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Although East Bengal and Mohun Bagan missed out on their Indian Super League (ISL) ticket last year, the two Kolkata heavyweights could be part of the tournament next season - Season 6. Last year, both clubs gave up the chance to join the Indian Super League (ISL) tournament due to financial and other reservations.
The situation has changed for the better, at least for one of the Kolkata giants. East Bengal with an estimated global fan following of more than 40 million entered into a partnership with Quess Corp Ltd.
Immediately after unveiling Quess Corp Ltd as their new sponsors, Club Secretary Debabrata Sarkar revealed to a leading Bengali newspaper Pratidin,
“If a bidding process for entry into the ISL is opened, then East Bengal will make an official bid to enter the competition next season”.
Arch rivals Mohun Bagan are yet to find a suitable sponsor. That casts serious doubt on Mohun Bagan’s participation in the cash-rich league.
Although a deal with Streamcast, a leading global technology group, was announced that seems to be in jeopardy due to internal squabbling among some office bearers.
Club secretary Anjan Mitra shed some light on Mohun Bagan's entry into the Indian Super League to Goal.com,
“A 10-year agreement (worth) 40 crores per year is needed with the sponsor. Only then we can play ISL. We must meet the demand of the sponsors. The sponsors will demand some portion of the shares and we have to hand it over to them. To ensure the smooth running of the club we must turn it into a public limited company."
So what is the future of the other Kolkata based club, ATK once Mohun Bagan and East Bengal join the ISL?
Despite the overwhelming success of the ISL, season 4 raised a few eyebrows. The popularity of ATK suffered and there was sharp erosion in ATK’s fan base.
The problem started when Sanjiv Goenka and Saurav Ganguly, the co-owners of ATK ridiculed East Bengal and Mohun Bagan fans.
To show their unhappiness and disgruntlement, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan fans took to social media and spread the word of ‘Boycotting ATK’. The season was marred by low attendance and total lack of interest from Kolkata fans. The lowest point being when only 2102 attended a game.
Sanjiv Goenka, in an interview to HT, gave his reasons for dwindling numbers and the possible entry of the Kolkata big-wigs,
“It has happened since the plan to merge the ISL and the I-League into a competition was floated. That has definitely impacted the fan following. In the past, the fans looked at it as a Kolkata team; everyone was united by Atletico de Kolkata. Now, there is no longer that unified feeling. So while the popularity of the league has grown, that of ATK has suffered as a result.”
The hard reality is East Bengal and Mohun Bagan- the two pillars of Bengali identity have an estimated combined fan following of more than 95 million. They have deep roots in the city and their intense sporting rivalry has divided the Bengali population for over 92 years and continues to do so.
In previous years, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan fans turned up in numbers and supported ATK. With the imminent inclusion of Kolkata giants into the Indian Super League (ISL) fold, it would be difficult for ATK to uproot Kolkata's traditional clubs and lay claim to their fans.
Endorsements, advertisements, sponsorships, companies, corporations have become the most important factors in sports today. Hence, the more fans a team has, the more people they will draw to television sets, the more money it will generate. ISL organisers are well aware of this and want to tap into the fan base of these clubs. In Indian football, the two Kolkata teams have an aura like no one else.
Despite its many successes, ATK is facing an existential threat from the Kolkata giant ’s.In such a scenario, there are two possible options for the Kolkata based franchise.
First, it won’t be a bad idea for ATK to merge with Mohun Bagan. The Mariners are looking for corporate suitors and ATK is looking for fans. It’s the perfect synergy, complementing each others' strengths. Mr. Sanjiv Goenka brings in the money, while Mohun Bagan brings their die-hard supporters to the stadium. And not to forget, the fame, prestige and free tickets he will get while he’s the owner.
Another option for ATK is to switch its city from Kolkata to Siliguri and rename the club - FC Siliguri. Although they risk losing a lot of money. No wonder they say, football is not for the faint-hearted.
It remains to be seen how this plays out and how the football authorities and owners figure out a conciliatory way forward.
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