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In their rich 101-year history, seldom have East Bengal fared as badly on the football pitch as they do in the ongoing edition of the Indian Super League (ISL). The club’s ISL avatar, SC East Bengal, are currently languishing at the bottom of the table with just 10 points from 18 matches.
The Red and Gold Brigade’s entry into the ISL was nothing short of a thriller. A couple of years ago, after they parted ways with their former investors Quess Corp, the Kolkata-based club approached several corporate bigwigs to attract investment in their ISL sojourn.
However, nobody was willing to come on board until the Bangur family-helmed Shree Cement Limited accepted the proposal in September 2020. The partnership was brought to fruition by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and a joint venture named Shree Cement East Bengal Foundation was formed on the basis of a term sheet.
Buoyed by a massive cash injection from Shree Cement, East Bengal made a last-minute foray into the ISL. The investors appointed a sports management company to oversee the club’s football operations, while a strategic advisor has been facilitating communication between the two parties so far.
The East Bengal faithful were overjoyed to see their beloved club enter the ISL after months of uncertainty, but the feeling was short-lived. Under the stewardship of Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler, SC East Bengal settled for a lowly ninth position in their maiden ISL campaign. Their current season has been worse as a slew of off-field controversies have proved detrimental for the team’s performance under three coaches – first Manolo Diaz, then Renedy Singh (interim) and now Mario Rivera.
In addition to the team’s lackluster showing in the ISL, the escalating feud between East Bengal and Shree Cement regarding the final agreement has engendered speculation that the cement giants are likely to terminate their partnership soon.
Amidst such rumors, East Bengal’s top officials granted a warm reception and lifetime membership to Bangladeshi business tycoon Sayem Sobhan Anvir at the club tent on Thursday afternoon. Mr. Sobhan Anvir is the Managing Director of Bashundhara Group, a leading Bangladeshi conglomerate that owns the reigning Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings.
During the event, East Bengal officials and Mr. Sobhan Anvir spoke about the possibility of forging an Indo-Bangla alliance, with the latter even expressing his wish to patronize the century-old club in the near future.
Sportskeeda can also confirm that a confidential meeting was held between the two parties at a luxury hotel in Kolkata on Thursday evening. Although the agenda of the meeting hasn’t been revealed yet, a source tracking the development has said that Bashundhara Group is currently weighing options to invest in the Indian football market.
Does that mean Bashundhara Group is set to be East Bengal's next investor? When will Shree Cement return the sporting rights to the club? Have the Red and Gold Brigade already started assembling a team for next season? Which other companies are in contention to invest in East Bengal going forward?
We recently caught up with senior East Bengal official and executive committee member Debabrata Sarkar to get answers to these questions. Here’s what he had to say.
On East Bengal's talks with Bashundhara Group
Mr. Sobhan Anvir is very passionate about football. Besides owning Bashundhara Kings, he is also the chairman of Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra, the club which is named after the son of former Bangladesh President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Bashundhara Kings, on the other hand, have enjoyed a trophy-laden run in domestic football since being established in 2013. Recently, they inaugurated a state-of-the-art football stadium called the “Bashundhara Kings Arena”, which became the first privately-owned ground to host a Bangladesh Premier League match. The news of this facility has reached top European clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid, who are apparently interested in running a franchise with Bashundhara Kings.
On being asked if Bashundhara Group are ready to patronize East Bengal Club from next season onwards, Debabrata Sarkar told Sportskeeda:
“We first approached them a few days ago. We still haven’t reached a stage where we can reveal anything to the media, but I can tell you that negotiations [with Bashundhara Group] are going on.”
It should be noted that East Bengal Club cannot rope in a new investor until they get their sporting rights back from the Shree Cement East Bengal Foundation. Have the current investors apprised the club of their decision to terminate the alliance at the end of the season? Sarkar refused to comment on the contentious issue, saying:
“No comments. Mr. [Hari Mohan] Bangur is a gentleman and we don’t have any conflicts with Shree Cement. If they want to stay with us by agreeing to our terms and conditions, we’ll certainly welcome their decision. They need to give us a proper proposal for that.”
On FSDL's role in the Shree Cement versus East Bengal saga
The club and Shree Cement Ltd have been at loggerheads since late 2020 over the drafting of the definite agreement, which hasn’t been made public. The East Bengal officials have reiterated that they wouldn’t agree to any “conditions” which would “curtail the rights of the members” and force them to “transfer perpetually everything from the club ground, tent, logo and the name of the club to the investors”.
As per the term sheet, Shree Cement Ltd. has a majority stake of 76 percent in Shree Cement East Bengal Foundation, while East Bengal enjoy a 24 percent equity after the transfer of their sporting rights, as well as assets and properties [including intellectual] to the new entity.
Sarkar hopes that Football Sports Development Limited [FSDL] will help the club reach an amicable solution with their current investors. He said:
“They [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.”
According to some recent reports, a section of the SC East Bengal management thinks that the officials functioning from the club tent have been influencing the Bengali players in the squad to perform poorly. When asked about his reaction to this explosive claim, Sarkar replied in his signature nonchalant tone:
“Whoever has said this is a big idiot. I don’t want to comment on the role of the middleman [strategic advisor] in all this, but I can guarantee that SC East Bengal would’ve done much better had we been consulted in the team-building process.”
On the rumored signings and retentions of Hira Mondal and Naorem Mahesh Singh
Speculation is rife that East Bengal officials have already handed out pre-contract papers to several young local talents for the upcoming season. These players are rumored to be Nabi Hussain Khan [George Telegraph], Mahitosh Roy [George Telegraph], Subhendu Mandi [Railway FC], Tanmoy Das [Railway FC], Subhankar Adhikari [George Telegraph], Tuhin Das [George Telegraph], Monotosh Chakladar [Madan Maharaj FC], Shubham Bhowmick [Madan Maharaj FC], Dhananjay Adhikari [Food Corporation of India] and Suyash Jaiswal [George Telegraph].
Speaking about the veracity of these rumors, Sarkar stated:
“We are yet to officially sign any new player, but we’ve initiated talks with a few of them. We desperately wanted to play in the Calcutta Football League, the Durand Cup and the IFA Shield last year, but the investors couldn’t a field a team. So, now we’re looking at youngsters who did well in those tournaments as well as the Santosh Trophy.”
In a forgettable season for SC East Bengal, the likes of left-back Hira Mondal and forward Naorem Mahesh Singh have emerged as beacons of hope. Will East Bengal Club look to retain these two players even if they part ways with Shree Cement? Sarkar assured that the “performers” will be duly rewarded, saying:
“We always respect the performers and those who give their best to the club. Let’s see how things pan out.”
On other possible investors
Past experience should have taught East Bengal officials that it’s always imperative to keep contingency plans ready in case Plan A doesn’t work out. Some reports suggest that the club officials have held preliminary discussions with the Adani Group, TATA Sons and Rashmi Cement.
How credible are these reports? Neither did Sarkar confirm their validity nor did he dismiss them as unfounded rumors. He dropped a subtle hint about the club’s course of action, saying:
“I won’t dismiss them as fake reports. Our agents have started talking to some companies, but I can’t divulge anything at this stage. I can only share the details with you once we get a clearer picture.”
