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What's the story?
Ahead of the new I-League season, East Bengal have planned something special for their loyal fan base. The Red and Golds have decided to grant free entry for women and children for all their home games at the Salt Lake stadium, am East Bengal official confirmed to Sportskeeda.
In case you didn't know...
East Bengal are currently in pre-season mode, and have already played four friendlies against the ISL sides. The Kolkata giants have won one, drawn one and lost two on the road. East Bengal's solitary win came against FC Goa, where they won 2-1 whereas two games against familiar foes Bengaluru FC ended with one loss and one draw. The Mariners also played against FC Pune City but went down fighting 2-1 at the latter's home turf.
The heart of the matter
Coming back to this brilliant decision by the club, this move is all set to bring in the crowds for East Bengal's home games at the Salt Lake Stadium, in Kolkata. It has also come to our knowledge that the club is looking for tie-ups with a number of schools in the city to bring in school children for the home games. The 'Lal-Holud', as they are popularly known in the city, want maximum attendance at the Salt Lake Stadium and have identified partnerships with schools as an effective solution.
What next?
Though the team and the management are doing their best to be prepared for the upcoming I-League season, while the governing body is yet to announce the schedule for the competition. There have been a lot of talks around the dates of the I-League but no final decision has yet been taken, which has kept all the clubs in a limbo.
Author's take
Amidst all the uncertainty and controversies surrounding the I-League, this move by East Bengal will surely bring a lot of positivity into the picture. With ISL also set to run parallelly, the I-League needs to draw crowds in order to make it a success, and this decision by East Bengal is a step taken in the right direction - the one which could and should be implemented by every other club as well.
