AIFF accuses executive member of putting ‘sustained pressure’ for inclusion of Churchill Brothers in ISL

NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) alleged that the Alemao family, particularly Valanka Alemao, the executive committee member of the football’s governing body and CEO of Churchill Brothers FC, had put “sustained pressure” on the AIFF for the team’s inclusion in the Indian Super League (ISL).

Churchill Brothers FC have featured in the I-League, now known as the Indian Football League, and have won the tournament three times. They were initially crowned the winners of the previous edition of the competition in 2024-25 as the registration of one of Inter Kashi’s foreign player (Marco Barco) was declared not to be valid by AIFF’s appeal committee, and all the matches involving him were ruled as forfeit. The table was adjusted with Churchill Brothers at the top. But later, Inter Kashi were crowned champions.

Inter Kashi FC filed an appeal on June 23, and sought to set aside the AIFF Appeal Committee decision. After a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing held on July 15, the CAS Panel ruled that the decision issued on May 31, 2025, by the AIFF is set aside and that the AIFF shall adjust the points table of the I-League 2024-25 season.

AIFF Statement pic.twitter.com/TWPhaKh5ey

— Indian Football (@IndianFootball) March 30, 2026

In line with the CAS ruling, Inter Kashi finished the season on 42 points, Churchill Brothers FC Goa on 40, Real Kashmir FC on 37, and Namdhari FC on 29. Consequently, Inter Kashi FC were declared the winners of I-League 2024-25. Afterwards, Inter Kashi earned a promotion to the ISL, a reward for winning the I-League, now known as IFL.

Now, in a statement, AIFF said, “Ms Alemao (Valanka Alemao, the current club CEO and daughter of club owner Churchill Alemao) and members of her family exerted sustained pressure on the AIFF to facilitate the inclusion of Churchill Brothers FC Goa in the Indian Super League (ISL) through exceptional means. However, the federation was unable to accommodate this request due to existing rules, regulations, and commitments made to stakeholders.”

On January 6, 2026, in the presence of all stakeholders, it was announced that the upcoming ISL season would consist of 14 teams and 91 matches in a truncated format. Based on this structure, the AIFF subsequently obtained the required approval from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Further, the I-League regulations clearly stipulate that the winner of the I-League season earns promotion to the ISL. “In accordance with the ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the winners of the season are Inter Kashi. Consequently, in order to remain compliant with the applicable regulations and legal obligations, the AIFF could not include Churchill Brothers in the ISL,” added the statement.

The statement said that after Inter Kashi were added, “several legal petitions were filed by members of Alemao’s family. Despite being an Executive Committee member of the AIFF, Ms Alemao repeatedly attempted to influence proceedings during official meetings with the objective of securing the inclusion of her club in the ISL.”

“Ms Alemao also strongly pressed for the convening of an Emergency Executive Committee meeting on the matter. In response to this request, the AIFF scheduled an Emergency Executive Committee meeting on February 9, 2026. However, the meeting could not proceed as the required quorum was not met due to non-participation by members,” the statement continued.

AIFF also said that Valanka also “individually contacted members of the executive committee and sought to convene another Emergency Executive Committee meeting on February 12, 2026”. “The meeting was held with full attendance, and after due deliberation, the Executive Committee rejected the proposal for Churchill Brothers’ inclusion in the ISL,” added the statement.

The AIFF said that on February 14, the opening day of the ISL season, Valanka’s family made requests to AIFF to “convene a third Emergency Executive Committee meeting on the same matter.” “Given that the issue had already been deliberated upon and decided by the Executive Committee, the AIFF did not consider it appropriate to reconvene the body. Subsequently, legal petitions were filed before the Hon’ble Delhi High Court. The AIFF reiterates that all meetings and decisions of the federation are conducted strictly in accordance with its Articles of