I-League Qualifiers 2020/21: Mohammedan SC announce investors, unveil jersey
I-League 2nd Division side Mohammedan SC announced the sale of 50% of their shares to Gurgaon-based Bunkerhill Private Limited at a ceremony in Kolkata on Monday. The deal is slated to be for 3 years and is subject to further extension.
The Black Panthers also unveiled their new jersey for the upcoming season. The jersey resembles the costume of Marvel's Black Panther and is said to be in honour of recently departed actor Chadwick Boseman.
Speaking about the deal, the director of Bunkerhill Private Limited, Aditya Raj, said:
"We have a plan. The first objective will be to make it to the I-League and stay there. We are working on many more things but those are now in the preliminary stage. We have joined hands with the club and the legal details will be coming very soon."
SK Wasim Akram, the general secretary of Mohammedan SC talked about the future goals of the club at the event.
"This is a historic day for all of us. We are very very happy and proud to be the administrators of such a massive club in India and hopefully, the deal between us and Bunkerhill will lead to new horizons. This is going to be a very long-term thing, and going forward, we are targeting ISL. For now, we are targeting the I-League by winning all four matches of the qualifiers."
Dipendu Biswas, the honorable football secretary of the club, talked about the importance of the I-League qualifiers and commented:
"Our new investors are really amazing and this is a historic moment for us. Our plan is to play in the I-League and then the ISL. But for now, we have our first match of the season on 8th October and we have to win that game."
Mohammedan SC have been in a resurgent mode in the past few weeks after the change in their club management headed by general secretary Wasim Akram. The club has seen infrastructural, marketing, sporting and financial advancement in the last few weeks.
Mohammedan SC will begin their season on 8th October at the opening game of the Indian football season in an I-League 2020/21 qualifier with Garhwal FC in Kolkata.
Mohammedan SC have signed the likes of Willis Plaza, Himanshu Jhangra, Samuel Shadap, Sheikh Faiaz and Asher Akhtar for the tournament. They will be led by experienced coach Yan Law and go into the tournament as favourites.