter transfer window opened in January 2024,” added the agent.

Sana Singh joined Bengaluru FC, Nim Dorjee Tamang joined FC Goa, Nikhil Poojary joined Bengaluru FC, and Mohammed Yasir joined FC Goa for free after the AIFF allowed them to terminate their contracts due to non-payment of salaries.

“It’s unfortunate that the club handled the situation so badly that we had to borrow medical equipment like tape from our counterparts at other clubs before or during the game. The club were playing with the safety and well-being of these young players throughout the season. They ignored the medical staff’s feedback about enough training sessions, rest and recovery periods necessary to play at this level without getting injured. What we feared happened: two players suffered ACL injuries during the Super Cup in January 2024 without any contact, just because of fatigue, lack of recovery and not getting access to experienced medical care as the whole medical team was replaced just a couple of days before the Super Cup,” added another senior member of the medical department.

A desperate plea for help

In December 2023, during the ISL break for the AFC Asian Cup, employees wrote to the club’s senior management and owner, stating that December would be their last month if their dues were not cleared. They offered to continue working if partial payments were made, but the club did not acknowledge their email neither was there any discussion of a payment plan from the ownership.

“Instead of talking to us collectively, club management spoke to a few people in private and promised to clear their payments. This felt like a divide-and-rule policy,” said another employee.

Foreign players and staff did not return after the Christmas break, forcing the club to play the Super Cup with their young reserve squad. The club hired temporary staff in January 2024 to ensure they could continue playing in Super Cup 2024 and the remaining ISL matches.

After receiving no communication from the club, many employees wrote to the AIFF and FSDL but received no acknowledgement from either party. On 29 March 2024, 16 Hyderabad FC employees wrote to the AIFF club licensing department, which acknowledged their plea. They hoped this would pressure the club to pay them as they continued to struggle for basic amenities.

Khel Now accessed the email, which read:

“On behalf of the erstwhile employees of Hyderabad FC, I would like to state on record that an amount of 1.12 Crores INR (excluding TDS) is currently due towards 16 former employees across the Hyderabad FC First Team Support Staff, Management, and Operations Team from February 2023 until December 2023. We request you to kindly keep this in mind while evaluating Hyderabad FC’s submission of F.04 (No Overdue Payables Towards Employees and Social/Tax Authorities) under ICLR Edition 2024 – ICLS Premier 1, especially if the club mentions otherwise.”

On 5 June 2024, a reminder was sent to the AIFF and the same was forwarded to the AFC, hoping that someone would hear the plea of Hyderabad FC’s employees.

“We have written to AIFF and AFC and both the governing bodies are closely monitoring the situation. We were obligated to look for solutions ourselves as there was no clear channel of communication. None of the players or staff deserve to be in the situation they find themselves in. I hope all stakeholders can come together and find a concrete solution so that Hyderabad FC can return to being a competitive team,” said Appu Jose, former sporting director of Hyderabad FC.

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