<div>Players have not been getting their payments regularly <br /><br />The maroon-green flag of Mohun Bagan fluttered high on a rainy night at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on May 31. As the oldest football club (formed in 1889) in the country won its maiden I-League trophy, any national tournament it has won in 13 years, the victory sent faraway Kolkata into delirium. People came out to the streets for celebrations and when the victorious team reached the eastern metropolis, thousands lined up to welcome them.<br /><br />Old-timers fondly remember a time at Kolkata Maidan — the green extant in the heart of the city where amateurs and professionals alike kick around with a ball — when nothing mattered more than the derby match between the two giants, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. The matches used to be packed to the rafters, with the young and old alike screaming out their joy or anguish.<br /><br />The ecstasy football lovers of Kolkata felt that night in May, however, belies the proverbial darkness under the glowing lamp. All is not well with the 125-year-old Mohun Bagan Athletic Club, which added to the glory of Maidan, arguably the Mecca of football in India. Like most other teams from Kolkata, the club is fighting a variety of demons, the worst among them being financial security. Add to the mix a dash of political intrigue, a hint of internecine problems and a bit of personal rivalries.<br /><br />Once the two clubs — Mohun Bagan and East Bengal — along with another Maidan institution, Mohammedan Sporting featured the country’s best football players. Things changed considerably in the early 1990s when the entry of corporate sponsors to the field led to states such as Goa upstaging <br />Bengal’s superiority over green fields. By the time Kolkata’s clubs woke up to the change, professionally-run clubs like Dempo and Salgaocar took over the scene and as money poured in, the real change started to reflect in their results.<br /><br />By the time the National Football League got converted to I-League, Kolkata’s leading football clubs started looking like dinosaurs. Even though Vijay Mallya’s now-in-trouble UB Group ventured east looking for an untapped market, followed by United Spirits Limited (USL), also controlled by Mallya, Kolkata’s clubs seemed more like spent forces. Even though the clubs, particularly the big two, had millions of die-hard fans, their pride is steeped in tales of past glory.<br /><br />Life outside the stadium also seemed to have turned sour as the USL, Mohun Bagan’s official sponsor for last 15 years, was fast losing money. The club found respite in the form of Saradha Group but more trouble was in the offing as the group got embroiled in one of the biggest chit fund scams in India. East Bengal, which also received some sponsorship from the scam-tainted Saradha Group, paid the price as some of its top functionaries were <br /><br />indicted in the scam. Although Mohun Bagan was spared that ordeal, reports emerged that players and coaches were not receiving their dues in time and the fear of a shutdown loomed large. This came at a time when Mohammedan Sporting announced bankruptcy and its inability to participate in any matches away from home.<br /><br />For Mohun Bagan further trouble came in the form of the USL stopping all payments from October 2014. Although no club official seemed ready to talk about the troubles with the I-League win in kitty, club secretary Anjan Mitra had admitted to financial crisis in February. “We are in deep trouble. The proper dues have not yet been given to the players and coaches,” Mitra had said. <br /><br />Sources informed that the USL, which is in no less trouble, had gradually brought down its sponsorship amount from Rs 9 lakh in 2011-12 to less than Rs 7.6 lakh a month in 2013-14.<br /><br />The club’s only saving grace seemed a handful of willing patrons, led by club president Swapan Sadhan Basu, a leading Kolkata-based industrialist and an ardent football fan. Although neither Basu nor his son Srinjoy, who served a brief term as Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP, have ever admitted so in public, it is common knowledge that the Basus have become the club’s chief patron. It was again Mitra who admitted that the club’s board members have been meeting expenses from their own pockets.<br /><br />Even as the club is swathed in recent glory, the road to winning the I-League was not easy. The club had sacked its technical director Subhas Bhowmik in December 2014, a month before the tournament on the ground of he being unfit to coach a top-tier team. The problem over a coach was solved when the club hired Sanjay Sen, who had earlier worked with the national Under-16 and Under-19 teams, but financial troubles continued to dog the club.<br /><br />In February, with the I-League underway, Mitra gave a detailed account of the club’s financial circumstances, making the accounts public for the first time in 30 years that the club has not paid its players for over three months. Going by Mitra’s account, the club needs Rs 70 lakh to pay the players every month and in February they were able to raise around Rs 53 lakh with donations from the Basu family and two other donors, to pay its players. Sources said that even after the I-League win, the club has been left somewhat struggling to pay its players, leading to a slight irritation and unrest.<br /><br />Analysts of the game believe that the order of the day is to turn clubs like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal into professionally-managed entities instead of the athletic clubs they are at present. A former player and coach, who had a long stint with Mohun Bagan, believes that instead of congratulating each other on the recent victory, club officials should put to good use the money they received from winning the I-League. “They should use it to invest in developing a grassroots programme and build infrastructure necessary for promoting young players,” he said.<br /><br />The veteran pointed out that most players on the club’s rolls are from outside. “If they promote homegrown talent it could come cheaper than hiring foreign players,” he said. The club can even think of a collaboration with Atletico De Kolkata, the city team, that won the first year of Indian Super League. “Although this could mean losing out on a few from the traditional fan base, it could help provide an opportunity to run the club like European football clubs,” the veteran said.<br /><br />An All India Football Federation official agreed that cashing in on the ISL fever could be a good thing for clubs like Mohun Bagan. “The ISL has refreshed football fever in Kolkata as it has opened up a door for the game in cities not traditionally associated with football. Younger football fans today are glued into what happens to Manchester United or Barcelona FC. These old clubs can bridge the gap between traditional fans and new ones by changing the way they look at the game and its future,” the veteran said. <br /><br /></div>
<div>Players have not been getting their payments regularly <br /><br />The maroon-green flag of Mohun Bagan fluttered high on a rainy night at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on May 31. As the oldest football club (formed in 1889) in the country won its maiden I-League trophy, any national tournament it has won in 13 years, the victory sent faraway Kolkata into delirium. People came out to the streets for celebrations and when the victorious team reached the eastern metropolis, thousands lined up to welcome them.<br /><br />Old-timers fondly remember a time at Kolkata Maidan — the green extant in the heart of the city where amateurs and professionals alike kick around with a ball — when nothing mattered more than the derby match between the two giants, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. The matches used to be packed to the rafters, with the young and old alike screaming out their joy or anguish.<br /><br />The ecstasy football lovers of Kolkata felt that night in May, however, belies the proverbial darkness under the glowing lamp. All is not well with the 125-year-old Mohun Bagan Athletic Club, which added to the glory of Maidan, arguably the Mecca of football in India. Like most other teams from Kolkata, the club is fighting a variety of demons, the worst among them being financial security. Add to the mix a dash of political intrigue, a hint of internecine problems and a bit of personal rivalries.<br /><br />Once the two clubs — Mohun Bagan and East Bengal — along with another Maidan institution, Mohammedan Sporting featured the country’s best football players. Things changed considerably in the early 1990s when the entry of corporate sponsors to the field led to states such as Goa upstaging <br />Bengal’s superiority over green fields. By the time Kolkata’s clubs woke up to the change, professionally-run clubs like Dempo and Salgaocar took over the scene and as money poured in, the real change started to reflect in their results.<br /><br />By the time the National Football League got converted to I-League, Kolkata’s leading football clubs started looking like dinosaurs. Even though Vijay Mallya’s now-in-trouble UB Group ventured east looking for an untapped market, followed by United Spirits Limited (USL), also controlled by Mallya, Kolkata’s clubs seemed more like spent forces. Even though the clubs, particularly the big two, had millions of die-hard fans, their pride is steeped in tales of past glory.<br /><br />Life outside the stadium also seemed to have turned sour as the USL, Mohun Bagan’s official sponsor for last 15 years, was fast losing money. The club found respite in the form of Saradha Group but more trouble was in the offing as the group got embroiled in one of the biggest chit fund scams in India. East Bengal, which also received some sponsorship from the scam-tainted Saradha Group, paid the price as some of its top functionaries were <br /><br />indicted in the scam. Although Mohun Bagan was spared that ordeal, reports emerged that players and coaches were not receiving their dues in time and the fear of a shutdown loomed large. This came at a time when Mohammedan Sporting announced bankruptcy and its inability to participate in any matches away from home.<br /><br />For Mohun Bagan further trouble came in the form of the USL stopping all payments from October 2014. Although no club official seemed ready to talk about the troubles with the I-League win in kitty, club secretary Anjan Mitra had admitted to financial crisis in February. “We are in deep trouble. The proper dues have not yet been given to the players and coaches,” Mitra had said. <br /><br />Sources informed that the USL, which is in no less trouble, had gradually brought down its sponsorship amount from Rs 9 lakh in 2011-12 to less than Rs 7.6 lakh a month in 2013-14.<br /><br />The club’s only saving grace seemed a handful of willing patrons, led by club president Swapan Sadhan Basu, a leading Kolkata-based industrialist and an ardent football fan. Although neither Basu nor his son Srinjoy, who served a brief term as Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP, have ever admitted so in public, it is common knowledge that the Basus have become the club’s chief patron. It was again Mitra who admitted that the club’s board members have been meeting expenses from their own pockets.<br /><br />Even as the club is swathed in recent glory, the road to winning the I-League was not easy. The club had sacked its technical director Subhas Bhowmik in December 2014, a month before the tournament on the ground of he being unfit to coach a top-tier team. The problem over a coach was solved when the club hired Sanjay Sen, who had earlier worked with the national Under-16 and Under-19 teams, but financial troubles continued to dog the club.<br /><br />In February, with the I-League underway, Mitra gave a detailed account of the club’s financial circumstances, making the accounts public for the first time in 30 years that the club has not paid its players for over three months. Going by Mitra’s account, the club needs Rs 70 lakh to pay the players every month and in February they were able to raise around Rs 53 lakh with donations from the Basu family and two other donors, to pay its players. Sources said that even after the I-League win, the club has been left somewhat struggling to pay its players, leading to a slight irritation and unrest.<br /><br />Analysts of the game believe that the order of the day is to turn clubs like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal into professionally-managed entities instead of the athletic clubs they are at present. A former player and coach, who had a long stint with Mohun Bagan, believes that instead of congratulating each other on the recent victory, club officials should put to good use the money they received from winning the I-League. “They should use it to invest in developing a grassroots programme and build infrastructure necessary for promoting young players,” he said.<br /><br />The veteran pointed out that most players on the club’s rolls are from outside. “If they promote homegrown talent it could come cheaper than hiring foreign players,” he said. The club can even think of a collaboration with Atletico De Kolkata, the city team, that won the first year of Indian Super League. “Although this could mean losing out on a few from the traditional fan base, it could help provide an opportunity to run the club like European football clubs,” the veteran said.<br /><br />An All India Football Federation official agreed that cashing in on the ISL fever could be a good thing for clubs like Mohun Bagan. “The ISL has refreshed football fever in Kolkata as it has opened up a door for the game in cities not traditionally associated with football. Younger football fans today are glued into what happens to Manchester United or Barcelona FC. These old clubs can bridge the gap between traditional fans and new ones by changing the way they look at the game and its future,” the veteran said. <br /><br /></div>
