West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee once again, has come forward and assured the fans of East Bengal that the club would play in the Indian Super League despite its management’s ugly tussle with investors Shree Cement Limited (SCL).
Banerjee, who had played a key role in the tie-up of SCL with East Bengal in its last-minute bid to play in ISL last season, took a dig at the club management for being adamant in not signing the final agreement.
“Ektu chere khelun, ektu chere khelle ota hoe jabe (Allow some space. It will be alright then,” Mamata said during a programme at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here.
The 2021-22 ISL season is set to start in November and will be played in Goa, under closed doors like last year.
There was a huge shadow of doubt over East Bengal’s participation in the ISL due to the ongoing tussle between East Bengal and their investor Shree Cement. The tussle intensified went the East Bengal Executive Committee refused to sign the final agreement sheet for the continuation of the joint venture between the two parties. The Committee also labeled the joint venture one-sided, and it looked like the future of the club was uncertain.
Talks were going on for the last few weeks between Shree Cement and East Bengal (through mediators) and the matter was resolved in a meeting chaired by Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat ‘Nabanna’, where representatives of East Bengal and investor Shree Cement Limited was also present in an effort to break the deadlock over the final agreement.
Now, as per the agreements (between both the parties) – Shree Cement will continue to sponsor East Bengal and the team will now participate in the upcoming Hero Indian Super League (ISL).
“We also want the khela (game) to happen. Due to certain reasons, we couldn’t sign the definitive agreement. We were trying for the past one year to make things work. However, since you (Mamata) have requested we will be participating in this year’s ISL,” Shree Cement representative, chief finance officer Subhash Jajoo, said.
After her outburst against the investor on Monday for saying they cannot continue with the deal, the chief minister appeared to have mellowed on Wednesday.
“East Bengal played the ISL last year owing to Shree Cement. This time things were a bit uncertain because of which I too became a bit hostile (on Monday). Where will the crores of East Bengal fans go, I thought, if they aren’t able to play? East Bengal have a brand value in world football. I had requested them (Shree Cement) and they agreed,” she said.
“I think East Bengal fans are happy now. Even Mohun Bagan (ATK Mohun Bagan feature in ISL) will be happy because they want their opponents to play. I had received so many calls, voicing their concern about East Bengal’s fate. So, everyone would be happy today,” Mamata added.
In September last year, Mamata had played the role of messiah to thousands of East Bengal fans by announcing Shree Cement as investor. That cleared the way for East Bengal to feature in the ISL.
