Mohun Bagan Mulling the Idea of Projecting Howrah as Their Base
Internet Desk: The participation of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in the Indian Super League (ISL) next season is in doubts, following a comment from Atletico de Kolkata owner Sanjeev Goenka. Mr. Goenka recently commented that Atletico will be the only team from the city to represent in the ISL. According to the ‘One City One League’ model, Atletico de Kolkata will be the only team to represent the city of joy in the ISL.
According to sources in the Federation, both the Kolkata giants along with Bengaluru FC will likely be the addition to the eight franchises that are currently playing in the league. In that case, the number of franchise/clubs will increase to 11.
The Federation and IMG-R may face three kinds of problems if they wish to have a league with 11 teams.
Firstly, to have a league with 11 teams will not be a good advertisement for the league itself. Secondly, to increase the number of franchises/clubs to 11 will mean an increase in the budget. Moreover, it will not be viable to organize the league for eight months. Thirdly, the broadcasters of the ISL i.e., Star Sports is willing to have a league with 10 teams.
Chirag Tanna, who is the General Manager of Reliance India Limited, Sports and Integration and the former Head of Operations at I-League club Pune FC, has recently emphasized on having a 10 team league. He also revealed that in the 2017-18 season of ISL, there will be a total of 95 televised matches including the league or round robin system, semi-finals and final.
Chirag has laid out the salient challenges of having a football calendar divided between two top tier leagues and why they need to be merged as soon as possible.
Speaking at the Star Sports India Football Forum 2016 in New Delhi recently, Mr. Tanna said, “The number of clubs in ISL and the divisions below will increase. And we will also take the football culture of the city into account when taking up a club. All clubs will have to fulfill licensing criteria set by AIFF and AFC, to ensure that they all contribute to infrastructure and grassroots development.”
Bengaluru FC, having a corporate background automatically will find them getting an entry into the ISL next season. But it will be a toss between the two Kolkata giants as to who will become the 10th team if it turns out to be a 10 team affair.
The assistant secretary of Mohun Bagan, Srinjoy Bose, has a very good relation with the CEO of Reliance Sports, Mr. Sunder Raman. Moreover, Srinjoy has been in the Indian Premier League (IPL) committee when Raman was the COO. So, his relationship with Mr. Raman is bound to have its influence on the 10th team.
The Federation Cup champions are already in talks with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies to partner them for ISL.
Mohun Bagan also has a Plan B ready, should there be a problem with the ‘One City One League’ model. They are looking at the option of projecting the club with a base in Howrah which is another city altogether. In that case, Mr. Goenka should have no objection. The Mariners have a strong support base in Howrah. They are in talks with Howrah Improvement Trust that looks after the Howrah Corporation Stadium. If the need does arise they can project the Howrah Corporation Stadium as their home ground.