Hyderabad: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced that Kolkata giant East Bengal will play in the Indian Super League 2020-21 season. Banerjee's statement came when the club found an investor in a cement company. "The problem has now been solved. Now East Bengal will play in ISL," she said.
Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the patron of the ISL, is likely to enlist East Bengal to India's top division as the eleventh club of the league.
East Bengal completed 100th year of existence on 1st August 2020. Earlier, reports were coming that The Red and Gold, the nickname of East Bengal, might have to wait for another season to join top-notch clubs of ISL.
Now FSDL is believed to have taken the decision to induct East Bengal into the ISL after the Kolkata Maidan club managed to resolve their financial doldrums as a cement company came forward to take the club into the fold of ISL.
This development is expected to enable East Bengal to enter the top tier of the Indian football league. However, there are still little doubts over East Bengal's participation in the ISL as Reliance official Tarun Jhunjunwala commented," We would not have reached this stage without the blessing of Didi. It is a new beginning of East Bengal. We will try that East Bengal will play in ISL this year. There are some formalities which need to be completed. With East Bengal and Mohun Bagan together in ISL, this will be a new beginning of Indian football."
Mamata Banerjee's statement In July arch-rivals Mohun Bagan got a ticket to play in the ISL, thanks to their merger with ATK. If East Bengal also come on board, the famed Kolkata derby will be the marquee fixture of the ISL 2020-21 season.
In the face of COVID-19 pandemic, the seventh season of the ISL will be held in three venues in Goa, namely the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, and the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco.
Each team has been allotted a separate training ground and now ISL organising committee will have to allot one to East Bengal if the club gets an entry.
FC Goa, ATK Mohun Bagan, Bengaluru FC will have Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium as their base. Jamshedpur FC, NorthEast United, Hyderabad FC will camp at the Tilak Maidan Stadium whereas GMC ATheltic Stadium will be home to Chennaiyin FC, Mumbai City, Odisha FC, and Kerala Blasters.
