4 min readJul 31, 2026 10:29 PM IST
When Jamshedpur FC‘s players were summoned for a team meeting on Friday evening, they expected a tactical discussion ahead of their Durand Cup clash against SC Delhi. Instead, they were told the club would no longer be part of the Indian Super League.
Barely an hour later, the Tata Group-owned club made it official. On the official social media channels, Jamshedpur FC posted a statement that read:
‘Jamshedpur Football Club would like to confirm that it will not be participating in ISL from the 2026-27 season onwards. JFSPL remains committed, in other capacities, to the continued growth and development of football in India. We will continue in our endeavour to promote and develop the game of football, including at the grassroots level. We will continue to identify and develop young football talent across India to create a strong pathway for young players from grassroots to national and international football.’
The announcement stunned a dressing room that had been preparing for the Durand Cup and left players grappling with uncertainty over their future.
Club Statement. pic.twitter.com/zYTnMTKo62
— Jamshedpur FC (@JamshedpurFC) July 31, 2026
“I am devastated. None of us saw it coming,” Pronay Halder, captain of the 12-year-old club, told The Indian Express. “We were informed about it an hour before the statement was released. We were completely focused on the Durand Cup, and we are playing well too.
“When I woke up this morning, I thought it would be a regular day — usual practice sessions and then a meeting for our next match on August 4. Instead, we were informed that the club will be pulling out of the ISL.”
It’s understood that the decision to withdraw from the competition comes after the club failed to pay the first instalment of the ISL participation fee (Rs 55 lakh), the extended deadline for which was Friday. This newspaper has also been informed that the grassroots project will not be affected by the decision to withdraw from the ISL.
Financial constraints have often been a factor in Indian football. Pune City FC folded under financial strain, Delhi Dynamos relocated to become Odisha FC, while Hyderabad FC too succumbed to prolonged monetary trouble. Yet, according to Halder, Jamshedpur FC’s exit feels different because the owners also operate the TATA Football Academy — which has produced players like Renedy Singh and Subrata Paul — and is known for a rich history of nurturing footballers.
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“I have been a professional footballer for 16 years, and this is the most difficult thing I have ever faced. All of us knew that Indian football is struggling at the moment, but no one could imagine that a club like Jamshedpur FC would withdraw from the top league. This club is run by TATA, who have a rich history of contributing towards Indian football. Even during Covid, when other clubs were struggling to pay salaries, all of our needs were taken care of. So this news has caught us blindsided. We believed that regardless of the difficulties, this is one club which will never fold. Turns out, the assumption was wrong.”
Uncertainty
Halder is among several players whose contracts extend beyond this season. Like many of his teammates, he remains unsure what lies ahead.
“We have to be practical at the moment. Being the captain and a senior figure in the dressing room, I will try to lift my teammates by saying ‘it’s fine, life goes on.’ But truth be told, I myself am heartbroken. Football feeds so many families. If you take football away from us, what are we left with? I will have to check with my agency about the contract situation.”
The Indian Express has learnt that the club intends to honour all existing player contracts despite its withdrawal from the ISL. Jamshedpur FC leaves behind a respectable record in the ISL. They won the ISL League Winners’ Shield in 2021-22, finished runners-up in the 2025 Super Cup, and are currently competing in the Durand Cup under Scottish manager Owen Coyle, opening their campaign with a 5-0 victory over Sri Lanka Army.
