The ISL organisers have opened a bid to add one more team to the roster for the 2020-21 season...
With East Bengal roping in Shree Cement as their investor, they are just a couple of steps away from ensuring their participation in the Indian Super League (ISL) from the 2020-21 season itself.
As revealed earlier by Goal, FSDL (Football Sports Development Limited) has now invited bids from 'interested parties' to add a team in the upcoming ISL season.
The tender read, "Invited bids from interested parties for the award of one additional team to enroll and participate in the Hero Indian Super League, from its seventh edition to be staged in 2020-21."
Delhi, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Silliguri and Bhopal have been identified as the six cities from which the bid will be accepted.
The soft bid document must be submitted by September 14th and hard copy by September 17th.
The Indian Super League currently has 10 teams - ATK Mohun Bagan, Mumbai City FC, Odisha FC, NorthEast United, Hyderabad FC, Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters and Jamshedpur FC.
Their arch-rivals Mohun Bagan had already ensured their berth in ISL after merging with ATK.
With both the Kolkata giants set to participate in ISL, this will be for the very first time that two teams from the same city will ply their trade in the league at the same time, since its inception.