Sunil Chhetri's emotional public appeal to TATA Group to reconsider Jamshedpur FC's shutdown; ‘is a punch to the gut’

Former Indian football tea captain Sunil Chhetri is the latest to come out in public and appeal to the TATA Group to reconsider their decision of shutting down Jamshedpur FC's first-team operations. One of the pillars of Indian football since 2017, Jamshedpur FC on July 31 put out a statement, stating they longer will participate in the Indian Super League (ISL).

In fact, the ongoing Durand Cup, in which Jamshedpur FC is currently competing, will be their last tournament for the first team. Describing the development as "a punch to the gut", Chhetri warned that Indian football cannot afford to lose one of its strongest institutional supporters.

“It takes a lot to be a stakeholder in Indian football. It has been like that for some time now. But when everything around looks like it will crumble, you bank on family to hold on to each other. And more often than not, it is the elders in the house that you turn to, for assurance. All of you at the TATA Group, through TFA first, and then @JamshedpurFC, have been one of our pillars,” Chhetri wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) post.

“To know that Jamshedpur has folded first team operations is a punch to the gut. The players and staff will be without clubs, and they might find one by the end of it all. The League will have a team less, but the season will go on. However, not having the TATA Group involved in the top tier of Indian football - that would be a disaster with no alternative,” he added.

“I understand that some tough decisions in sport are down to what makes sense in the board room. But I can only request and hope that the think tank at TATA picks their heart over head and reconsiders this call. It might be a poor business decision, but it will be the one Indian football needs the most at this hour,” stated Chhetri, who plays for Bengaluru FC in ISL.

JFC to continue in grassroots development

While confirming its exit from the ISL, JFSPL said it would continue contributing to Indian football through grassroots development and youth programmes, reiterating its commitment to identifying and nurturing young talent across the country.

Founded ahead of the 2017-18 ISL season, Jamshedpur FC spent nine seasons in India's top-flight league. The club's greatest achievement came in the 2021-22 campaign when it won the ISL League Shield under head coach Owen Coyle. It also reached the playoffs in the 2024-25 season under Khalid Jamil.

The club is currently competing in the ongoing Durand Cup, although it remains uncertain whether it will complete the tournament following the announcement of its withdrawal from the ISL.

Jamshedpur FC players make appeal

Earlier on Saturday, the Jamshedpur FC players together appealed to the TATA Group to reconsider their decision. “It's been a shock for us since yesterday when we heard the news. we were told that the club is going to shut operations and we won't continue after the Durand Cup. We were confused, we were angry and we were worried about the future. we still are,” defender Pratik Chaudhari said.

“It was very unexpected because it is Tatas. We have always trusted the name, the brand. Everyone here had offered from several different clubs, but we chose Tatas because its a brand. There is a trust thing that comes in when you hear Tatas,” added Chaudhari, who has been with the club since 2022.

“We have tried our best in the last few years and in the last decade we have achieved a fair bit of success. On behalf of all the players, I appeal to rethink about this (withdrawing from ISL) because if it happens, its a big loss for India, not just only football and sports in the country," he said.