The AIFF General Secretary felt the Red and Golds badly need to embrace professionalism…
The General Secretary of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Kushal Das urged East Bengal to undertake a more professional approach and evolve with time to meet the changing demands of Indian football.
He maintained that the Bengal Giants who turned 100 on Saturday are an integral part of Indian football and expressed his optimism that they will continue to add on to their legacy.
During a live event with SportStar, Kushal Das congratulated the club on reaching the historic milestone.
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“I think it is a great achievement. I must congratulate the club. They are an integral part of Indian football. I hope they can continue with the history and legacy and I am sure they will go places from here.
“I want to say nothing is impossible,” he replied when asked if the Red and Gold will play in the ISL this season.
Das then spoke about how East Bengal must work on opting for a more professional approach with regards to their running the club. He stressed on the importance of the club having a dedicated department to manage the relations with any potential investors. This suggestion came after Bengaluru-based service provider Quess exited their Joint Venture with East Bengal following an acrimonious relationship.
“What steps East Bengal should take – I think it is very important that you have to change with time, you have to get professional people. You have to have different departments. You need to have a sponsor servicing department. The fact that Quess and East Bengal had to part ways was not a good thing,” he said.
Das was asked about the role AIFF will play to help East Bengal play in the ISL some day. He claimed that the federation will not do anything that is not in accordance with the roadmap, given they will then be answerable to Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
“There was roadmap which was agreed by all the stakeholders. This roadmap is approved by the AFC and we are simply following that roadmap. If we don’t follow the roadmap, AFC will question us,” he concluded.
