The ISL I-League slugfest: How will East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Atletico de Kolkata coexist?

Is Kolkata big enough for 3 clubs?

Out of the many headaches that currently plague the AIFF, none seems to be more pressing than the one concerning the proposed merger between the Indian Super League (ISL) and the I-League. The federation is deadset to operate it’s “One Nation, One League” strategy from the next season, however, many practical problems have cropped up.

While the idea of having only one top level national league is certainly an appreciable one, yet the execution of the idea has left a lot to be desired. ISL is set to be the topmost league and will have 11 teams instead of 8, with the three new additions probably being the two Bengal clubs, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan and the current I-League champions, Bengaluru FC .

Although there was a lot of hesitation initially, yet it now seems that the eternal rivals have accepted the idea, but before anything is put on paper, there are lots of issues to be resolved. For the first time in the history of India, there are going to be 3 clubs from the same city participating in a national league, but it comes with its own share of challenges.

The hefty participation fee

The ISL teams pay a participation fee of about Rs. 15 crore to IMG R, the organizing body. That is more almost twice of the entire annual budget of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. It seems impossible to believe that either of these two clubs will pay such a fee just to participate in a 2-month long tournament.

Mrs. Nita Amabani, the managing director of IMG R, will be meeting the representatives from the Kolkata clubs on the 30th of September to clarify upon these very points, and one hopes that a mutual agreement can be reached upon. However, any decision will most certainly involve a heavy reduction of the aforementioned fees, and it remains to be seen how the other franchises react to that.

The players

Up until now, I-League clubs used to release footballers for the ISL Franchises, and East Bengal and Mohun Bagan were no different. The top Indian footballers used to ply their trade in the cash-rich league for about 2 months, and then would return to their original clubs. However, if the Bengal clubs were to participate in the league themselves, then it would be interesting to see how the franchises would find replacements for the players.

For example, Atletico de Kolkata themselves have a few players in their squad from the Calcutta clubs, and the Sourav Ganguly-led franchise would find themselves in a spot of bother as they will have to find local players of  equal or better calibre, which is going to be a huge challenge.

The crowd

This is probably going to be the biggest challenge of all that Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) will face. Both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are decade old clubs having loyal fanbases of millions of people. The passion and animosity the Bengal derby generates is something that Atletico has been simply incapable of matching, and that scene won’t change for the time being.

So if East Bengal and Mohun Bagan were to play in the ISL, the rivalry will return with all its glory, which may be a good advertisement for the league but would be the death knell for ATK, who as of now boast an average home attendance of 45,000 plus people. The absence of these two clubs had united fans in Kolkata to root for a common team, but if they were to make their bow in the league, I find it hard to imagine that the red and white striped team will be able to sustain their ever-ringing coffers.

This particular issue has already been a bone of contention, after ATK's majority stakeholder Sanjiv Goenka raised a storm of controversy by saying his franchise would be the only team from Kolkata in ISL after the leagues are merged. Ganguly calmed the issue, by diplomatically stating: "I don't think we will have any issues playing against them. Kolkata is a big city and it has enough fans to sustain three clubs."

Pointing out at the high turnout ATK home matches have seen, he said, "Last year the home leg of the semi-final saw a crowd comparable to Kolkata Derby. And in the future seasons whenever Atletico de Kolkata will play East Bengal or Mohun Bagan, it will be like a Kolkata Derby and people will turn out in high numbers to enjoy the contest. We'll see then how many support us and how many support them."

While all that sounds good on paper, a look at the multitudes going to or returning from an ATK game will tell you that they are a long, long way from feeling any special connection to this team, and most of them throng on the nostalgia of getting to see their dear “Dada” in the stands once again. Competing against clubs that have fans who commit suicide after seeing their teams lose is going to be a monumental challenge, and finding a solution is probably going to be the key to ATK’s survival.

All said and done, it will be good fun to see the 3 clubs slotting it out if that indeed turns out to be the case. As of now, there are a lot of pertinent questions being raised about their coexistence but one hopes, a solution can be found out sooner rather than later.