East Bengal
Football Club will make its debut in the Indian Super League (ISL) this year,
organisers of the tournament confirmed on Sunday.

After acquiring a majority stake in the iconic
club, its investors, Kolkata-based Shree Cement Limited, picked up the bid
documents to enter the league this season.

Also Read: Chennaiyin FC name Csaba Laszlo as head coach for 2020-21 season

A
consortium of Shree Cement Limited and East Bengal, known as Shree Cement East
Bengal Foundation, had submitted the bid to the Football Sports Development
Limited (FSDL).

This makes
East Bengal the eleventh franchise in the ISL,
which will be played at three venues in the state of Goa due to the coronavirus
pandemic.

FSDL chairperson
Nita Ambani welcomed East Bengal into the ISL, saying that their inclusion
following arch-rivals Mohun Bagan’s merger with ATK is a monumental development
for Indian football.

“It is such
a happy and proud moment for ISL as we welcome East Bengal FC and their
millions of fans into the League. The inclusion of both legacy clubs, i.e. East
Bengal and Mohun Bagan (now ATK Mohun Bagan) opens limitless possibilities for
Indian football, especially for talent development in the state,” Ambani said
in a statement.

Also Read: Albert Roca leaves Hyderabad FC, will join FC Barcelona as fitness coach

“West
Bengal has made an immense contribution to the growth of the beautiful game in
India. ISL’s growing footprint in the state and across India, is yet another
step towards our mission of building a competitive and robust football
ecosystem in the country.” 

The other ten teams in the ISL are ATK Mohun Bagan, Mumbai City FC, Odisha FC, NorthEast United, Hyderabad FC, Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters and Jamshedpur FC.