ISL: Investors stop funding, Mohammedan Sporting faces uncertain future

Kolkata: The future of Indian Super League (ISL) club Mohammedan Sporting is in jeopardy as its investors, Shrachi Sports and Bunkerhill, have officially pulled up the release of funds.

The impasse stemmed from the club’s failure to transfer the promised 61 per cent shares to the investors, alleged Shrachi Sports, leading to a legal tussle.

On Tuesday, Shrachi Sports announced that it could no longer fund Mohammedan Sporting due to the club’s ongoing legal tussle with Bunkerhill, a Gurgaon-based sports management company. 

Bunkerhill had sued the club last month, accusing Mohammedan Sporting of not fulfilling its commitment to issue shares.

This development cast doubt on Mohammedan Sporting’s ability to continue its ISL campaign midway through the season.

Shrachi Sports, a venture of the Kolkata-based Shrachi Group, joined as a joint investor of the club in August 2024, holding a 30.5 per cent stake alongside Bunkerhill. Mohammedan Sporting retained the remaining shares in the century-old club. 

Players’ grievances

The latest development unfolded a week after players staged a protest and boycotted training on the eve of their ISL clash against Chennaiyin FC, alleging, as reported by The Bridge, that they had not been paid their salaries for over three months.

Training resumed only after club president Amiruddin Bobby assured the players that their grievances would be addressed.

Despite the turmoil, Mohammedan Sporting managed a 2-2 draw against Chennaiyin FC. The team is now scheduled to play Mumbai City FC on January 26, but the impasse continues.

On Monday, coach Andrey Chernyshov convened the first training session since the Chennaiyin FC match. However, apart from the club's five Santosh Trophy-winning players, including Robi Hansda, the majority of the team boycotted the session.

Shrachi’s MoU with Mohammedan Sporting expires!

In a press statement, Shrachi Sports expressed frustration over the impasse, stating: “Since investing into the Mohammedan Sporting, our primary focus has been to take care of our players and attain excellence and create impact in the ISL.”

Shrachi also said it has already spent more than 50 per cent of its committed funds but is no longer obligated to provide further funds since its original Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the club has expired.

“We are now caught in a crossfire between the club and the original investors, Bunkerhill, who have sent a legal notice to the club last month. We have already spent more than 50 per cent of our committed investment into the Mohammedan Sporting Club Pvt. Ltd. with the sole motive of making a team that is competitive and can repay the faith of our fans. But now with the club in the middle of a legal impasse with Bunkerhill, our hands are tied,” the statement read.

Shrachi further alleged that Mohammedan Sporting’s management had not issued them any shares, despite repeated promises.

“Also, the original MoU that we had signed with the club has now expired. Second, we too have not been issued any shares by the club despite repeated promises to do so. Bunkerhill, despite investing into the club for the last three years, has not been issued any shares either and has now sent the said notice while putting on hold all further infusion of funds until shares are issued,” the group added.

Expressing concern for the players and fans, Shrachi Sports stated: “Clearly, we are caught in this crossfire and while we do not ever want our players and fans to suffer, there is very little we can do under these circumstances, until these issues are amicably sorted out.”

“We are trying to work with the club and Bunkerhill to resolve these at the earliest, allowing us to continue with all our activities as normal,” the group added.

Old crisis 

However, this is not the first time Mohammedan Sporting has faced such a crisis. Ahead of its ISL debut last year, the club endured a similar dispute. At the time, Bunkerhill, who entered into a joint venture with the club in 2020, had expressed dissatisfaction with the terms of its investment.

Founder and chairman of Bunkerhill, Dipak Kumar Singh, had alleged: “We had made a deal with Shrachi Sports regarding investment in ISL. A term sheet was signed on that basis. When it came to the final agreement, the club made several changes that were not acceptable.”

Although that issue was resolved then, the current standoff underlined persistent off-field challenges for the club, which currently sits second from bottom in the ISL standings with 11 points from 16 matches.