SHILLONG: The Council of the Shillong Sports Association has reacted with disappointment following the decision of the All India Football Federation to deny affiliated club Rangdajied United FC permission to take part in next season’s I-League.
Rangdajied were dropped from the top tier of Indian football for failing to meet certain club licensing criteria along with Churchill Brothers and United SC in a decision announced by the governing body last week.
The clubs will have to meet all the criteria before making an attempt to rejoin the League, which they can only do through the Second Division.
The AIFF’s decision “will be detrimental to the development of football in the state and the North East region as a whole,” a press release from the SSA’s honorary secretary B Diengdoh said on Sunday, two days after the council met to discuss various issues.
The SSA also decided to request the Meghalaya Football Association to take up Rangdajied’s case with the AIFF.