East Bengal will play in ISL 2021-22, announces Mamata Banerjee

The West Bengal Chief Minister also reiterated that she wants Mohammedan Sporting to represent the city in India's top-flight league.

Chief Minister of West Bengal, Smt. Mamata Banerjee once again acted as a mediator between East Bengal club officials and investor Shree Cement. After a meeting with the said parties on Wednesday, she announced that the East Bengal, in association with Shree Cement, will be participating in the upcoming Indian Super League season.

"East Bengal played in the ISL with the help of Shree Cement last season. But there were a lot of uncertainties over the future of the club. Hence I also became a little hostile. However, I requested them to think about the innumerable East Bengal fans," she said in a press conference.

"What will happen to the fans if their favourite team does not play the ISL? I want Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and even Mohammedan to feature in the ISL. These teams have great brand value globally," CM Mamata Banerjee quipped.

[KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS]

The club management had signed an initial term sheet before they entered into the ISL in the 2020-21 season. Despite their best efforts, SC East Bengal could only finish at the ninth position. However, according to the initial term sheet, the club officials had to hand over the sporting rights as well as all its properties and assets (intellectual included) to the newly formed joint venture SC East Bengal Foundation.

The problems started ahead of this season as the investors denied spending any money on the team until the final agreement was signed. The club officials also were adamant that they don't want to sign the agreement, claiming disparities to their initial term.

Shree Cement went ahead and sent a revised agreement to the club officials, who in turn took legal aid and denied to sign once again. The fiasco resulted in Shree Cement wanting to pull out of the deal.

However, after the involvement of CM Mamata Banerjee, things are looking to take a peaceful turn. She had played a big role in helping East Bengal find an investor in the first place last season and is helping once again to resolve the differences amicably.

[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News |ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

“We also want the games to happen. Due to certain reasons, we couldn’t sign the final term sheet. We were trying since the past year to make things work. However, since you have requested we will be participating in this year’s ISL," a spokesperson of Shree Cement answered to Banerjee's request.

East Bengal official Debabrata Sarkar who was also present at the meeting, thanked the Chief Minister for her relentless support.

"Didi has always been with us. For her, we could install floodlights at the club grounds. Just like last year, this year too, Didi has helped us come out of a tough spot. We thank her and SCL. I think didi's phrase of 'Khela hobe!' sits very nicely in this situation," he quipped.

It seems like both parties have found a middle ground and East Bengal will be featuring in the upcoming ISL. However, they will have to work very fast now to complete all the procedures required to field a team as the Indian transfer window closes on August 31.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Twitter, Instagram and join our community on Telegram.