‘Don't disrespect India’, Sports Minister warns ISL clubs over national team player releases

Government signals stricter stance after concerns over clubs withholding players from India duty.

The future of the Indian Super League (ISL) dominated discussions during Monday’s meeting between club representatives, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and AIFF officials in New Delhi.

While much of the conversation focused on the league’s commercial structure and long-term operating model, the Indian national football team also emerged as a major topic.

According to sources present at the meeting, AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey raised several issues related to improving the national team, including the development of Indian forwards, greater involvement of Indian coaches and the recruitment of Players of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) in ISL. 

However, one of the strongest interventions came from Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya when the discussion turned towards clubs withholding players from national team duty.

The issue was raised after a club representative suggested that competitions such as the Durand Cup and Federation Cup should become all-Indian tournaments without foreign players.

During the discussion, Mandaviya referred to incidents where clubs had refused to release players for India duty and stressed that national interest must come first.

According to sources, the Sports Minister said that he was informed by the AIFF President that one club had withdrawn six to seven players shortly before the Indian team was scheduled to fly to London for the Unity Cup.

“You can have a problem with Kalyan Chaubey or me, but don’t go against India and the national interest. If this happens again, we will take action,” Mandaviya allegedly said, according to attendees present at the meeting.

The remarks were among the strongest made by a government official on the growing club-versus-country debate in Indian football.

A recurring issue in Indian football

The conflict between ISL club commitments and national team duty is not new.

Over the last few years, several ISL clubs have either refused to release players or limited their availability whenever tournaments or training camps have fallen outside FIFA’s official international calendar.

ISL clubs have often cited concerns over player welfare, club insurance coverage outside international window and scheduling conflicts. However, such decisions have repeatedly disrupted India’s preparations.

Here are four notable examples.

Unity Cup 2026: Seven players withdrawn before departure

India’s preparations for the Unity Cup suffered a major setback after Mohun Bagan Super Giant withdrew seven players from the national squad.

The club maintained that the tournament was being held outside FIFA’s official international window, meaning players would not be covered under FIFA’s insurance programme in the event of injury.

Kerala Blasters also did not make some players available for the competition, leaving India with a significantly weakened squad ahead of the tournament.

CAFA Nations Cup 2025-26

Khalid Jamil’s first tournament as India head coach began under difficult circumstances.

Mohun Bagan declined to release several first-team players, including Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad and Vishal Kaith, citing their AFC Champions League Two commitments and the tournament’s scheduling outside the FIFA window.

Despite missing several key players, India went on to win the bronze medal.

Asian Games 2023: Club and country tensions surface

The build-up to the Asian Games became one of the most public examples of the club-versus-country conflict.

With the football tournament overlapping with the start of the ISL season and falling outside FIFA’s calendar, several ISL clubs were reluctant to release players.

The disagreement created uncertainty around squad selection and preparations, forcing AIFF into lengthy negotiations with ISL clubs before the tournament.

AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers: Extended camp denied

Ahead of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers, Mohun Bagan did not allow Suhail Bhat and Tekcham Abhishek Singh to join the national team’s extended preparation camp.

Rather than bringing them into the squad later, AIFF decided not to include either player in the travelling contingent.

India narrowly missed qualification, and many observers felt the absence of the two youngsters had an impact on the campaign.

Strong message ahead of future call-ups

Mandaviya’s remarks suggest that both the government and AIFF are increasingly concerned by the recurring disputes over player availability.

While clubs continue to argue that they must protect their sporting interests and financial investments, the message delivered during Monday’s meeting was clear: national team commitments should not become secondary when India are preparing for international competition.

Whether that warning leads to stricter policies remains to be seen, but for the first time, the issue appears to have reached the highest levels of Indian sport administration.

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