Diamond Harbour FC won the IFL 2025-26 title, then gave up their ISL place
Hugo Díaz’s stoppage-time header in Goa won Diamond Harbour the IFL title and promotion. Three months later the club missed the ISL fee deadline and will play in the IFL again in 2027-28.
May 25, 2026 · Updated Oct 23, 2026
Update, 23 October 2026: Diamond Harbour FC won the Indian Football League 2025-26 and the promotion that came with it, but they are not playing in the Indian Super League. The club did not pay the Rs 1.1 crore ISL participation fee for 2026-27, which was due in two instalments of Rs 55 lakh. Their first instalment was adjusted against prize money owed to them; the second was still outstanding when the AIFF’s 14 August deadline passed. After the club asked for more time, the AIFF confirmed on 19 August that the season would go ahead with 13 clubs. On 2 September the federation told the clubs that Diamond Harbour “has not taken up its promoted slot”, will be placed bottom of the 2026-27 table without earning points, and will play in the IFL in 2027-28. The Times of India reported that the fee went unpaid “due to internal issues”. The ISL started on 10 October without them.
The Dempo draw that won the title
Diamond Harbour went to the PJN Stadium in Goa on 17 May needing a point against Dempo SC to be champions with a game to spare. Marcus Joseph put Dempo ahead in the 50th minute, reacting first to the rebound after his free-kick hit the wall. Kibu Vicuña sent on Luka Majcen, Bryce Miranda and R Ramdinthara, and heavy rain arrived in the last ten minutes. In the first minute of stoppage time, substitute Girik Khosla crossed and Hugo Díaz headed in. The 1-1 draw took Diamond Harbour to 29 points, out of Shillong Lajong’s reach.
The final round, at Kalyani Stadium on 23 May, ended in a 3-0 defeat to Shillong Lajong against a heavily rotated Diamond Harbour side. Everbrightson Sana scored in the 30th minute, Gladdy Nelcen Kharbuli added a second in first-half stoppage time, and Phrangki Buam made it 3-0 in the 54th minute. The win lifted Shillong to second on 28 points, one behind the champions. Buam was named the league’s Most Valuable Player, Dempo’s Ashish Sibi was Best Goalkeeper, and Joseph took the Golden Boot with nine goals.
How the title was won
The 2025-26 IFL, the renamed I-League, ran in two stages. Diamond Harbour lost their opening game and then won seven of the next eight, finishing the first stage top with 22 points from nine matches, five clear of Shillong Lajong and Rajasthan United. All points carried into the six-team championship round, where they stayed top after every round even though they won only two of their five games there.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diamond Harbour | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 20 | 29 |
| 2 | Shillong Lajong | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 12 | 28 |
| 3 | Sreenidi Deccan | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 13 | 26 |
| 4 | Rajasthan United | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 24 | 18 |
| 5 | Chanmari | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 25 | 15 |
| 6 | Dempo | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 18 | 15 |
Their 31 goals were the most in the league. Hugo Díaz scored eight of them, one fewer than Joseph’s league-leading nine.
Three titles in under two years
Diamond Harbour FC were founded in 2020 and admitted by the Indian Football Association to the Calcutta Football League First Division in 2022. The club’s president is Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee. Kibu Vicuña, who won the 2019-20 I-League with Mohun Bagan and later coached Kerala Blasters, was their first head coach in 2022, left for a spell at Mohammedan Sporting, and returned in May 2023.
The national climb came quickly. Diamond Harbour won I-League 3 in September-October 2024, then the I-League 2 between January and April 2025, which took them into the second tier. They also reached the 2025 Durand Cup final, beating ISL sides Jamshedpur FC and East Bengal on the way before losing 6-1 to NorthEast United. The 2025-26 IFL title made it three league titles in under two years.
What happened after the title
Diamond Harbour were due to be the third West Bengal club in the 2026-27 ISL, alongside Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal, with Mohammedan Sporting relegated in May. The participation fee was set at Rs 1.1 crore for 2026-27, part of a four-year agreement between the AIFF and the ISL clubs in July 2026.
Diamond Harbour were the only club that had not paid the second instalment by 14 August, and on 18 August they asked the AIFF for more time. The federation went ahead with 13 clubs instead (Jamshedpur FC had already pulled out in July, with their licence passing to Churchill Brothers). On 2 September the AIFF said relegation would still apply at the end of the season, with Diamond Harbour deemed to finish bottom. Kibu Vicuña’s spell as head coach ended in July 2026.
That leaves an odd record: Diamond Harbour were IFL champions in 2025-26 and earned an ISL place, but they will be back in the IFL for 2027-28 without having played an ISL match.