THE INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE, this edition will see two new franchises / teams. One being Bengaluru FC, who making their switch to the ISL after playing in the I-League for four years and the other being Jamshedpur FC, who will play professional football for the very first time.
All existing franchises had the choice of retaining two senior players from the past season's squad and remaining of the squad to be picked up from the players' draft. But this did not apply to Jamshedpur FC, as they did not have an existing squad.
Jamshedpur FC are backed by Tata Steel, who had had a presence in India for a very long time. The Tata Group, which is the parent of all Tata companies, are no strangers to football. The famed Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur has known to produce the finest of the footballers of the country over 15 years.
The academy being a pride for the inhabitants of Jamshedpur, having a team in the ISL is another feather in their cap. But for some people, the fact that Jamshedpur FC does not have a single representation from the city has caused unhappiness.
Jharkhand Krida Morcha, a group from Jamshedpur, has expressed their displeasure via a letter written to Sunil Bhaskaran, Vice President of Tata Steel Corporate Services, and demanded to place local players in Jamshedpur FC.
Below is the gist of the letter to the VP of Tata Steel, Sunil Bhaskaran.
This highlights a fact that many fans are eagerly waiting to support their team but the support will take a boost if there are a few local players added to the squad.