3 min readUpdated: May 23, 2026 08:17 PM IST
Khalid Jamil had named a 28-member squad for the Unity Cup in London, where India will face world number 71 Jamaica on May 27, and possibly world number 26 Nigeria later. However, the India coach could be without seven of his key players when the team leaves for the tournament on Sunday.
The reason? Mohun Bagan’s last-minute stand. The Kolkata giants, who finished second in the Indian Super League, have told their players that they can play in the tournament at their own risk, and that the club will not pay for any injuries they may sustain.
Bagan have previously refused to release players for the national camp, notably for the first one that Jamil called in August last year. Once again, they have cited long-standing concerns over the lack of compensation for clubs when players get injured while playing for the national team outside FIFA’s designated international windows.
“This time, we told the players to go at their own risk. Because if you play wearing the Mohun Bagan jersey, our insurance company will pay for any expenses. When playing for India in the FIFA window, FIFA will pay. These are the rules,” a source within the club told The Indian Express.
The seven Mohun Bagan players named in the India squad are forwards Liston Colaco and Manvir Singh; midfielders Lalengmawia Ralte (Apuia), Sahal Abdul Samad and Anirudh Thapa; defender Abhishek Singh; and goalkeeper Vishal Kaith.
The Unity Cup starts on May 26 and ends on May 30, while FIFA’s next international window starts on June 1. FIFA’s Club Protection Programme states that clubs are compensated if their players are “injured due to an accident while on duty with senior representative “A” teams for matches on dates listed in the international match calendar”.
Effectively, the programme is designed to compensate clubs in case their players are injured on international duty but only during FIFA’s designated international windows, which the Unity Cup is not set to be played in.
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Bagan have cited the example of the injury suffered by captain Subhashish Bose and Aashique Kuruniyan while on national duty. The club said that Bose had suffered a serious adductor and groin injury while on national duty during India’s AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh and asked for compensation to pay for his treatment. However, the AIFF said that Bose had suffered the injury during the ISL 2025 final, which was played a few days after the Asian Cup qualifier.
The standoff last year had happened ahead of India’s campaign in the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan from August 29 to September 8. There were seven Bagan players in that squad as well: Anirudh Thapa, Deepak Tangri, Lalengmawia, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad and Vishal Kaith.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
