Kolkata: The idea of Kolkata giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan participating in the ISL couldn’t materialize into reality this year but AIFF President Praful Patel hinted that they might be in the scheme of things for the ISL next year.
After a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Sports Minister Aroop Biswas on Thursday, Patel said that the upcoming season of domestic football is just a, ‘bridging year’ and no final call has been made.
He said, “Mohun Bagan and East Bengal hold India’s football legacy, they hold a great tradition. I have said it before that this is only a bridging year. No final decision has been taken yet.”
This would indeed be a welcome news for the football fans in Kolkata, especially after it was made known to all that both these heavyweight I-League clubs would be playing their matches at the iconic Salt Lake stadium this season.
Earlier this year, both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal made the news for showing adamancy in not paying the franchise fee of ₹15 crore to play in the ISL. But after Patel’s meeting with Mamata Banerjee, it can only be inferred that the possibility of the famous Kolkata derby being played in glamour of the ISL may turn out to be true.
The ISL ever since it’s inception in 2014 has been an instant hit and in the process, it has also ended up outshining the I-League. With the U-17 World Cup scheduled to be hosted in October, the AIFF had to reschedule it’s plans and thus the I-League and the ISL would be simultaneously contested for the very first time. Besides the three-year old ISL has also been granted an official recognition by the the AFC and FIFA.
But Patel, maintained that the I-League remains the top-tier league in the country.
He said, “I-League is still the No.1 league and the most prestigious tournament of the country. The tournament will be of high level. The season has been condensed from seven to five months because of the World Cup and as a consequence, both the leagues will run simultaneously.”
Although it seems quite a distant prospect now, both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal playing the ISL would undoubtedly be great for Indian football as a whole as then the level of competition would rise to an all-new level along with the performance of the foreign and the Indian players participating in the competition.