Mohun Bagan cooperated first, made U-turn at the last moment: AIFF

Panaji: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has clarified that Mohun Bagan Super Giant cooperated throughout the biometric visa process, only to make a U-turn just hours before the India team was scheduled to take off for London to take part in the four-nation Unity Cup.

With midfielder Apuia ruled out due to injury, six Mohun Bagan players had joined the national team camp in Bengaluru but were told by their club not to attend training on Saturday. Instead, they were all told to pack their bags for home, leaving coach Khalid Jamil with just 18 players.

“The AIFF has written four letters to all clubs since April 10 regarding India’s participation in the Unity Cup in London,” AIFF deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan said in a statement on Sunday. “The dates of the event were mentioned in all subsequent letters, along with the dates for biometric tests for players, which were fixed as per the club’s convenience. Mohun Bagan players attended the biometric test. Obviously, this was done with the club’s knowledge as we had written to them.”

The AIFF wrote two more emails regarding details of the event and shared with all clubs. Bagan, according to the federation, did not respond, and “only on the night of May 20, AIFF received an email from MBSG stating that their players will be released during the FIFA window, and that AIFF may coordinate with the players likewise.”

Detailing how and why the players joined the national team camp on Friday, Satyanarayan said the players contacted Velu, national team manager, and said they had approached the management, who agreed to them joining the camp.

“These six players joined the camp on May 22 and also had a recovery session in the evening. However, they were ordered next morning by the club in their players’ Whatsapp group to not join the national team during their training session in the evening, that the club ordered them not to play outside the FIFA International Window. Some were emotional, as they made arrangements to leave the camp,” said Satyanarayan.

India are set to face Jamaica on May 27, while Nigeria take on Zimbabwe on May 26 in the Unity Cup. The winners will contest the final on May 30, with the losing sides playing the third-place playoff.

The official FIFA international match window is from June 1-9. According to the organisers, Unity Cup 2026 has received official FIFA authorisation as a Tier 1 international competition with the governing body issuing the letter on Friday.