JFC's ISL exit is a long-planned strategic move, not linked to anything else: Tata Steel VP

New Delhi: Jamshedpur FC's (JFC) withdrawal from the upcoming Indian Super League season was a long-planned strategic decision to return to grassroots football development and had "nothing to do" with the uncertainty surrounding the league's commercial future, Tata Steel Vice President (Corporate Services) D B Sundara Raman said on Tuesday.

The development, which came few months after uncertainty over the ISL's future following the expiry of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL), marked the end of their nine-year top-flight run.

However, Sundara Raman said the club had been deliberating over its future for quite some time and would have exited the league even if the previous long-term commercial arrangement had continued.


"The current decision has nothing to do with whatever changes have happened in the last one year. Our decision has been independent of that," Sundara Raman told PTI in an exclusive interview.

"Even if the earlier long-term agreement continued, our decision would have been the same because this was an internal decision. We thought our bandwidth should be focused on our strength, which is grassroots football development."

He said Tata Steel had begun reviewing its football strategy last year before deciding that the company should return to its traditional role of identifying and nurturing young talent.

"We thought we should go back to our legacy of grassroots development because our football ecosystem has been there since 1987. ISL has been there for only around a decade.

"It was a well thought-through and calculated move. We should work where we have strength -- connecting with the community, nurturing young talent and preparing them to play at higher levels," he said.

"I would say it was not even a financial decision. It was a strategic decision on where we wanted to focus our bandwidth."

He added, "We are not stepping away from football. We are stepping back into the space where Tata Steel has made its biggest contribution to Indian football for decades.

"Football is only one part of our sports ecosystem. We support 19 different sports, including hockey, archery, climbing, swimming and athletics, and we have achieved considerable success in many of them.

"Our strength has always been connecting with the community, identifying young talent and preparing them to represent clubs, states and the country."

The senior Tata Steel official said the decision was approved after a two-tier process involving the club's management and Tata Steel's board.

"This is a corporate-run club. It is not something one individual can decide. Once we got the board's clearance, we informed the AIFF, the players and everyone concerned."

Sundara Raman dismissed suggestions that the decision reflected poorly on Indian football or resulted from differences with the AIFF.

"There has been no disagreement with the AIFF on participation fees or any other issue. We continue to enjoy excellent relations with them. This was purely a strategic decision."

He added that Tata Steel would continue supporting Indian football through its grassroots programmes and the Tata Football Academy (TFA), which has produced several India internationals since its inception in 1987, including big names such as Renedy Singh, Carlton Chapman, Deepak Mondal, Gouramangi Singh and Syed Rahim Nabi -- all former India stars.

On Tata Football Academy's legacy, he said, "We started the Tata Football Academy in 1987. Since then, we have trained around 275 cadets, over 150 have represented India and 26 have captained the national team at various age groups.

"Since starting our football grassroots programme in 2017-18, we have reached nearly 6,700 children. That ecosystem will continue and, in fact, receive greater focus.

"We thought, why don't we channelise our entire energy and time into our academies? That's where we have achieved success over several decades."

To sign off, he asserted, "Sports is a way of life in Tata Steel. We will continue to promote different sports. That commitment remains unchanged."