In April — three weeks after the final round of matches were played — the All India Football Federation (AIFF) handed over the I-League trophy to Churchill Brothers. Three months on, the federation will have to organise another ceremony — and this time hand over the trophy to Inter Kashi.
The Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected the AIFF Appeal Committee’s decision to award the title to Churchill Brothers of Goa and declared that Kashi, instead, should be declared the second-division champions. The decision, which came on Friday, will end a months-long saga that overshadowed a nail-biting season.
The international sports court’s verdict will come as further embarrassment for an under-fire AIFF as it had earlier announced Churchill Brothers as the I-League champions. Their decision came after its Appeal Committee ruled against Inter Kashi in a matter related to the fielding of an ‘ineligible player’. The Varanasi club had ended in second spot after points were deducted from their tally.
Truth will always emerge victorious! 💪🏼🧡#IndianFootball #ILeague #HarHarKashi #Kashi pic.twitter.com/gPLXtmJU56
— Inter Kashi (@InterKashi) July 18, 2025
However, Inter Kashi approached the CAS, which asked the AIFF to reverse its decision. “The AIFF shall forthwith declare Inter Kashi FC as winner of the I-league 2024-25 season,” the Lausanne-based CAS said in its order. “The appeal filed on 4 June 2025 by Inter Kashi FC against the decision issued on 31 May 2025 by the Appeal Committee of the All-India Football Federation is partially upheld. The decision issued on 31 May 2025 by the Appeal Committee of the All India Football Federation is set aside.”
In a statement, the AIFF ‘congratulated Inter Kashi FC on being adjudged champions of I-League 2024-25’.
The back story
On January 13, Namdhari beat Inter Kashi 2-0 in the I-League. After the match was over, Inter Kashi disputed the result, alleging that Namdhari had fielded an ineligible player, Cledson Carvalho da Silva — also known as Dé. They contended that Dé should have been suspended under the AIFF’s rules, claiming he had accumulated four yellow cards through the season. The fact that one of his yellow cards led to a sending-off presented a confusing scenario for the parties involved.
It took more than one month for the AIFF’s Disciplinary Committee, headed by a former Uttarakhand High Court judge, to announce its verdict. On February 24, the committee upheld Inter Kashi’s appeal and handed them a 3-0 win. At that point, it placed Inter Kashi above Churchill Brothers in the title race.
Namdhari immediately appealed the decision. The Punjab-based club claimed that the AIFF’s portal ’did not show’ that the player was suspended for the match and hence, they fielded him.
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Another month later, on March 27, the AIFF Appeals Committee, headed by a former Allahabad High Court judge, put the earlier decision in abeyance. It meant that Churchill regained their position at the top of the table. The appeals committee said it would continue hearing the case on April 28, long after the league was done and dusted.
On April 6, the final day of the I-League, Churchill did just enough against Real Kashmir to finish top of the table with 40 points whereas Inter Kashi defeated Rajasthan United to end the season that afternoon with 39 points.
They hoped that if the AIFF’s appeals committee gave the verdict in their favour, like the disciplinary panel, they would get the three points and leapfrog Churchill to become champions.
Amidst confusion and outcry over the lack of clarity regarding the champions, the appeals committee brought forward the hearing to April 12. And after speaking to all parties, it sided with Namdhari, thus paving the way for Churchill to be crowned the champions on April 20 — two weeks after the league was over.
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Then, there was another issue over the registration of Kashi’s foreign signing Marco Barco. The AIFF said in its statement: “After an unsuccessful first procedure initiated by several I-League clubs before the AIFF Disciplinary Committee, the AIFF Appeal Committee decided on 31 May 2025 that the registration of a foreign player (Marco Barco) by Inter Kashi FC was not valid and stated that all matches played by him should be forfeited by the club. This resulted in the adjustment of the I-League points table with Churchill Brothers FC Goa at the top.”
The statement added: “Inter Kashi FC filed an appeal on 23 June 2025 and sought to set aside the AIFF Appeal Committee decision. After a CAS hearing held on 15 July 2025, the CAS Panel ruled that the decision issued on 31 May 2025 by the AIFF is set aside and that the AIFF shall adjust the points table of the I-League 2024-25 season. In line with the CAS ruling, Inter Kashi finish the season on 42 points, Churchill Brothers FC Goa on 40, Real Kashmir FC on 37, and Namdhari FC on 29.”
And this, the AIFF will now have to take the trophy back from Churchill and hand it over to Inter Kashi.
