Odisha FC owner opens up after club's withdrawal from Super Cup; rues 'mistrust' from fans

Rohan Sharma took to his social media handle to express his disappointment.

Odisha FC’s owner Rohan Sharma has come out boldly to clear his stance in the wake of criticism that followed after the club’s decision not to participate in the Super Cup. In his statement on X (formerly Twitter), the club owner tried to put across the factors that led to this decision.

Recently, the All India Football Federation had invited 13 Indian Super League clubs and 3 I League clubs to take part in the upcoming Super Cup, which will be held in Goa from October 25 to November 22. All the clubs, barring Odisha FC and Churchill Brothers FC, have confirmed their participation.

Odisha FC‘s absence from the Super Cup elicited sharp reactions from the fans and neutrals alike. The fans expressed their anger over this decision from the club’s ownership. This furore had been building up for some time due to the dodgy administration of the club, which has now come out in the form of severe backlash.

Apology to Odisha FC fans

Rohan Sharma did not shy away from expressing his disappointment with the way the fans have reacted to the club’s withdrawal from the Super Cup. The Odisha FC owner made it clear that it is not feasible for the club to commit to the Super Cup without having a clear roadmap for the Indian Super League, as that will have a significant bearing on the revenue streams.

In his tweet, Sharma said, “I know trying to empathize from an owner’s perspective is hard and often ridiculous, but I can’t plan a season without knowing the income coming in. We still have no official start date for the league and we don’t even have a TV sponsor. How can I justify a spend to my board if NOTHING is coming in? What I requested to be sent to the AIFF was (paraphrasing) ‘Once we have clarity on league dates and clarity of receivables, We’d be more than happy to participate.'”

However, the owner also expressed solidarity with the fans in tough times for the club and issued an apology for not participating in India’s premier cup competition, which also has an AFC Champions League 2 play-off spot on offer.

“I wish it wasn’t so business-minded, and I do genuinely apologize to the fans, but unfortunately, football has become an expensive business, and like any business, I can’t plan without knowing what are income is. This is a basic business principle. Other clubs have different ways of funding the club, and maybe have different bandwidth, but I unfortunately have limits. I wish that wasn’t the case! I can’t sell sponsors on a league that doesn’t have a starting date!! What am I promising them?” read the tweet from Rohan Sharma.

Also Read: Goa to host Super Cup, 12 ISL teams confirm participation with schedule decided

Transfer of ownership not possible under current circumstances

With the way things have been going on at the club, there have been calls from the fans to sell the club to a financially robust party that can put in enduring investments. Reacting to those demands, the club owner categorically claimed that a transfer of ownership is not possible in the current situation, where there is chaos and scepticism over the future of the ISL.

“For those who want me to sell. Again when there’s no league contract, no tv rights, no guarantee that this same league issue will crop up again next year, what am I selling? Why would someone buy into this when there’s no roadmap yet?”

Reassuring the fans that the club would be back on track when there’s a concrete roadmap about the future of the ISL, he said, “I’ve said it countless times, once the ISL dates are released, we will participate. No questions asked. No debate needed.”

Gutted with ‘mistrust’

The Odisha FC owner conveyed his dismay over the ‘mistrust’ of his decisions. In his tweet, Rohan Sharma pointed out that he has done all in his capacity to run the club in the best way possible despite numerous challenges.

He lambasted, saying, “I don’t know why there’s so much mistrust around me, I haven’t conned anyone; I’ve tried my best to do what I can with the resources I have. Yes I’ve made MANY mistakes along the way, but It hasn’t been from a sinister place. I’ve had to balance politics, fans, finances, and personnel since I was 25 with little to no allies. I was hoping by being more public about issues, that you’d see the transparency, but in the end my words often get forgotten or twisted (outside of my banter).”

“It’s been very challenging to run a club, I have tried to surround myself with different types of people from CEOs with experience, to footballing legends, to world class academies hoping to get insights and to improve how to run things. There have been small success stories but ultimately, I keep running into obstacles that are not “football.” Maybe its because I don’t have an established “big” company here in India, I don’t know. But I really hoped that people would see I’m not trying to be an obstacle for the progression of Indian Football.”

Odisha FC had an underwhelming campaign in the previous Indian Super League season, finishing 7th in the league. The poor performance on the pitch, combined with the off-the-pitch complications, has plagued the club in the last twelve months. The fans would be desperately praying for this period of gloom to end and a revival of fortunes for the club.

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