After a rather disappointing first season in the Indian Super League, Shree Cement and East Bengal are at daggers in the buildup to the 2021 edition. The company has withdrawn sponsorship money and will not invest any further unless the club officials sign a binding agreement.
Shree Cement started investing in the club in 2020 and agreed that they would have a 76% stake while the club would have 24% in the joint venture.
‘We will not take any step forward unless the final agreement is signed. Unless the final agreement is signed no further investment would be done. We will make our stand clear to the ISL authorities soon,” a Shree Cement official was quoted by The Telegraph.
“The club president has personally written a letter to Mr. Hari Mohan Bangur where he has stated that he is surprised by the media reports which have claimed that East Bengal will not participate in the ISL season. He has asked for appointment with him. We want to resolved this issue amicably” senior East Bengal official Debabrata Sarkar was quoted by Bengali newspapers on Tuesday.
The club’s stance is that the final details on the term paper presented by the investors is different from the one agreed. However, they maintain that there are no differences at all from the deal agreed. In a rather bold move, the investors have asked the club officials to specifically point out where the differences lie.
East Bengal have reportedly reached out to their prime investors and have asked for a meeting to sort out the issue. However, as revealed in the Telegraph, there will be no further investments until the situation is resolved.
