BHUBANESWAR: Odisha FC, state’s only professional Indian Super League (ISL) club, suffered a body blow after the AIFF refused to grant licence to it on Thursday.
The Club Licensing Committee of AIFF concluded the evaluation process for the Premier 1 Licence for the 2025–26 season. The national body rejected the licence of Odisha FC due to multiple failures across A and B criteria.
Odisha FC had a terrible Kalinga Super Cup 2025 season and faced relegation from the Indian Women’s League (IWL) too. It was the runners-up in 2023-2024 but finished seventh this season.
Odisha FC owner Rohan Sharma took to X to express his anguish over what he called lack of Odisha government support. “I was aware that we were going to fail club licensing this season, Unfortunately, we have no letter from the Government granting us access to the stadium and practice ground this season,” his post stated.
Sharma further said, “Despite multiple requests both in person and letters to have a meeting to discuss the MoU, no one from the government has acknowledged or granted a meeting. I have personally went (sic) to Delhi to speak to very senior ministers to get this resolved... still nothing.”
“It feels like the government doesn’t want us in Odisha which is quite sad. We have tried to be as polite and respectful to build bridges...There is this perceived notion we are Pro-BJD when in reality we are so uninvolved in Indian politics. I’m an American citizen, our business is in Dubai we just have a football club in India that we are investing,” Sharma’s X post stated.
State Sports department sources said Odisha FC performed miserably in Kalinga Super Cup and the IWL season. To deflect criticism, the club was putting the blame on Odisha government, they said.
“Several meetings were held between Sports department and Odisha FC management for development of football ecosystem in Odisha. For the signing of MoU, the date of October 22, 2024 was fixed, but the Odisha FC management did not turn up,” department sources claimed.
More than Rs 50 crore in support and all facilities were given to the club, a senior officer said adding, return on investment (ROI) was negligible. “Not even one Odia player featured in the team,” the officer said.