East Bengal, one of the heavyweights in the I-League, stated that they are keen to pick up the ‘Invitation to Bid’ document which was floated by Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) last week.
The bidding party must fulfil the criterion mentioned in the ITB and submit it on May 25, 2017.
While Bengaluru FC have been the first I-League club to come forward and highlight their intention of being part of the Indian Super League (ISL), East Bengal have also joined the bandwagon.
Debabrata Sarkar, a high ranking East Bengal official, has requested for a meeting with All India Football Federation (AIFF) General Secretary Kushal Das on May 22 to discuss the possibilities of them getting a chance to be a part of the ISL.
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“He has also requested that if the final date for submission of the bid document can be extended. However, it looks unlikely that their demand will be accommodated at this juncture,” informed an AIFF official, who didn’t wish to be named.
The FSDL have invited prospective team owners from 10-cities - Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cuttack, Durgapur, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ranchi, Siliguri and Thiruvananthapuram.
Between one to three teams will be included in the 2017-18 ISL season. However, should a team from Kolkata earn a chance to be a part of the ISL, they would have to play their home game outside the City of Joy for two consecutive seasons.