Odisha FC suspend player, staff contracts as ISL future remains uncertain

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Odisha FC club has suspended contracts of players and support staff. ISL

The Odisha FC team has taken a big decision to suspend the contracts of all its players and staff starting Tuesday (August 5), as confusion continues over when or if the next Indian Super League (ISL) season will happen.

This comes just days after the club, along with seven other ISL teams, requested a meeting with AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey to discuss the ongoing uncertainty regarding India's premier football league.

The club, which finished runners-up in the 2023-24 Super Cup and skipped this year's Durand Cup, is the first ISL team to take this step. Odisha FC owner Rohan Sharma clarified on social media that the club is not shutting down completely. He confirmed that some key staff are still there, and the women's team will continue to operate.

However, he also said it's getting harder to convince his investors to spend more money when there's no clarity on the league's future. Sharma posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he hopes this step will push others to work faster towards a solution.

Odisha FC missed the ISL playoffs last season, finishing seventh in the table. Their women's team, who were champions in 2023, were relegated this year after finishing second-last. This was the first time in the history of Indian football that the defending champions have been relegated in a league.