Kolkata: After a long tough battle of finding investors and with the FSDL, Kolkata Giants East Bengal finally inked a deal with a new investor Shree Cement Pvt. Limited on Wednesday (September 2) and has almost bought a ticket into the Indian Super League (ISL) 2020-21 season. The Kolkata-based company cement manufacturer is owned by Benu Gopal Bangur and is the third-largest cement brand of India.
Senior East Bengal official Debabrata Sarkar said that solving the obstacles by finding a new investor was only possible for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. “It was the CM who called us and told us that if Mohun Bagan is in ISL then it is impossible that East Bengal will be left behind. She always gave us hope and always kept telling us not to worry. We will now make an appeal to play in the ISL,” Sarkar was quoted as saying to Indian Express.
He said that East Bengal officials held conversations regarding taking part in this year’s ISL but ‘a few problems’ obstructed a deal. “When Didi (Mamata Banerjee) came into the picture she helped us fix these problems and we’ll move forward to ensure our place in the ISL,” Sarkar added.
East Bengal’s unsettled journey for a new investor started after former investor Quess parted ways with the club at the end of last season’s I-League. The club’s conversation with ATK Mohun Bagan owner Sanjiv Goenka’s CESC and Singapore-based Universal Success Enterprises Limited (USEL) founded by Prasoon Mukherjee failed.
But in August, Sarkar expressed it was Banerjee who brought sponsor Shree Cement and East Bengal together to work out a deal. Earlier, CM Mamata assured new investor for East Bengal. She also informed the red-golds official that Quess is not a suitable investor for them. On Banerjee’s advice, East Bengal has been looking for alternative investors ever since then. But, the chairman of Quess, Ajit Isaac created a problem as he refused to return NOC and Sporting Rights to the club.
However, in March, East Bengal almost finalised discussions with Shapoorji Pallonji Group a real estate, textiles company in Kolkata under the supervision of the CM Mamata. But the whole plan was demolished by a nationwide lockdown for the COVID-19.
CEO of Reliance India Tarun Jhunjhunwala stated, “We will try to get East Bengal into the ISL this year. There are some formalities need to be completed. With EB and MB both in ISL this will be a new beginning in Indian football.”
Sourav Ganguly’s role in helping the red and golds with an investor
East Bengal’s rival club ATK Mohun Bagan are already ready to take part in ISL as they earlier tied up with ATK that is upheld by an Industrial conglomerate company RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG). Sarkar also expressed gratitude to BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, who is on the board of directors of ATK Mohun Bagan, for his help in finding a new investor for East Bengal.
Few days back, Ganguly met East Bengal chief Sarkar at CAB. The former India skipper naturally inquired about red-golds investors. After that, the Red and Golds official talked to Ganguly a few more times about this issue. He was asked to help with a way for East Bengal to play in ISL.
As per reports, after hearing the request of East Bengal officials, Sourav spoke to Akash Ambani, son of Mukesh and Nita Ambani. Akash takes care of all the activities of the Mumbai Indians. In that sense, his relationship with the board president is quite good. Promising to Sourav, Akash said he would definitely discuss the matter with his mother Nita. After talking to Nita, Akash discussed to FSDL officials about the whole matter and tried to bring it in a positive direction.
However, there was a gap between the top officials of the FSDL. And soon after talking to Akash, the two leaders of the Ambanis, who were very close and influential, called Ganguly and expressed their dissatisfaction with East Bengal.
However, Ganguly reassured them that he would be involved in the whole process if needed. And help move the conversation between the two sides forward. There will be no difficulty anywhere.
“East Bengal is a big organization. If they play ISL, the standard of competition will increase. And in the future, the gallery at Kolkata Stadium will not be empty. And that is good for ISL as well,” Ganguly told EB officials. This is how Ganguly helped Red and Golds by talking with Ambani.
The East Bengal Club believes in winning and keeping heads held high. We are all ready to fight in high spirit. Be with us to witness the Tiger bounce back. #EastBengal #EBFC pic.twitter.com/NPLJwkdoEY
— East Bengal FC (@eastbengal_fc) September 2, 2020
“Dada (Sourav Ganguly) gave mental support. He guided us with the nitty-gritty and kept telling us to go to Didi and explain the situation to her and always stood beside us during the tough times,” Sarkar said.
“But we were always in the fight and knew that if persisted till the end then the match can be won even in the last moment, and that is what we did. This victory is all for all our fans and the club,” he said.
After Mohun Bagan, East Bengal too has reportedly sold a larger part to their new investor but Sarkar was hesitant to speak about all the details and said everything will be disclosed in the coming days.
Speaking at a press conference, Mamata Banerjee had said it was ‘a historic step for East Bengal’ and hoped that the club could now ‘take a step forward to playing in the ISL’.“I’ve spoken to Praful Patel of the All India Football Federation and have made my own plea to allow them to play in the ISL,” Banerjee signed off.
