How many times have Mohun Bagan SG refused to release players for Indian Football team?

Seven Mohun Bagan SG players were withdrawn from India’s final squad ahead of the Unity Cup 2026

Mohun Bagan SG, who are also famously referred to as the National Club of India, have been in the news for all the wrong reasons after they called back their players from the Indian national camp ahead of the Unity Cup 2026.

This has massively affected India’s preparation for the prestigious Unity Cup 2026 as key names like Apuia, Liston Colaco, Sahal Abdul Samad and Vishal Kaith are all set to miss India’s historic debut in the Unity Cup as they set foot on British soil after 24 years.

Mohun Bagan SG have claimed that the Unity Cup 2026 falls outside the mandatory FIFA international match window, which officially opens on June 1, 2026. They have also said that releasing players for the national team has severely damaged the club’s domestic campaign due to injury concerns.

Such fallouts between clubs and the federation massively impact the players who are caught in a dilemma to choose between club and country. The Unity Cup 2026 is a golden opportunity for many players to play against higher ranked teams.

In this article, we find out various instances when Mohun Bagan SG have refused to officially release their players for the Indian national team camp.

Unity Cup 2026

India’s preliminary squad for Unity Cup had eight players from Mohun Bagan Super Giant while the final squad had 7 players from Mohun Bagan SG, and upon calling back the players, India’s squad travelling to London massively declined to just 18 players with Anwar Ali and Ashique Kuruniyan also getting injured.

Mohun Bagan SG refused to release seven of their Indian players from the final squad, including the likes of Vishal Kaith, Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Lalengmawia Ralte, Manvir Singh, and Liston Colaco.

Apart from stating that the Unity Cup 2026 falls out of FIFA’s International Window, Mohun Bagan SG also said that FIFA’s insurance program does not cover friendlies or tournaments hosted outside the official calendar.

They also alleged that two of their players, including captain Subashish Bose, who suffered a groin injury during international qualifiers, missed critical matches for the Mariners. Alongside, Ashique suffered an ACL tear during the 2023 King’s Cup while playing for India.

AIFF responded to the criticism and said, “Another piece of misinformation given by the said MBSG official is that the AIFF does not take care of the medical expenses of the players if they get injured. In the 2025-26 season alone, we have spent almost ₹15 lakhs on the treatment of injuries sustained by players of all senior and age group national teams, and their rehab thereafter”

CAFA Nations Cup 2025-26

There was a managerial change within the Indian football team as FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez made way for Jamshedpur FC head coach Khalid Jamil as the national team gaffer. It was Khalid’s first ever tournament as India coach, but he went to Tajikistan without big names like Thapa, Sahal and Kaith.

Mohun Bagan SG claimed that the CAFA Nations Cup was scheduled outside the designated FIFA International Match Window. The team qualified for AFC Champions League 2 and their first game was scheduled as early as September 16 and hence they did not want to risk their players.

However, things took a dramatic turn as Mohun Bagan SG withdrew from ACL 2 after refusing to travel to Iran to play Sepahan FC. AFC later punished them with $50,000 fine and also banned them from AFC competitions, even if they qualified by winning their domestic league.

However, Khalid Jamil’s men went on to shock everyone after defeating hosts Tajikistan in the opener and getting past Oman in the bronze medal game to clinch the bronze medal, even in the absence of top players.

AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers 2026

After taking over the reins of the U-23 side, Naushad Moosa completely transformed this team into one of the deadliest squads. After the senior men’s team failed to qualify for AFC Asian Cup, many felt that the U-23 team could do wonders in Qatar.

Mohun Bagan SG did not allow Suhail Bhat and Tekcham Abhishek Singh for an extended national camp. AIFF subsequently chose to completely drop the players from the travelling squad rather than integrating them late in the team.

India came close to qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers but fell short of a win against Qatar. India missed the clinical finishing by Suhail and those overlapping runs from Tekcham and had those two played against Qatar, things could have been different for the Blue Colts.

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