East Bengal FC and Crispin Chhetri offer differing perspectives on timing, preparation and the availability of nine players for India’s Russia friendlies.
Kolkata, October 8: The availability of East Bengal Women players for India’s two international friendlies against Russia has created a debate around the national team’s preparation. However, the statements from both East Bengal FC and India Women head coach Crispin Chhetri suggest that the situation was more about timing and preparation than a refusal to release players for national duty. And just before the kick off the first clash against Russia.
East Bengal FC, through an official statement, clarified that the club had agreed to release all nine called-up players — Panthoi Chanu, Shilky Devi Hemam, Astam Oraon, Naorem Priyanka Devi, Soumya Guguloth, Thoibisana Chanu, Rimpa Haldar, Mamani Das and Sathi Debnath — for the official FIFA Women’s International Window beginning on October 5. The club also strongly denied reports suggesting that it had withheld the players because of its upcoming Indian Women’s League and AFC Women’s Champions League commitments.
That position does not necessarily contradict what Crispin Chhetri said earlier. The head coach had also acknowledged that East Bengal were willing to release their players, as clubs traditionally do for national-team duty, but the difference came in when those players would be available. East Bengal’s agreement was for the players to join during the FIFA window from October 5.
For Crispin, however, the preparation had already started earlier, on September 18. By the time the FIFA window opened, the coach had already spent more than two weeks working with the available group and building his combinations for the Russia friendlies. Bringing nine players into the setup only from October 5 would have meant making significant adjustments to a squad that had already been preparing together.
That is where the decision was made. Crispin chose to continue with the players who had been part of the camp from the beginning rather than bring in the nine East Bengal players at a much later stage. It was therefore less about whether East Bengal were willing to release their players and more about whether their late arrival would fit into the preparation plan the head coach had already established.
East Bengal’s statement is important because it puts the club’s position on record. At the same time, Crispin’s earlier comments should not be read as an accusation that East Bengal refused national duty. His explanation was centred on the timing of the release and the difficulty of building a proper combination with players joining only from October 5.
In Indian football, clubs and the national team will inevitably have moments where their schedules do not perfectly align. Players need both environments, and neither side benefits when a question of availability turns into a narrative of confrontation. In this case too, the focus should remain on the footballers and the preparation required to represent India.
The positions of both East Bengal FC and Crispin Chhetri can therefore stand together: the club was willing to release the players during the FIFA window, while the head coach, having started his preparation on September 18, decided that bringing them in from October 5 would not provide enough time to achieve the combination and preparation he wanted for the Russia friendlies.
What matters now is not creating a collision between the club and the national team, but understanding the circumstances from both sides, and keeping the focus where it belongs: on the players, the national team and Indian football.
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