New Delhi Heroes, the only club from the Capital to have played in the last Federation Cup and register a win against I-League toppers Sporting Clube de Goa, have been without a sponsor for more than five months now. The Heroes will play the Gurgaon-leg of the I-League second division from Wednesday.
Insiders say that the club is going through a financial crisis ever since the split with Osians' and this has led to a few facing salary cuts.
"There are at least two to three payers who are not getting the salaries they were promised,” a Delhi player told HT on condition of anonymity. "Some of the players are even contemplating leaving," he said. "The players, besides facing salary cuts, are also not getting proper food," another source added.
Denying such claims, Neervav Tomar, the club's MD, said: "Nothing of that sort has happened. Asked about the salary cuts, he said, "That's just a process, a temporary one".
Asked why the two parties parted ways, Tomar said that, "it was the club which decided to part ways with Osians'".
"Osians never backed out, we only wanted to discontinue the partnership," Tomar said. "The club is now a fully owned subsidiary of IOS (Infinity Optimal Solutions)," he said. "They (Osians') were not paying the club for six months and that's the main reason that led to the split," said another club official. Tomar even said that, "the club will soon forge a partnership with one of the giants of the Indian corporate world."
{{/usCountry}}"Osians never backed out, we only wanted to discontinue the partnership," Tomar said. "The club is now a fully owned subsidiary of IOS (Infinity Optimal Solutions)," he said. "They (Osians') were not paying the club for six months and that's the main reason that led to the split," said another club official. Tomar even said that, "the club will soon forge a partnership with one of the giants of the Indian corporate world."
{{/usCountry}}Neville Tuli, the founder-chairman of Osians', said that the "association has come to an end because we have very different ways of looking at building platforms. "Osians' is an institution and cannot tackle projects in isolation to the larger infrastructure-building responsibilities," Tuli said.
"They (IOS) are more excited by the event and cannot see that it takes at least 5 to 7 years of hard work with a certain institutional mindset before you can build something with credibility." Osian's and IOS had joined hands three years ago to provide football fans in Delhi with a club that can compete at the national level. But as things stand now, it might take a while to realise that dream.