ISL club East Bengal’s investors’ issues are still hanging. Though there is some light in the tunnel with the recent talk with their new potential investor Emami Group, there is still nothing clear sign.
The almost 102-year-old football club East Bengal had very disappointing experiences in their first two ISL seasons (2020/21 and 2021/22). Last few years, the football club is struggling to find strong investors as it is massively hampering their preparation before the ISL season and signing the top players.
East Bengal club and Emami Group are currently in talks for some time. Around a month ago, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the new tie-up between the East Bengal club and the Emami Group. Both parties are interested in this new partnership, but they haven’t reached a final agreement yet.
Emami Group’s current position
The recent media reports claimed that Emami Group is now busy evaluating and ratifying the agreement through their legal team. Media reports expect some good and finalize news in early July.
Emami Group reportedly wants around 80% of the stake in the East Bengal club. Previously, Quess Corp had a 70 per cent stake in the club, while SCL later became the investor of the club by acquiring a 76 per cent stake of the club. There is yet to be clarified whether the club has agreed to the new investors’ demand of stake.
East Bengal are facing hard time as football secretary Saikat Ganguly resigns
Due to the delay in finalizing new investors, East Bengal can’t focus on signing the new players at the present moment. Though the club added some players through the free transfers in early June, currently this team-building progress has been halted. In fact, this delay is building some doubts over the club’s participation in the upcoming ISL season.
The Red and Gold Brigade fans are not happy with the current progress as they want a better performance from the team this season.
In the meantime, the East Bengal club’s situation seems weaker as the football secretary Saikat Ganguly has reportedly resigned from his role. The media reports suggest that Ganguly has taken this decision due to his differences with internal members.