How will Mohun Bagan benefit from their inclusion in the Club of Pioneers?

The club is a gathering of some of football's oldest and most prestigious club.

It is not every day that Indian football or an Indian football club gets global recognition. One such feat has been achieved by Mohun Bagan AC, the oldest Indian football club. The club was formed way back in 1889 and played a vital role in igniting the first sense of revolution against the Britishers after winning the IFA Shield in 1911 against the East Yorkshire Regiment. The Green and Maroon players played barefooted and triumphed in a historic turn of events. The date went down as a watershed moment in Indian football and also in India's struggle for independence.

The Mariners have a rich legacy and have seen top players in the country don their jersey. Hence the Club of Pioneers, an elite football group formed by Sheffield FC have shown their interest in roping Bagan in their star-studded conglomerate. Sheffield are regarded as the first football club in the world had formed this association back in 2013, known as the Club of Pioneers and since then they have managed to rope in 22 teams in the elite association from all over the world. The main aim is to unite the oldest clubs from all over the globe under one umbrella.

Clubs like Genoa CFC from Italy, Queen's Park from Scotland, Royal Antwerp from Belgium and FC St. Gallen from Switzerland are some of the names associated with the Club of Pioneers. Bagan have become the third team from Asia after Japan's Yokohama C & AC and Hong Kong FC.

Mohun Bagan will now share the space with some of the oldest clubs in the world and will be a part of the prestigious Pioneers Cup. It will open new boundaries for them in Europe and all over the world and if the management can garner their contacts they can arrange tie-ups with several clubs, which could also help crack a sponsorship deal which the club are currently looking for.

Bagan's inclusion in the Club of Pioneers had been in the pipelline for a long time, but the deal was not materializing. In stepped a sports management firm, Sportifan which shared similar interests and connected the dotted lines that landed the deal for Bagan.

Sportifan is a new organization formed only in 2019 and its founding members Sarthak Mondal, Arko Biswas and Samrat Ghosh started this firm specialized in B2B marketing strategies, fan interaction and personality representation. The organization held a meeting with Mohun Bagan club officials, which resulted in the penning of the deal for their inclusion in the Club of Pioneers.

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Khel Now had the opportunity to speak with the director of Sportifan, Sarthak Mondal about the Club of Pioneers and what it means to be a part of the elite association of clubs. He also spoke about the significance of Mohun Bagan's inclusion in the elite conglomerate.

"Club of Pioneers is a global body comprising of the oldest existing and continuously running football club from every country. It has got a mix of both professional and semi-professional clubs depending on the history of the country. Some of the famous clubs include Genoa AFC of Italy, Queens Park FC of Scotland, Sheffield FC of England and many others".

Mondal seemed certain that the deal would open up the global industry for Bagan, which could attract sponsorship deals with global brands. He also feels that there is a chance that the Mariners can tie up with any of the other member clubs in the organization.

"Joining this community gives Mohun Bagan global exposure and with this, they can leverage their position in the global footballing industry to establish ties with clubs in the organisation or even other global brands whose vision aligns to that of the club.

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"For example: If Mohun Bagan can establish some sort of relationship of player exchange with Genoa AFC, they can potentially have players from the club, who are likely to be sent out on loan for development. While Genoa are not at the same level as Juventus, their academy players will be of far better quality than most foreigners to grace Indian football," he concluded.

So, the new association in all likelihood is a new beginning for the Green and Maroons as the new season beckons. The Mariners have also appointed their new coach in Jose Antonio Vicuna for the upcoming campaign. Is this a step to a new dawn for Bagan, we will have to wait and see.