In a setback for ladies’s soccer within the nation, Kerala Blasters on Tuesday briefly shut down their ladies’s workforce owing to “financial crunches” arising out of sanctions imposed on the membership after the men’s side walked out of an Indian Super League playoff fixture final season.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) had imposed a fine of ₹4 crore on the Blasters after the lads’s workforce walked out of the match towards Bengaluru FC on March 3, protesting towards a contentious Sunil Chhetri objective from a free kick.
“It is with a heavy heart that we must announce the temporary pause of our women’s team. This decision has been necessitated by the recent financial sanctions imposed on our club by the football federation,” Kerala Blasters said in a statement.
Appeal rejected
A few days again, the AIFF rejected the membership’s attraction towards the fantastic. The federation additionally rejected Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanovic’s attraction towards the fantastic of ₹5 lakh and a 10-game ban imposed on him.
“After a very encouraging first season that saw our women’s team achieve tremendous results, this year the club had plans for increased investments for our women’s team,” the assertion learn.
Women footballers react
Indian ladies’s workforce goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan and captain Ashalata Devi questioned the choice to punish the ladies footballers for his or her male counterparts’ actions.
“So the men’s team gets a fine for what they did and the money comes from the women’s team budget by shutting it down? Great, that’s how women’s football will develop in india. Horrible!” Chauhan tweeted to which Ashalata replied “Horrible”.
The membership stated it had deliberate a international pre-season tour through which the ladies’s aspect would have accompanied the lads’s workforce however presently it “must prioritize the more immediate objectives and long-term financial stability.”
“These investments included a first-of-a-kind foreign pre-season tour accompanying our men’s team, player exchanges, exposure tours, and so much more. However, the financial sanctions have presented us with an unfortunate challenge.”
The membership stated it is nonetheless awaiting additional sanctions from the league physique as nicely which might be solely more likely to increase the monetary influence on the membership.
“…we cannot continue our women’s team activities until such time that there is complete clarity on the matter. The decision to pause their activities was made after careful consideration and evaluation of the current circumstances.” The Blasters asserted that the suspension of operations was solely momentary and they’re going to reinstate the workforce as soon as they tide over the monetary crunch.
“It is important to highlight that this pause is temporary. We will reinstate our women’s team upon closure of this matter in its entirety.”