Why are Inter Kashi crowned champions of I-League? Will they play ISL 2025?

Inter Kashi have finally been declared as the champions of the I-League, as they can finally participate in the Indian Super League, which is the top division of Indian football. Previously, AIFF have declared that Churchill Brothers from GOA were crowned as the champions of the I-League, which is the second division of Indian football. In recent reports, the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) has finally looked into the appeal of Inter Kashi, as they registered a case against Churchill Brothers on the registration of Mario Barco. Inter Kashi crowned champions of I-League, will ask questions about AIFF's decisions, who previously declared Churchill Brothers champions.

The controversy made it into the highlights when Inter Kashi signed Mario Barco at the start of the season, and later deregistered him, as Barco picked up a knock in December.

Initially, Inter Kashi signed Barco's replacement and announced the signing of Matija Babovic. A couple of months later, Inter Kashi controversially re-registered Mario Barco as a replacement for Juan Perez del Pino, who had mutually terminated his contract with the club. And according to the rules of the I-League, a foreign player can be replaced by another foreign player up to three times in the competition, either due to injury or illness that a player rules a player out for the rest of the season, or a mutual contract termination. However, the rule allows three such changes, and the real controversy sparked when Barco was expected to be out for the entire season, and also after signing his replacement, Inter Kashi re-registered and included him in their squad. On July 18, the CAS finally ended the debate.

Will Inter Kashi play ISL 2025?

Inter Kashi are now crowned I-League champions of India. Hence, they will be able to contest in the ISL 2025-26 season as they are promoted to the first-tier league of Indian football. ISL has been in headlines as a controversy is still on whether the Indian Super League will happen this year. Inter Kashi joining ISL will be a good boost for the league and the team themselves, who can showcase their talents in Indian football's top-tier league.