I-League 2019: Quess East Bengal in talks to join hands with European giants FC Barcelona

As per recent developments, senior officials of Spanish outfits FC Barcelona met with Quess East Bengal Football Club on Wednesday for a possible association of these two historic clubs. The meeting was held at the Quess House in Bengaluru and was facilitated by Rakuten, the principal sponsor and the global innovation partner of FC Barcelona. Incidentally, 'Rakuten' is advising the Calatan giants to expand its market worldwide.

Meanwhile, East Bengal has recently been linked with a possible move to the Indian Super League from the traditional I-League but the matter never matured. Quess Corp Pvt. Ltd was roped in by Kolkata giants last year as their sponsor. Since then, the club has seen major developments, especially with the recruitment of quality foreigners, narrowly missing out on their maiden I-League title a few months ago.

East Bengal is now months away completing its 100 years, this will be a huge boost for the club ahead of its centenary. Although, it is unlikely that both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will play in the Indian Super League in the following season, joining hands with one of the biggest clubs in the world will enhance their position in Indian football. For instance, with such a strong backing maybe East Bengal will sneak into the ISL at the eleventh hour.

Earlier this year, the eventual champions of the I-League this season, Chennai City FC started a partnership with Swiss club FC Basel. The European club has promised to invest in the South Indian club and work for the benefit of the club from the grassroots. These associations will not only help the clubs but also the Indian football as a whole.

Even though many European clubs have been associated with Indian clubs before, they have failed to start their operations together or they parted ways. If East Bengal manages to pull off this coup, this will be the biggest collaboration of an Indian unit with a foreign club.