Real Kashmir wish to wait till July 3 before deciding future

With all the statements and counter statements with regards to the current plight of the I-League and its future, the only club that has remained silent is Real Kashmir. But club co-owner Sandeep Chatto has finally decided to speak and he has made it clear that his team is here to play football.

Speaking to , he said that it will be wrong to comment on the rumours that are doing the round regarding the future of the I-League as he believes that saying anything before the decision of the July 3 date of AIFF's Executive Committee meeting will be premature.

"Yes, we are silent because nothing has come out as yet. Let's wait for the July 3 meeting. Once the outcome of the meeting is known only then we can say something. We can't go by what the media is saying," Sandeep clarified.

He is very clear about the priorities of Real Kashmir. "We just want to play and concentrate," Sandeep said. "We set up a new team, hired new foreign players, this is our second season, we won the division two and were promoted to division one. Overcoming all odds after the Pulwama incident, we finished number three in the I-League last season.

"So, once everything is clear then only then we can make our position clear. The idea is to play football. We are looking to make football a culture in Kashmir and show the people a different world. We can't get involved in any controversy at this stage. We will just wait," said Sandeep.

Sandeep is of the opinion that if the Indian Super League (ISL) is made the premier league of the country all the clubs will be looking to be a part of that league.

"See if ISL is made the premier league of the country finally, every club will want to be a part of it. Who will not? After all we have set up a club, worked so hard. That's why I am saying, it is very difficult for us to all of a sudden decide because nobody was expecting all this to happen this year. So, it is so sudden that we just have to basically wait and watch. Let's see what happens," he opined.

"We just want to play for a change. We want to play for hope, that's it," Sandeep signed off.

(Jagannath Chatterjee can be contacted at jagannath.c@.in)

( With inputs from IANS )