FC Pune City over and out; club to re-branded, renamed and moved to Hyderabad - Hindustan Times
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FC Pune City over and out; club to re-branded, renamed and moved to Hyderabad

HT, Pune | ByOumar Aga
Aug 26, 2019 02:25 PM IST

Former CEO of Kerala Blasters, Varun Tripuraneni, did not deny the following information revealed to HT by the sources within FCPC: “Tripuraneni has bought a majority stake in FC Pune City and is the main catalyst in this move to switch cities”.

For the sixth edition of the Indian Super League (ISL), FC Pune City will be moving to Hyderabad, wrapping up operations at the Shree Shiv Chattrapati Sports Complex Stadium, also known as the Balewadi Stadium in Pune.

Official supporters’ club, the Orange Army, have stood by FCPC for five years.(HT Photo)
Official supporters’ club, the Orange Army, have stood by FCPC for five years.(HT Photo)

Highly placed sources within the club in Pune, requesting anonymity, said, “The team will be under a completely new management and ownership. The club is to be completely rebranded and renamed.”

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Former CEO of Kerala Blasters, Varun Tripuraneni, did not deny the following information revealed to HT by the sources within FCPC: “Tripuraneni has bought a majority stake in FC Pune City and is the main catalyst in this move to switch cities”.

“Yes I am involved. I will release a statement shortly,” is all Tripuraneni is willing to say for now.

Gaurav Modwel, CEO, FC Pune City, said: “We will be making an official announcement, clarifying every detail very soon, and till then I cannot comment on anything. Yes, Varun Tripuraneni is involved, but that is all I can say right now.”

The club is expected to make an official announcement confirming the move to Hyderabad this week.

The tentative venue for the new Hyderabad team is the Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Gachibowli Sports Complex, in suburban Hyderabad.

The fixtures list for the upcoming Indian Super League (ISL) season was released on Friday, August 23, with the FC Pune City’s name still on it. A disclaimer however, specifies that all match dates, teams and timings are tentative and subject to change.

With fixtures now announced, players who are still under contract at FC Pune City, are eagerly waiting for an official announcement from the club. Ashutosh Mehta, Sarthak Goloui and Diego Carlos have moved to different clubs, while players who are still at FC Pune City will, according to the sources within the club, will be offered a new contract by the new owners, which will see the old contract with FC Pune City terminated.

FC Pune City, after five seasons in the ISL, ran out of funds and were unable to find any local investor in order to keep the club in the city.

It is unclear if current co-owners of the club, Rajesh Wadhawan Group, will have any stake at all going forward.

Transfer ban?

Following an ill-mannered attempt to sign Nestor Gordillo from I-League side Chennai City FC, FC Pune City was fined Rs 5 lakh and handed a two transfer window ban, with Gordillo getting slapped with a four-month ban. Gordillo, who has a year left in his contract with Chennai City, is accused of signing a “pre-contract” with FC Pune City for the 2019-20 season. FCPC was found guilty of providing wrong information in its defence.

It is unclear if this transfer ban will be applicable to the the new “Hyderabad team”, since it is going to operate under a completely new management.

No authority at ISL is willing to comment until the teams news is made official.

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