Who is at fault for JCT closing down?

Last Monday was a sad day for Indian football when the management of JCT Mills Limited announced that they would disband their senior football team after the side from Punjab were relegated a few weeks earlier at the end of the 4th season of the I-League.

The question which comes up again and again is who is at fault for JCT closing down?

And there isn't a simple answer to this question, then numerous issues have come together which culminated in Phagwara-based JCT closing down their senior football team 40 years after it had been started.


Lets try and list the problems which led to this decision

1. The AIFF
The national federation has not helped their top clubs to generate revenues to fund the rising budgets. All money received from sponsors, marketing partners and TV rights go to the AIFF themselves, nothing is distributed amongst participating I-League clubs. The AIFF sell their national team, I-League and other tournament rights together as a package; where no one really knows the value of the different properties, but one thing is clear that the I-League which runs for month's is the most lucrative of all these rights.

2. I-League
The I-League since its start in 2007 has been professionalized on paper with AFC Club Licensing criteria asking for own companies running the football teams rather then public clubs and corporates, but again with no view on how to generate revenues for the clubs to fund their teams. This way the I-League clubs have no way to become self-sustaining.

3. Commercialization of Indian football
The so-called commercialization of the game in India has done more damage then good if one looks at the current scenario. Mahindra United closed down last year, last week JCT closed down. The future of ONGC, Air India and Viva Kerala is unclear while last year Mumbai FC looked to follow Mahindra's path.
Clubs have not looked at ways on how to generate revenues with the exception of Pune FC and some other clubs to a small extend.

4. Salaries
The salaries of players have explored, but at no fault of theirs. With no growing players base the best in the business in India are getting salaries which are four to six times of what salaries where before the start of the I-League, but clubs have not been able to generate more then those days which does not make any business sense.

5. JCT management
Last but not least it is the JCT management themselves. They have one of the best Academies in Indian football, no competitors in the whole of North India and have people working for the club attached to the company club for decades.
But the football team has been run like a division within JCT with no vision to create a fan base, to try and generate revenues outside of JCT then the company has bankrolled the club since its inception. That has now come back to haunt them.


What do you think, Who is at fault for JCT closing down?