MUMBAI: It really appears that the men who matter at East Bengal are getting increasingly desperate and pulling at ever stranger straws in the wind.
The latest embarrassment (which SportzPower is convinced had the blessings of the club’s “brains trust”) is a letter addressed to All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das, which is also marked to Hero Indian Super League organisers Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL), by the general manager of the Football Players Association of India, Cyrus Confectioner.
The letter, accessed by PTI, reads: “We the association sincerely urge you to include the East Bengal into the ISL without any hesitation or delay.
“It is rich in history and is one of the oldest and most premier clubs having a massive fan following, something which the sport needs for it to grow and thrive in India.”
Seriously? A players’ body lobbying on behalf of a club? It can happen only in India!
Fortunately (or should one say belatedly), the FPAI was quick in its attempts at course correction.
Expressing his shock at being bypassed by his junior on such a sensitive matter, FPAI president Renedy Singh, a decorated former India mid-fielder, clarified to PTI that his body’s job is only to support players and not clubs.
“I would like to take this opportunity to inform all that it is wrong to come out in support of any one particular club as we are only to support the players,” Renedy said in a counter letter to Das, also accessed by PTI.
“The clubs should settle their matters internally with the federation and FSDL regarding their participation in the ISL or any other league for that matter,” the former player, who also captained the national team, added.
“I was shocked to learn that he (Confectioner) had written such a letter without consulting me.”
What else did Confectioner have to say in his letter? “All the powers that be in Indian football, should set aside all differences and include this side, whose contribution to Indian football cannot be quantified,” the FPAI GM wrote.
Besides Renedy, the players’ body includes prominent names such as India captain Sunil Chhetri and former India players Clifford Miranda and Abhishek Yadav, among others, PTI furher reports.
