I-League champions Mohammedan Sporting confident of fulfilling club licensing criteria for ISL debut

Kolkata: First roadblock cleared after winning their maiden I-League title, Mohammedan Sporting are now confident of fulfilling the ‘Rs 100-crore bank guarantee requirement’ that will pave their way to the top-tier Indian Super League (ISL) next season.

The 133-year-old club, the second oldest in Kolkata Maidan after Mohun Bagan, defeated Shillong Lajong FC 2-1 in an away match on Friday to become I-League champions after many failed attempts.

They will play in the ISL next season, subject to fulfilling Indian Club Licensing System Premier 1 criteria.

“We have already met ISL club licensing criteria which is basically about infrastructure, administration, sporting and financial criteria,” Mohammedan Sporting general secretary Ishtiaque Ahmed told PTI.

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By virtue of being a promoted club to the ISL, Mohammedan Sporting, unlike their Maidan rivals Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, won’t have to cough up the Rs 15-crore franchise fee.

“We now just need some bank guarantee and some financial matters that need to be sorted with the investors, which will be done in due course,” Ahmed said.

As per guidelines, the new club will have to show a bank guarantee of Rs 100 crore to play in the top-tier league, something Punjab FC had done last season.

Gurgaon-based sports management firm BunkerHill Pvt. Ltd. has currently 51 per cent stake in the club after inking an eight-year deal amid much fanfare in October 2020.

After the promotion to the ISL, their stake will increase to 61 per cent and it remains to be seen if they get clubbed with any new investors ahead of the next season.

Ahmed was part of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s delegation to Dubai and Spain late last year during which they had a talk with potential investor in Lulu Group which eventually didn’t materialise.

“It was due to some political problem. But we have our CM’s full support and we already have an investor on board. We are confident to show the bank guarantee within the deadline. We are set for ISL debut from next season,” he said.

Journey to ISL

Till Friday, Mohammedan Sporting had won every other title except the I-League that came into existence in 2007-08, replacing the National Football League.

They played in the NFL thrice only to be relegated twice. Their best finish in the NFL was eighth.

In the I-League, the relegation-promotion story continued and after five failed attempts, they managed to crack the code under coach Andrey Chernyshov — former Russia national team assistant manager and U-21 coach — who revived their fortunes by winning the regional league — CFL Premier Division — title after four decades in 2021.

There was no stopping after that as they went on to win a hat-trick of CFL titles, making it a total of 14 last season.

It was during the COVID-19 pandemic, former India defender Dipendu Biswas, a Mohammedan Sporting veteran, got an SOS from then-club top official Mohammed Qamaruddin.

They had legendary India defender Subrata Bhattacharya on board as the coach then.

“I was an MLA then and we were fighting relegation at CFL under Bablu da (Subrata Bhattacharya) when Qamarda called me to join,” recalled Biswas, now team manager and football secretary.

It was the beginning of an eventful reunion for Biswas at Mohammedan Sporting as technical director, four years after he hung his boots at the same tent.

A new investor and a foreign head coach followed suit.

The ’trigger-happy’ club management had fired several coaches in the last one year which included Yan Law, Saheed Ramon, Jose Hevia and Shankarlal Chakraborty.

The Chernyshov-Dipendu alliance however brought success as they won the CFL Premier Division in 2021, for the first time since 1981.

The Russian, however, failed to replicate the local league success to the I-League and after an eighth place finish in 2022-23, he was shown the door. He was replaced by Kibu Vicuna only to make way for former India defender Mehrajuddin Wadoo.

Failure to advance beyond the group stage in the Durand Cup made the club management rethink and bring back the Russian for his second stint.

Some key domestic signings in forward David Lalhlansanga (Aizawl FC), S Bikash Singh (TRAU FC), Lalremsanga Fanai (Rajasthan United) and Padam Chettri (Kenkre) followed. Some key foreign players were also roped in like Uzbek midfielder Mirjajol Kasimov and Argentine forward Alexis Gomez who struck a peach of a goal from 40 yards inside the first minute in Shillong on Friday.

Biswas rated this as his best ever achievement.

“I’ve won National League for Mohun Bagan and East Bengal but to build a team and win the I-League is far tougher and will remain all the more special,” he said.

“We now have a set team and coach. We just want to make two more foreign signings and the team will be ready for ISL,” he said.

Eid celebrations at Salt Lake on 13 April

The team is slated to a hero’s welcome this evening, but the real celebrations will be on 13 April  when the team takes on Delhi FC in their concluding round I-League fixture.

The match is expected to be at Salt Lake Stadium.

“We have got the approval (from the state government and FSDL) and in all likelihood the match will be at the grand Salt Lake Stadium,” Biswas said.

“We will show everyone that Mohammedan Sporting have the biggest fan base in the country. Eid falls on April 11, but the real celebrations will be on April 13 at the Salt Lake Stadium,” he signed off.