East Bengal, Mohun Bagan to attend AFC meeting amid deadlock over financial demands

Kolkata: City football giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan on Saturday confirmed their participation in the all stakeholders meeting at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on 7 June. [caption id=“attachment_3515663” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of a Mohun Bagan versus East Bengal game. AFP[/caption] “We will be attending the AFC meeting next Wednesday. It will send a wrong signal if we don’t,” Mohun Bagan assistant general secretary Srinjoy Bose told reporters in Kolkata after a meeting with East Bengal club officials and Indian Football Association (IFA). “I have told them to make a list of their demands and be precise in their presentation in the AFC meeting as time will be at a premium,” IFA secretary Utpal Ganguli said. Mohun Bagan, in a statement, said finance secretary Debasish Dutta will attend the conference. A meeting with all stakeholders will be held under the guidance of the AFC to discuss the roadmap for the growth of Indian football. AFC general secretary Dato’ Windsor John had come to India recently and after extensive discussions with All India Football Federation (AIFF) counterpart Kushal Das about the future of the sport in the country had agreed on the meeting. The meeting, which will be chaired by the AFC General Secretary, will be attended by the AFC directors, senior representatives from FIFA, as well as senior representatives from the Indian sports ministry. Previously, both clubs had joined hands in their tirade against Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), organisers of the Indian Super League (ISL), and threatened to disrupt the ISL if their demands of franchise fee waiver and money from the central pool were not met.