PANAJI: Churchill Alemao made no secret of his desire to be part of the upper class Indian Premier League (ISL).The former Goa Chief Minister owns the Churchill Brothers Football Club, a football team with a history of over 40 years, numerous national trophies and, most importantly, two National League titles making his team the ‘Champions of India’. Now, after Tata Steel has transferred ownership and license of the sports Jamshedpur Football Club To Churchill for a nominal sum of ₹100, Alemao has another wish come true: his team will compete in the ISL.“I believe some journeys are written by God,” Valanca, the club’s CEO and Alemao’s daughter, told TOI on Saturday. “This has been a very special journey. Our struggle started in March last year (during the I-League) and now, finally, we are in the Indian Premier League. God has been so kind. We have received congratulatory messages from fans, supporters and Goans all over the world. “We worked hard, kept the faith, and never gave up.”Churchill’s battle for a top-flight place, a place the club believes is rightfully theirs after winning the I-League in 2025, has been well documented. The interim champions title, the cup ceremony, and the battle in CAS are now a thing of the past.“I could see the hunger in my father’s eyes, and that’s what kept me going for so long. Whatever it was, he wanted to play in the ISL. It was his only dream. We struggled, but now that we are in the ISL, our goal, like all these years, will be to stay at the top. Nothing else matters,” said Valanka, the only elected member of the AIFF Executive Committee.Churchill’s entry into the ISL comes during turbulent times for Indian football.Jamshedpur withdrew from the ISL due to cash flow issues and shareholders’ belief that the I-League, in its current form, was financially unviable. Many clubs are looking for new investors, others are cutting costs, and some in the second tier are finding participation fees prohibitive.For Churchill, it is business as usual.“Officially, this club was launched in 1988, but my father and his brothers had been running the club long before that, I would say, for almost five decades. My grandfather was a football referee, and that’s where the kids gained a love of the game. Passion is good, but nothing can move without money. This guy (Alemao) had a budget of around Rs 18 crore in the 2012-13 season (when Churchill became the I-League champion for the second time). In those days he did not think about accounts and finance. All that remains on his mind is winning (titles). “For now, we’ll manage,” Valanca said.Churchill’s agreement with Tata Steel means that the Goan club will take over the “financial responsibilities” of the Jamshedpur team’s contracted players and coaches. These are about a dozen players, along with coach Owen Coyle and his assistant Alexander Stewart.“Team building is key and we must have a better picture (of the team) in the next 15 days,” Valanca said. “A company like Tatas has deemed us worthy of going ahead with this. We will honor all contracts. If players and coaches want to be with us, we will accommodate them. Our aim has always been to get more local players, including quality Indians, and of course foreigners who can help us win trophies.”“Churchill was India’s champion in the 2008–09 and 2012–13 seasons after winning the Indian Premier League. They have finished as runners-up a record seven times, four times in the Premier League and three times in the National Football League (NFL).
