Thursday , March 28 2024

Rajasthan United FC to field nine players on I-League debut against RoundGlass Punjab FC!

Newcomers Rajasthan United FC ahead of their historic I-League debut on Sunday, December 26 revealed that they will only be allowed to field nine players against RoundGlass Punjab FC due to a registration issue with their amateur players.

In an official statement, Rajasthan United FC stated that they have fallen short of players available for the opener. The club qualified for the I-League on their first attempt in the qualifiers in October 2021 and became the first team from Rajasthan to make it to the I-League.

In their statement, Rajasthan United FC wrote, “RUFC qualified for the I-league on the basis of winning the qualifiers in October this year. An extended qualifiers season meant that the club couldn’t sign new players after qualifying for the I-league since registration had already closed for the players.”

“As big as an achievement the qualification was, it also left the club with very little time to prepare and put together a competitive team for the same. We retained minimal players from the qualifiers and sought to get better players for the higher league – seeing as the competition is undoubtedly higher.”

“With the transfer window for the professional players closed (In Fact, before the qualifiers itself on August 31). This meant registering players would be tough, and all the transfers could only resume in the new year (From January 1).”

As per Rajasthan United FC, the All India Football Federation has issued a statement saying that the teams who cannot sign new players must field amateur players until December 31. But the plans of Rajasthan United FC went into chaos after a new guideline by AIFF which doesn’t allow amateur players signed after August 31 to play.

Notably, Rajasthan United FC have already registered a majority of their players as amateurs, following the initial statement. “The RUFC requested the league to consider postponing the fixture to help avoid the embarrassment this would cause not just the club but also the league, our opponent, and Indian football overall.”

As things stand, Rajasthan United FC will take the ground against RoundGlass Punjab FC with only nine players.

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