Kolkata: Mohun Bagan, one of India’s oldest clubs have already faced a setback in being unable to enter the cash-rich Indian Super League (ISL) after they refused to submit their bid demanding that their ₹15 crore franchise fee be waived off.
To make matters worse for the Mariners, the club president Swapan Sadhan Bose, today submitted a letter of resignation, citing ‘deteriorating health’ as the reason for doing so.
In a letter addressed to the general secretary of the club Anjan Mitra (who too has health problems) he wrote, ” ..With every passing day my health is deteriorating further and I think with this condition that I am doing no justice to the chair of the President of our beloved club.”
He goes on to request Mitra and the members of the Executive Committee to accept his resignation.
“..I hereby resign from the post with immediate effect. I request you and the Executive Committee Members to accept my resignation” he added.
The former I-League champions along with arch-rivals East Bengal were firm in their stance of not paying the ₹15 crore franchise fee to compete in the ISL.
The IMG-Reliance owned tournament recently announced the inclusion of former I-League champions Bengaluru FC owned by the JSW Group in the ISL. Also, a team from Jamshedpur owned by Tata Steel has been included in the eight-team tournament.
Hence, the ISL from now on would be a ten-team affair from it’s fourth edition onwards and would be played for a period of six-seven months.
Under such circumstances, both these heavyweight Kolkata clubs would participate in the I-League which would run simultaneously with the ISL. The I-League thus, is bound to suffer a loss of viewership as people would be drawn to watching the ISL. Also, the big names are expected to participate in the cash-rich ISL, which is financially more attractive.
Mohun Bagan is thus set to endure some trying times ahead, keeping these things in mind but Bose assured that he would be mentally linked with the club and would love to help them in any capacity which falls within his capabilities.
Wrote Bose, “It is a very tough and emotional decision for me but everything has to come to an end one day. However my mental bonding with the club will remain till the last breath of my life and would love to be of any help to my club within my capabilities.”
(With inputs from Sangbad Pratidin and Hindustan Times)