When Inter Kashi FC lifted the I-League 2024–25 trophy in April, it seemed like a triumph of sporting merit the culmination of India’s long-promised open-league structure.
But beneath the celebrations lies an uncomfortable truth: this historic promotion to the Indian Super League (ISL) was not determined by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), nor by the pitch itself. It was decided 7,000 kilometers away, in a courtroom in Lausanne, Switzerland by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The twin rulings from CAS that reinstated Inter Kashi’s points and overturned AIFF committee decisions have reshaped Indian football’s immediate future. Yet, they’ve also exposed a deeper, structural fragility within India’s football governance one where league outcomes, licensing decisions, and the future of merit-based competition hinge less on sport and more on litigation. The 2024–25 I-League season ended not with fireworks, but with formal statements and legal paperwork. After months of dispute, CAS declared Inter Kashi the rightful champions, restoring points lost through what it deemed wrongful deductions.
The controversy stemmed from a series of protests led by rival clubs Churchill Brothers, Namdhari FC, and Real Kashmir FC who alleged that Inter Kashi violated registration protocols by re-registering Spanish forward Mario Barco mid-season after injury. The AIFF Appeals Committee sided with the challengers, ordering forfeiture of matches and effectively stripping Inter Kashi of the title. But on July 18, 2025, CAS ruled in favor of Inter Kashi, finding that Barco’s re-registration complied with FIFA regulations. This decision reinstated their points and cemented their place at the top with 42 points, two ahead of Churchill Brothers (40) and five clear of Real Kashmir (37).
Ironically, this wasn’t even Inter Kashi’s first trip to Lausanne. A month earlier, CAS had also ruled in their favor against Namdhari FC, restoring three points from a disputed fixture in which Namdhari fielded an ineligible player. These two judgments collectively reshaped the league table meaning that, legally speaking, the 2024–25 I-League title was decided in Switzerland, not India.
AIFF’s Governance in Question
The CAS rulings did more than just restore points they publicly dismantled the credibility of India’s domestic adjudication system. By deferring final judgment to CAS twice in a single season, the AIFF effectively ceded control over the sport’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms. While the federation is obliged under FIFA statutes to honor CAS rulings, the frequency and scale of these interventions reveal a troubling dependency on international arbitration for domestic governance.
As one senior AIFF official admitted, the recognition of Inter Kashi’s title was made “in compliance with the final and binding CAS award.” This is not just a procedural embarrassment it’s a governance crisis. When the world’s football court becomes the de facto regulator of Indian leagues, it undermines confidence among investors, clubs, and players. Every unresolved protest becomes a potential lawsuit. Every season-ending decision risks being overturned in Europe.
The cost is not merely financial but structural: sporting merit is judicialized, and domestic autonomy is compromised.
Inter Kashi’s Paradox: Sporting Success, Licensing Failure
Ironically, while Inter Kashi fought for recognition on the field and in court, they stumbled off it. The AIFF’s Club Licensing Committee rejected the club’s application for a Premier 1 License the mandatory certification required to participate in the ISL. The decision, delivered on May 15, 2025, cited “multiple failures across A and B criteria” meaning Inter Kashi fell short in crucial financial, administrative, and infrastructure requirements.
The rejection created a paradox. The club was promoted on sporting merit but legally barred from participating in the very league they earned entry into. The most pressing issue lies in infrastructure. Inter Kashi’s home base in Varanasi remains underdeveloped for top-flight football. Their initial plan to host matches in Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium was rejected by the AIFF due to inadequate football facilities, while their preferred Sigra Stadium in Varanasi is still under construction.
With limited options, the club was forced to adopt Guwahati’s Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium (IGAS) already home to NorthEast United FC as its temporary venue for the 2025–26 season. This relocation, nearly 1,100 km from Varanasi, effectively severs the club from its intended local fan base and defeats the very purpose of regional football development.
Despite these administrative and logistical setbacks, Inter Kashi’s story remains uniquely ambitious.
Backed by the RDB Group, the club is modeled on a European partnership structure, featuring affiliations with Atlético Madrid, Inter Escaldes, and FC Andorra. Its academy the Atlético de Bharat Academy was envisioned as a blueprint for Spanish-style youth development in India’s heartland. On the pitch, under Spanish coach Carlos Santamarina, the club adopted a high-tempo, possession-oriented game that made them one of the I-League’s most watchable sides. Their dramatic final-day win over Rajasthan United, scoring twice in stoppage time to seal a 3–1 victory, remains emblematic of their spirited rise.
Yet, the gap between European mentorship and Indian football realities has rarely been starker. For all its technical sophistication, Inter Kashi’s off-field compliance has lagged behind a reminder that in Indian football, organizational sustainability matters as much as sporting ambition.
Merit Meets Monopoly: The ISL’s Structural Stalemate
Inter Kashi’s promotion also throws light on a larger tension defining Indian football the ongoing tug-of-war between sporting merit and commercial control. The club’s entry follows Punjab FC (2023–24) and Mohammedan SC (2024–25) as the third consecutive I-League champion promoted under the AFC-approved roadmap. On paper, this completes the top-tier pyramid’s merit-based entry mechanism.
But the pyramid remains half-built because relegation from the ISL still doesn’t exist. FSDL, the commercial partner managing the ISL, has proposed a 10-year moratorium on relegation, arguing that financial stability must precede full sporting mobility. The AIFF, however, faces pressure from both the AFC and the Supreme Court, which declared open-league systems “essential for healthy competition.”
The tension is further amplified by the pending expiry of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the AIFF and FSDL in December 2025 a 15-year commercial contract that grants FSDL exclusive rights over ISL revenues in exchange for an annual ₹50 crore payment. Negotiations for a renewal are tense. FSDL has proposed a new holding company model giving majority control to clubs, while AIFF seeks to retain broader regulatory authority and a guaranteed “solidarity payment” for grassroots development.
Until this impasse is resolved, the ISL’s long-term financial and regulatory stability remains uncertain and clubs like Inter Kashi, entering the league under conditional terms, face unpredictable futures.
A Fragile Victory for Meritocracy
Inter Kashi’s promotion is a triumph but a fragile one.
It upholds the principle of promotion on sporting merit but exposes systemic gaps in India’s football administration. The need for international arbitration to validate domestic competition is a warning sign; the inability to meet club licensing standards is an operational red flag; and the ongoing commercial tug-of-war over relegation is an existential question for the league’s integrity. In effect, Inter Kashi’s rise is both a success story and a cautionary tale a symbol of progress built on judicial scaffolding.
If Indian football is to learn from this episode, three immediate reforms are imperative:
- Judicial Reform within AIFF: Strengthen and professionalize the federation’s disciplinary and appeals mechanisms to eliminate reliance on CAS for domestic decisions.
- Infrastructure Investment in Emerging Markets: Collaborate with state governments (especially in Uttar Pradesh) to ensure promoted clubs can stay rooted in their home regions.
- Finalize Promotion–Relegation Framework: Enforce full implementation by 2026–27, ensuring fair mobility between ISL and I-League while safeguarding commercial sustainability.
Until these structural issues are resolved, every new promotion risks repeating the Inter Kashi paradox, success achieved in sport but ratified in court.
Inter Kashi FC’s ascent to the ISL stands as a milestone in Indian football’s long, uneven march toward meritocracy. It embodies the promise of open competition yet also exposes how fragile that promise remains when governance falters, infrastructure lags, and commercial interests overshadow sporting principles. As the 2025–26 ISL season approaches, Inter Kashi may take the field in Guwahati rather than Varanasi, backed by European expertise but bound by Indian bureaucracy.
Their story is not just about one club’s rise it’s a case study in how India’s football ecosystem must evolve if it truly wants to turn promotion by right into progress by design.
