FC is one of the six Indian Super League (ISL) clubs to have secured the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and national Licenses for the 2020-21 season.
The results were communicated to the clubs on Saturday evening by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
“We are glad to have fulfilled the Indian clubs licensing by complying to all the criteria required for the same. The objective of club licensing is to develop a professional system of football in the country and we at Jamshedpur FC strive to work towards complying to it. The AIFF has been very encouraging and supporting during the extensive process of club licensing, especially considering the Covid-19 scenario,” said JFC chief executive officer Mukul Choudhari.
He added that the club strongly believes in committing to professionalism and development of football guided with the values of Tata Steel. “We take this very seriously here and ensure that we follow the right practices as laid down by the AIFF and AFC. The club has a robust grassroots and academy system along with various initiatives of coach education, player development, community engagement and various CSR activities in the rural areas of Jharkhand,” Choudhari said.
The AIFF had opened up the club licensing system for the 2020-21 season on July 14. The Club Licensing Application Pack (CLAP) was sent to all eligible clubs and they were asked to submit a signed copy of the Club Licensing agreement which is a declaration that they are ready to undertake the initiative for the Club Licensing.
Later in October, the AFC had extended the deadline for submitting the necessary documents for the Club Licensing to November 13.
Besides JFC, other clubs who have fulfilled the criteria for club licensing are FC Goa, ATK Mohun Bagan FC, Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC.
SC East Bengal, Kerala Blasters FC, Hyderabad FC, NorthEast United FC and Odisha FC have not cleared the licensing procedure.
The Tata Steel-owned JFC are presently in Goa for the seventh edition of the cash-rich ISL starting at three separate venues from November 20. Jamshedpur launch their campaign against last season’s runners-up Chennaiyin FC at Tilak Maidan on November 24.
