Kamal Ghorui
Panaji: Odisha FC players led by captain Carlos Delgado have asked the club to clear their pending salaries for last six months as some players have been forced to obtain loans to battle the financial crisis.Unlike other top tier clubs, Odisha gave the Super Cup competition a miss and have not yet assembled for this season. While all others have now started pre-season training ahead of next month’s Indian Super League (ISL), Odisha players are still waiting for definitive communication on when they can start training.This, of course, isn’t an ideal situation, but like players noted in the letter, they believe a “competitive team can be built”, even for a short season that has just 13 matches in a single-leg home and away format.“Salaries have been on hold for the past six months. During this prolonged period, many players have been facing significant financial difficulties, as football is their primary source of income for themselves and their families. In some cases, players have had to take out loans.“We fully understand the challenges the club has gone through; however, the lack of salary payments has placed the players in a very difficult economic situation. For this reason, we respectfully request the payment of the pending salaries, or at least a partial payment, to help alleviate the current hardship,” the players said.Odisha have been drawn to play Punjab FC in their opening ISL game on Feb 16 at home. Players said they would require “a minimum of two weeks of preparation to be ready to compete.” However, given that the club still does not have an understanding with the state govt on use of the stadium and training facilities, the former Super Cup champions could start training only a week prior to their first game.According to sources, the club formed a new WhatsApp group on Wednesday and told the players they are tentatively planning to start pre-season in Bhubaneswar from Feb 8-9, “subject to govt permissions.”Odisha have seen star forward Hugo Boumous move on loan to Selangor FC of Malaysia, while club president Raj Athwal has parted ways after five years at the helm. General manager Ravi Khedar has now become the primary point of contact for club matters and has been attending meetings.Spanish defender Delgado is the only foreign player in the team.Odisha confirmed their participation on Jan 13 “in alignment with the proposal put forward by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and in support of the govt of India’s objective to ensure continuity, stability, and long-term growth in Indian football.”
