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In another twist in the tale, East Bengal Board hinted that the club will not participate in the Super Cup, which is scheduled to begin on March 29. East Bengal, in a press release, said it is ‘unethical’ to come out of the alliance and did not indicate whether they would participate in the competition.
The club, in a statement, said, “The Board of QEBFC met today and discussed about the participation in the Super Cup Tournament. The East Bengal Nominees on the Board suggested that since an alliance of Clubs have already been formed, it would be unethical for us to come out of the Alliance.”
The club also said it would bid for Indian Super League only “if the terms are financially acceptable.”
All eyes were on the East Bengal Board members, who held their meeting in Bengaluru on Thursday. The main discussion revolved around participating in the Super Cup tournament after about 9 I-League clubs revolted against the All India Football Federation for its lack of vision on Indian Football.
For East Bengal club, President Dr Pranab Dasgupta, Saikat Ganguly and Debabrata Sarkar were present in the meeting.
In the meeting, the East Bengal Board decided to stick to the decision of the club alliance. It is, however, not clear whether this means they will pull out of the Super Cup.
East Bengal have, after all, registered their squad for the Super Cup and withdrawing from the tournament after the registration process is complete would invite a fine and penalty from the AIFF.
The I-League clubs’ alliance, which includes champions Chennai City, has not officially said anything regarding their participation in the tournament. However, it is learnt that Chennai City and Real Kashmir are both willing to play in the Super Cup.
Chennai will need a participation certificate from the All India Football Federation to play the AFC tournaments and don't want to get into a tussle with the AIFF at this point of time. Real Kashmir have also expressed their willingness to play Super Cup.
For the past few days, East Bengal club officials and investors Quess Corporation were going against each other over the participation in the Super Cup. Quess, which deals with the footballing affairs of the club, was firm in their stand not to play the tournament.
On the contrary, the club officials said withdrawal from any tournament is against the tradition of the club. They even decided to form East Bengal President’s XI comprising the reserve and academy players to participate in the tournament. The team has been practising in the club ground for the past few days under former footballers Chandan Das and Falguni Dutta.
East Bengal’s first team has started its practice sessions under coach Alejandro Menendez from Wednesday for the Super Cup. As things stand, the Spaniard’s aim to produce a good result in the Super Cup will remain unfulfilled.
The decision of the Board meeting could also have other repercussions. The tiff between the club officials and Quess Corp could escalate further, which will strain the ties between the old guard and the new. One can only hope both of them will come together under one umbrella for the sake of the club.
The supporters are firmly behind the decision of the investors. But some club officials and former footballers have questioned Quess’ decision. Only time will tell whether the saga will end or not.
