Xtra Time Web Desk: The ball will finally set rolling in Kolkata maidan. After a gap of one year the Indian Football Association (IFA) in a meeting with the premier league clubs on Thursday decided to start the Kolkata Football League from the middle of August. The Kolkata League could not be staged last season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The meeting was attended by Senior vice president of All India Football Federation (AIFF) Subrata Dutta, IFA Secretary Joydeep Mukherjee and representatives of all the premier league clubs including ATK Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting. For ATK Mohun Bagan, Director Debashis Dutta attended the meeting while Mohammed Qamaruddin represented Mohammedan Sporting club. SC East Bengal officials were conspicuously missing in the meeting held at the IFA office.
IFA Secretary Joydeep Mukherjee did sent a letter to both Shree Cement and East Bengal secretary Kalyan Majumder informing them to send a representative to attend the meeting. East Bengal club CEO Col. Shibaji Samaddar later called IFA secretary and took the details about the meeting. He also informed about his inconvenience attending the meeting due to personal reasons.
Meanwhile the roadmap to start the Kolkata Football League was discussed. It was decided that there will be no relegation in the Kolkata League this season. All the league matches will be staged in empty stadiums without any fans. The IFA is also thinking about staging all the league matches in a bio-secure environment.