CHENNAI: TATA Steel on Friday handed over the sporting club license of 2021-2022 Indian Super League Shield winners Jamshedpur FC to Goa-based Churchill Brothers for a token consideration of ₹100. The transfer also includes Tata Steel's equity shares of 4,08,000 in the club, 12 senior men’s team players and two coaches.
This comes weeks after the owners had confirmed that the club will not continue in the 2026-27 ISL and set up a committee of directors to divest the stakes in the club.
DB Sundara Ramam, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel said, “Churchill Brothers is a club with real history in Indian football, and we are glad that this agreement gives our players and coaches the opportunity to continue playing club football. We thank AIFF and Churchill Brothers for their partnership in making this transition a smooth one. Tata Steel will continue to focus on football at the grassroots and youth level, given our legacy of identifying and nurturing young talent, especially among local and tribal communities.”
Churchill Brothers will take over the contracts of all JFC players and coaching staff with effect from September 2026. The club, which underwent a tumultuous 18 months, now have a clear path to get into the ISL. In May this year, they were relegated to the Indian Football League-2 for non-participation in the 2025-26 Indian Football League season (formerly I-League).
On Thursday, Jamshedpur FC stormed into the quarter final of the 135th Durand Cup after beating Indian Air Force FT 6-0 in Ranchi. It finished 5th in the truncated 2026 ISL season.
When contacted, Churchill Brothers were not available for a comment.
More to follow…
