EB, Bagan officials to meet AIFF chief over ISL logjam

Mohun Bagan and East Bengal demand to waive off the franchise fee of Rs 15 crore to play in the ISL.

Representative image.

In a fresh bid to resolve the Indian Super League (ISL) logjam, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal officials will meet the All India Football Federation (AIFF)  president Praful Patel in New Delhi on Saturday.

The meeting has been facilitated by the Bengal governing body Indian Football Association (IFA) secretary Utpal Ganguli.

“Before taking a decision (on running both I-League and ISL simultaneously) I requested the AIFF president to meet us,” Ganguli said.

“He has given us time on Saturday and there will be both the clubs and myself. We hope to put forward our case,” he added.

It has been learnt from the AIFF executive committee meeting in Mumbai on Thursday that Patel want to run both the leagues for the 2017-18 season as a solution to the prevailing deadlock in Mohun Bagan and East Bengal’s induction into ISL and giving it the official top-tier status.

The two big clubs stuck to their demands to waive off the franchise fee of Rs 15 crore to play in the ISL.