CHENNAI: Their pre-season is well underway despite there being nearly a month for the season’s start. Their star signing comes straight from the I-League, while club officials are getting ready to release a theme song sung by a big-name Bollywood composer. These are all actions befitting a club preparing for a season in the I-League or the ISL, but this is just Chennai City FC setting the silverware for the upcoming CFA Senior Division League.
The club had a near-perfect season in the first division last year, winning every game they played and not conceding a goal in open play. And, they have wasted no time in making their intentions clear for the upcoming season, signing up Morgan Justice — the Nigerian who starred for Aizawl FC in the second division I-League last year. The last time Justice turned for the CFA Senior Division League — he was playing for the Arrows FC in 2014 — he finished on top of the charts.
“We were looking at him for the past two years,” Chennai City owner Rohit Ramesh told Express. “He was playing with Arrows FC in the senior divison. That was the time when I bought the club and he left to play in the I-League second divison. Luckily, we had a good equation with him. So, we were able to swoop for him.”
Dominating the second tier is one thing, but doing the same in the top division will be a much tougher prospect. Rohit, though, is not fazed. “Last year, we were unbeaten throughout and all the goals we conceded were penalties. This time, it will surely be tougher. But, I’m fairly confident as to how the team is shaping up. Last year, we also played a lot of games against the top-division teams, and most of it were 1-1 draws. Most of the players with us last year were top-divison players anyway. So, they are used to the level of football there.”
Chennai City, or atleast its previous incarnatation as Netaji Football Club, is no stranger to the biggest of occasions Indian football has to offer, having participated in the Durand Cup and the Federation Cup at various points in its history. The club did attempt a short-cut back to the top last year, bidding for an I-League franchise, but were pegged down by infrastructure issues. This time though, the club is seeking a more conventional route back into national reckoning.
“Our immediate aim is to win the CFA senior division and the state championships,” said Ramesh. “Once we do that, we will have qualified for next year’s second division I-League. We will take it from there.”
