The seven Mariners who have been named by the AIFF for the national camp and are yet to report for the same in Bengaluru are Anirudh Thapa, Deepak Tangri, Lalengmawia, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad and Vishal Kaith. (Photo Credit: Durand Cup)Mohun Bagan Super Giant have stated that they will not release their players for India’s ongoing national camp. The camp is the first to be held under new head coach Khalid Jamil and in preparation for the second edition of the CAFA Nations Cup, organised by the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan from August 29 to September 8. Bagan, who are the reigning Indian Super League (ISL) champions, have said that they are not bound by rules to release players outside of designated FIFA windows for international duty, while accusing the All India Football Federation (AIFF) of having scant regard for player welfare.“The rule says when FIFA window is not there we are not bound to release players,” a club official told the Indian Express. The example of Bagan’s captain Subhashish Bose was cited. The 30-year-old full back has been sidelined since being injured during India’s Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh in March this year. It has resulted in Bose sitting out the ongoing Durand Cup, in which Bagan were knocked out in the quarterfinal on Sunday after a 2-1 defeat to cross-town rivals East Bengal in the first Kolkata derby of the season.“Two and a half months ago our captain Subhashish Bose was injured, nobody called from the federation, there was no communication from them, nobody even checked on him,” the official said.The seven Mariners who have been named by the AIFF for the national camp and are yet to report for the same in Bengaluru are Anirudh Thapa, Deepak Tangri, Lalengmawia, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad and Vishal Kaith. Forward Manvir is already nursing an injury.The official stated that the club needed to safeguard their players’ fitness as much as possible especially considering they are set to embark on their AFC Champions League 2 campaign next month. Bagan qualified directly to the group stage as ISL champions and have been placed in Group C along with Iranian club Sepahan, Jordan’s Al-Hussein and Turkmenistan’s Ahal FK. They face Ahal in their first match on September 16 at home.“They know our match is on the 16th, that is also an international match. It is important for the country,” said the official. Performances of clubs within continental competitions have a direct effect on the country’s co-efficient rankings, which in turn decides the number of spots each member association receives in continental club competitions like the AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League 2 that Bagan is set to play in.The federation had earler urged clubs to release their players after announcing the camp. “The AIFF urges all Clubs to release National Team players for this crucial assignment, which also prepares the squad for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers against Singapore (away & home),” it had said.Story continues below this adJamil in his first statement as India head coach had also implored the clubs to do the same. “The important thing is that we remain united as a team. For the national interest, we would like to request co-operation from clubs to release players on time, to ensure their adequate participation during the preparatory camp,” he said.The development comes amid a larger crisis within Indian football caused by the indefinite suspension of the ISL. The upcoming season of the league, and indeed its very future, is up in the air after the Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the AIFF’s marketing partners for running the ISL, in a letter to the clubs expressed its inability to organise it in the face of their disagreement with the federation over the terms of the renewal of the Masters Rights Agreement (MRA) for running the league. The current MRA ends in December this year, which would’ve been around the halfway mark of the league season.© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:Indian Football teamMohun Bagan super giant