FC Pune City Looking to Relocate, Advise Players to Not Fall to 'Frivolous Rumours'
FC Pune City released a statement saying the club is not shutting down contrary to rumours and informed the player that financial dues will be cleared.
A file photo of FC Pune City's team logo. (Photo Credit: ISL)
New Delhi: Indian Super League franchise FC Pune City have announced their intention to relocate to another city and have, in a statement, waived rumours suggesting that the club is set to shut down.
Since a couple of days, social media was abuzz with the news that FC Pune City is set to shut down after financial troubles have been clouding their management. That the club has not paid its staff and players has been in the news for a while now.
On Monday, FC Pune City took to its official Twitter handle and said the club "is not winding up its operations" but is "looking at relocating to a new city".
Rumour mills also suggest that a franchise based in Hyderabad is set to join the ISL for the upcoming season and going by Pune's statement, the two might be connected.
In their statement, FC Pune City also warned other clubs from contacting their players directly by stating "this is against the statutes put in place by FIFA". They said these clubs must go through the "FC Pune City club management.
— FC Pune City (@FCPuneCity) June 17, 2019
The club also informed the contracted players that "all the financial obligations will be met as per the agreed schedule" and asked the players to approach the club management for any further queries.
A few days ago, Goal.com reported that FC Pune City player Ashique Kuruniyan wrote to All India Football Federation (AIFF) complaining about non-payment of dues by the club.
Kuruniyan's name appeared just days after reports came out that ISL veteran Iain Hume had also contacted AIFF over the payment issues with FC Pune City.