KOLKATA: City football giants East Bengal on Thursday roped in Quess Corp, one of India’s leading business services providers, as its title sponsor and controlling stakeholder.
The two sides have inked an agreement under which the I-League outfit will now be known as Quess East Bengal FC Pvt Ltd (QEBFC).
“We were thinking of few other options after our association with UB Group came to an end last month. When this company approached us with a partnership proposal, we found them the most suitable among all candidates,” East Bengal secretary Kalyan Majumder told media persons here.
Ajit Isaac, chairman and managing director of Quess Group, offered no details about the quantum of money pumped into the finacially strapped club, but revealed to ET Now that Quess has reached agreement to take a 70% controlling stake in East Bengal.
As to the broader strategy that the company had in regards to its football investment, he told the business news channel: “Quest needs to develop branding initiatives. And in order to reach a large constituency of people, which is not demarcated by geography, economic strata, or any other categorisation, we wanted to choose a medium that reaches as many people.
“Sport unifies people. We wanted to use sport to reach as many people as possible. That’s when we engaged with East Bengal about the possibility of investing there and building a branding initiative with the club.
“What we’ve now concluded is an agreement to invest in the club, to own about 70% in the club. We will therefore, together with the club, participate in the development of football in India and reach our brand out to as many viewers as possible.”
In May, East Bengal had ended their two-decade-long association with Bengaluru-based United Breweries Group, in which Dutch beer major Heineken presently holds some 48% stake.
There were talks of East Bengal taking part in the Indian Super League (ISL) from the upcoming season with their new investors coming on board.
Asked about the development, East Bengal official Debabrata Sarkar said: “No decision has been taken regarding that. We have a meeting tomorrow. This is not the time to talk about that. We will let you all know once we make some headway.”
However, Isaac said they have not put any pressure on the club regarding ISL.
“There is no pressure from us. But we will definitely like our team to be part of the best forum,” Isaac told IANS when quizzed about the same.
There were reports that East Bengal had approached the All India Football Federation (AIFF) regarding the confirmation of their ISL participation if they manage to strike a sponsorship deal and satisfy all the required financial criteria.
The red and gold brigade finished fourth in the I-League last term and reached the final of the Super Cup where they lost to Bengaluru FC.
