I-League 2018-19: What's stopping Coimbatore-based Chennai City FC from renaming the club

Chennai City FC has simply taken the I-League by storm this season and have emerged as one of the underdogs. It has been an amazing transformation for Chennai City FC, who are topping the league at the moment.

Chennai City FC has won seven out of their nine home matches. As a result, Coimbatore has clearly proved to be their lucky charm and their owner has made it clear to stay at Coimbatore for at least the next five years.

With such great and inspired performances to their name, they clearly stand as the strong contender to claim the 2018-19 I-League title.

Much to their delight, it has been a completely different story for Chennai City FC and the football fanatics of Coimbatore this time around as they have established their identity in Coimbatore, refurbishing the JN Stadium at the start of the previous season to play their home matches in the ground.

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Coimbatore

Despite owing a major part of the success to the fans in Coimbatore, the one question that remains unanswered is "What is stopping them from renaming the club?"

This question has been put up time and again by the football fraternity and the fans have been demanding for a change in the name of the club. They could easily be called Coimbatore City FC or any other suitable one which could go well with the fanatics.

With there already being a Chennaiyin FC in the ISL and since Chennai City FC are playing in Coimbatore now, should they be called something else?

Despite all these talks speculating over a few months, the club, however, is not interested in renaming the club.

First things first, Chennai City FC have procured and unearthed a lot of hidden talents like Michael Soosairaj, Dhanpal Ganesh, Nandhakumar, Edwin Sydney, Ajithkumar Kamaraj and Shem Marton from Chennai Football Association (CFA) Senior Division.

CFA Senior Division is a local league played in Chennai and Chennai City FC can take part in it only if they are registered with CFA. A shift to Coimbatore could hamper their chances of winning the CFA and scout a lot of domestic talents.

Moreover, there aren't any professional football league played in the district of Coimbatore except for Division Leagues.

Some sources close to the owner also mentioned this as the main reason for Chennai City FC's resistance to change their name.

Secondly, Coimbatore hosts no other sport except for football. It would simply mean a degrade in support and could well undermine the name of the club.

A lot of fans have turned up in Coimbatore

Despite conducting a lot of grassroots programs and having lower division teams, a lot needs to be done to bring back football into Coimbatore. Only time will tell whether we could see a change in the name of Chennai City FC.