Never before in the club’s history did East Bengal play so badly that it has the real chance of slipping from the list of top football clubs in the country. Mohun Bagan with its formidable team this year is yet to find the right rhythm though it’s in much better shape than the red-and-gold.
I’m a fan of red-and-gold, and I find it numbing to see my favorite team suffering defeats at the hands of nondescript teams. Why is this happening, no one knows.
When I speak to people who apparently know more than me, they say the club officials are responsible for the fiasco. The way some players like Alvito D’Cunha and Suresh manage to remain untouched despite serious complaints against them, shows that the trouble in East Bengal is indeed deep and entrenched.
However, in spite of feeling let down by my favorite team, there is some good news that brings cheer to my mind. One such is the pledge by the Bharti Group to invest about Rs.100 crore or more (as necessary) to roll out and finance a football academy in Goa.
Up until now leaving the 2 Kolkata giants, almost all other top football clubs are owned by corporate houses, like Mahindra, JCT, Dempo, etc. ONGC on its part has sponsored the National Football League (now I-League) for quite a few years. And the Tatas run the Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur. That is all about corporate participation in Indian football.
Bharti’s involvement will be the first on a scale that is incomparable by Indian standards. How does Sunil Mittal describe the momentous event? Here it is:
Football is the world’s most popular sport. It unites the world. Our vision is to develop a rich football culture in India. To achieve this vision, we will look at partnering with leading international football clubs and institutions like Manchester United and IMG. We’ve had a huge dose of cricket and I think it is the time to start a programme to make India a footballing nation. In 10 years we want India to be on the world stage.
3 cheers to that – hip, hip, hurray.
[Collated from ET, Jan 5]
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