Kolkata: The iconic Salt Lake stadium has for long been an undecided arena for the Kolkata giants (East Bengal and Mohun Bagan) and ISL champions (Atletico De Kolkata). Now, the confusion looks to be cleared as the authorities of the ground has decided after a meeting with East Bengal to allow the I-League club along with ATK to use the venue for the upcoming domestic football season.
But just when one thought that things have settled down and the confusion and turmoil have been cleared comes city giants Mohun Bagan, who too want to make the Salt Lake stadium famously known as the Yuva Bharati Krirangan as their home ground for the domestic season.
The ground authorities have informed them that a letter has to be submitted to them in order to have the permission granted.
At the moment, the situation has even become even more complex as it looks like all three Kolkata clubs might end up playing their home matches at the same venue which might turn out to be predicament for the ground officials if their home matches (ATK for ISL and East Bengal or Mohun Bagan for I-League) get scheduled on the same day.
Already a good part of 2017 has been spent in the issue around the participation of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in the ISL with them having their own demands among which not paying the franchise fee was one. The AIFF tried it’s best and found that conducting simultaneous leagues for a longer amount of time would be the ideal short-term solution before they finally come up with a long-term roadmap for Indian football and they prevented further escalation of this issue quite successfully.
But a similar situation has seemed to arise with the Salt Lake stadium being an iconic ground in Kolkata, rightfully demanded by all three of the Kolkata clubs.
