Out of contract, footballers fret over future

Panaji: When Petr Kratky spoke about the uncertainty plaguing his future at Mumbai City FC, he was speaking not just for himself but several other coaches and players who do not know when they will sign their next contract.
Kratky, who won the Indian Super League (ISL) with Mumbai in his debut season two years ago, has “spoken briefly” with the club about life beyond this season. There are no assurances, simply because nobody really knows the roadmap for the future as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) tries to onboard a commercial partner.
“There is uncertainty for all of us,” Kratky said after the loss against East Bengal last week. “There are no secrets, we don’t know what will happen in two months. We don’t know whether the ISL will happen or not. Players (too) have a lot of questions. ‘Will I have a contract or not,’ they wonder? I don’t blame anyone. It’s a difficult situation.”
India’s current football season ends in a fortnight. But while clubs should be busy planning for next season, they have stalled contract talks with their players. No new targets have been locked, while out-of-contract foreigners are free to engage elsewhere, if there’s an offer that makes sense.
Based on information available on the federation’s Centralised Registration system (CRS), at least 148 players in the top tier of Indian football will be without a contract at the end of the month. Twenty per cent of them are either national team players, those knocking on the doors or have previously represented India.
Even a cash-rich club like Mohun Bagan SG have not signed new contracts.
Among the out of contract players are several national team stars, which includes captain Sandesh Jhingan, who has spent the last three years at FC Goa and won the Super Cup twice. Bengaluru’s experienced defender Rahul Bheke, Nikhil Prabhu, Danish Farooq, Amrinder Singh, Prabsukhan Singh Gill, Deepak Tangri, Ayush Chettri, Udanta Singh, Brison Fernandes, Ritwik Das, Isak Vanlalruatfela, Rahul KP, Farukh Chaudhury, Puitea and Irfan Yadwad are other popular footballers who will keep an eagle eye on what transpires between the clubs and the federation.
“We are currently out of contract with a vast majority of the players and unfortunately our hands are tied in terms of trying to renew, plan for next season,” said Goa CEO Ravi Puskur. “It’s not how we like to operate but the long-term clarity is vital for us to plan and we don’t have that.”
The AIFF appears keen to accept a bid from London-headquartered data company, Genius Sports, for the commercial rights of ISL and Federation Cup. The governing body has called for a general body meeting next week to discuss the proposal, but top tier clubs, who are the biggest stakeholders and spend the most, have said the bid does not make commercial sense.
Instead, they have proposed a club-led model for the future operation and commercialisation of ISL, with Genius Sports as the data and technology partner.
“The clubs believe that a financially sustainable ecosystem must appropriately align operational responsibility, commercial rights, and economic participation,” said Darren Caldeira, director of football at Bengaluru FC. “The proposed club-led model seeks to achieve precisely such an alignment while preserving the AIFF’s governance role and leveraging Genius Sports’ technology and data expertise.”