Mumbai, Sept 27
It’s official. Riding a wave of emotions and last-ditch efforts, East Bengal on Sunday entered the ISL in the iconic club’s centenary year, joining Indian football’s significant other—Mohun Bagan—in the top tier.Among others, the club’s journey to the Indian Super League involved a serious intervention by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.The latest announcement by Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) chairperson Nita Ambani came less than a month after Banerjee personally announced city-based Shree Cement as the club’s major stakeholders following negotiations in the state secretariat.“It is such a happy and proud moment for ISL as we welcome East Bengal FC and their millions of fans into the League,” the FSDL supremo Ambani said in a statement.FSDL runs the lucrative league.The yet-to-be-christened consortium of East Bengal and Shree Cement, who holds a 76 per cent stake, becomes the 11th team to enter the ISL.East Bengal thus followed in the footsteps of arch-rivals Mohun Bagan, who were the first to join the top-tier league this season, after merging with three-time defending champions ATK.The announcement will pave the way for the FSDL to finalise the detailed fixtures of the event that is set to start in November.Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the three-month long tournament will be played at three venues of Goa from the second-half of November.In the current scenario, the matches will be closed-door affairs, but the inclusion of the Big Two of Indian football will still take the league to another level.“The inclusion of both legacy clubs—East Bengal and Mohun Bagan (now ATK Mohun Bagan) — opens limitless possibilities for Indian football, especially for talent development in the state,” Ambani added.“West Bengal has made an immense contribution to the growth of the beautiful game in India. ISL’s growing footprint in the state and across India, is yet another step towards our mission of building a competitive and robust football ecosystem in the country.” Owner and managing director of Shree Cement, Hari Mohan Bangur, who has acquired a majority stake in the club, gave full credit to the state chief minister for the last-minute inclusion of East Bengal. “This was made possible because of Mamata ji. If at all we have to give credit, it’s her,” Bangur told PTI from Dubai.“At the very beginning, she had made it clear (that East Bengal will play this year). Mamata ji’s words carry a lot of weight and we did not look back (in forming a venture with EB).”The real challenge, however, will begin now on the field, as the club will have to finalise the squad.
