East Bengal are currently grappling with myriad issues both on and off the field. The legendary club’s Indian Super League (ISL) avatar SC East Bengal are languishing at the bottom of the standings after 18 matches. Off-field, the club management are at loggerheads with sponsors Shree Cements, over the signing of the final agreement of the term-sheet for months, something that has jeopardised the century old club’s future in the Indian Super League (ISL) itself.
Amidst the escalating feud between East Bengal and Shree Cements, the club’s senior official Debabrata Sarkar in an interview with Sportskeeda spoke about the club’s future investors and rumoured signings. Sarkar told the outlet that they had initiated talks with Bashundhara Group to patronise the club from the next season and “negotiations are ongoing.”
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It must be noted that East Bengal recently accorded a lifetime membership to Bangladesh tycoon Sayem Sobhan Anvir – the managing director of Bashundhara Group, in a grand reception on the club’s lawn. There’s a catch here, as East Bengal cannot rope in a new investor until they get their sporting rights back from the Shree Cement East Bengal Foundation. Shree Cements holds about 76 percent stake, whereas the club enjoys a 24 percent equity in the venture.
On being asked if the current investors have been informed about the club’s intent to terminate the alliance at the end of the season, Sarkar refused to comment on the contentious issue and said that the club doesn’t have any conflicts with Shree Cements. However, he stressed that they have to “agree to our terms and conditions, we’ll certainly welcome their decision. They need to give us a proper proposal for that.”
Sarkar is also hopeful that Football Sports Development Limited [FSDL] will help the club reach an amicable solution with their current investors. He said, “The FSDL have given us their full cooperation so far, and I’m sure that they understand our perspective and will formulate a proper solution for us.”
On the rumoured signings and retentions, Sarkar mentioned that they are officially yet to “sign any new player” but have initiated talks with few of them. Rumours are rife that East Bengal have already handed out pre-contract papers to several young local talents for the upcoming season. Nabi Hussain Khan [George Telegraph], Mahitosh Roy [George Telegraph] and Shubham Bhowmick [Madan Maharaj FC] are among the several youngsters the club has reached out to, the report added.
For the unversed, the Red and Gold brigade made a last-minute entry into the ISL. They had parted ways with their former investors Quess Corp and were in search of investments for their ISL sojourn. However, no entity was willing to come on board until the Bangur family-helmed Shree Cement Limited accepted the proposal in September last year. After rounds of parleys headed nowhere, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee mediated between the warring parties and a new joint venture named Shree Cement East Bengal Foundation was formed on the basis of a term sheet.
SC East Bengal’s both seasons have ended on a disappointing note, they finished ninth in their maiden ISL campaign. Whereas, in the current season, they’ve slipped to the rock bottom of the ISL 2021-22 standings, with just a solitary win under their belt and out of contention for the playoffs.
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