ISL 2017: Hang on Amar Tomar Kolkata fans, the name of your favourite club hasn't been changed yet
What's the story?
Most ATK fans can breathe a sigh of relief for the time being, as the name of the former "Atletico de Kolkata" has NOT changed. Well, not yet anyway. The club on the official ISL website are still registered as Atletico de Kolkata and that is because they currently still go by that name.
"Amar Tomar Kolkata" was the new name that was taken by the club and is expected to become the official name by the time the new season of the ISL rolls in, but as of right now the change hasn't quite been recognised.
According to close sources, Sportskeeda can reveal that ATK have not registered their new name with the Indian Football Association (IFA) and since the organisation oversees all matters related to football in Kolkata, any change (like a name) needs to be passed through the IFA office before the ISL can consider that particular change for one of their clubs.
In case you didn't know...
A split between Atletico de Kolkata and Atletico Madrid of Spain caused the Bengal-based club to apply for a change of name and the name chosen was "Amar Tomar Kolkata" which translates in English to "Yours and mine Kolkata". But as we can see, that change is yet to officially materialise.
The heart of the matter
The club will, however, continue to play in their traditional red and white stripes, one which has become synonymous with the Kolkata outfit in the past seasons in the ISL.
The change in name will most likely be made before the start of the new season of the ISL now that the partnership between Atletico Madrid and ATK has been officially ended. The club is now co-owned purely by Indian owners with Sanjiv Goenka owning an 89 per cent stake in the club with former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly, Harsh Neotia and Utsav Parekh being the part owners of the same club. The alliance between Madrid and Kolkata had started with much pomp but has unfortunately fallen quite flat.
What's next?
The new season of the ISL will commence on 17th November and will see the participation of ten teams. The league will be staged for four months this time round, an extended period of time owing to an increase in the number of matches.
Author's take
Much has been said about the new name of the club but with time running out before the new season begins, the owners will be hoping that the IFA gives the thumbs up to this name change and the team can look forward to answering their critics on the pitch.