NEW DELHI: It had been a while coming but on Sunday, Indian Super League (ISL) organisers Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) officially unveiled East Bengal as the 11th club in this year’s competition. In the club’s centenary year, club officials were under pressure from the millions of fans, especially after arch-rivals Mohun Bagan merged with ATK, to officially enter the top division. With the help of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, the Red and Golds managed to find an investor in Shree Cement Limited and things moved quickly thereafter.
“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 inclusion of both legacy clubs, i.e. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan (now ATK Mohun Bagan), opens limitless possibilities for Indian football, especially for talent development in the state,” said FSDL founder and chairperson Nita Ambani.
With their ISL status confirmed, East Bengal need to start working on building a competitive team for the league. They will begin at a disadvantage with other team’s already securing Indian as well as overseas signings. Even though the club already have existing contracts with players who were part of the I-League last couple of seasons, it remains to be seen how the team shapes up in the coming days ahead of the November start.
“Once our coaching team is finalised, we will begin team building. Fans should not be worried about this aspect and we can assure them that a strong line-up will be fielded,” a top official commented. According to sources, former Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler might be the head coach with former India star Renedy Singh assisting him. “We have been in discussion with him for over three weeks. The club and investors are constantly in dialogue over assembling the best in terms of both players and coaches,” the official added.