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They will not be playing Indian Super League football next season, but Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have already got their Calcutta Football League preparations underway with both teams currently in the middle of their respective pre-season camps.
The Calcutta Football League is set to kick start on 7th August, and both the giants of Kolkata football haven't wasted much time in building their team for what will be the 106th edition of the local league.
East Bengal have won the CFL a record 38 times, with Bagan following them in second with 29 titles. New East Bengal head coach Khalid Jamil has an enviable task of leading the Red and Golds to their eighth straight CFL title this year.
That said, both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan have raided I-League clubs prior to as well as in the aftermath of the confirmation of their non-participation in next season's ISL. While East Bengal have roped in plenty of Aizawl FC's title-winning heroes including coach Jamil, Mohun Bagan signed seven players just one day after the ISL's domestic draft took place on Sunday.
Please note: the squads may still be incomplete at this stage
Here is the Mohun Bagan squad for the 2017 CFL:
Goalkeepers: Soramangbam Poirei, Shilton Paul, Shibinraj Kunniyil, Mithun Samanta
Defenders: Arijit Bagui, Suman Hazra, Sarthak Golui, Abhishek Das, Bikash Saini, Bikramjit Singh, Surajit Sil, Kinshuk Debnath (captain), Eze Kingsley, Sarthak Golui
Midfielders: Chesterpaul Lyngdoh, Pintu Mahata, Sourav Das, Denson Devadas, Raynier Fernandes, Shilton D'Silva, Rohit Mirza, Nikhil Kadam, Israil Gurung
Forwards: Azharuddin Mallick, Kamo Stephane Bayi, Ghanefo Ansumana Kromah, Naro Hari Shrestha, Uttam Rai
Head coach: Shankarlal Chakraborty
Here is the East Bengal squad for the 2017 CFL:
Goalkeepers: Luis Barreto, Mirshad, Dibyendu Sarkar
Defenders: Carlyle Mitchell, Gurwinder Singh, Arnab Mondal (captain), Salam Ranjan Singh, Gabriel Fernandes, Lalramchullova, Rahul Ghosh, Mehtab Singh
Midfielders: Cavin Lobo, Mohammed Rafique, Mahmoud Al Amna, Surabuddin Mullick, Richard Costa, Yami Longvah, Prakash Sarkar, Khangembam Bidyashagar Singh, Nikhil Poojary
Forwards: Brandon Vanlalremdika, Willis Plaza, Jobby Justin, Telem Suranjit Singh, Lalcchanhima
Head coach: Khalid Jamil
Mohun Bagan will look to end the seven-year hegemony over the CFL of their fiercest rivals, East Bengal. Both teams have strengthened following disappointing I-League and Federation Cup outings last time out and the CFL gives an opportunity for both clubs to right previous wrongs.
While Jamil has seen a few of his former Aizawl charges at East Bengal, Sanjoy Sen's stand-in at Bagan for the CFL, Shankarlal Chakraborty, will have a team full of attacking firepower in Bayi Kamo and Ansumana Kromah. With Mohammedan Sporting roping in former Shillong Lajong striker Dipanda Dicka for the CFL, the local Kolkata football scene once again promises to be an explosive affair.
