Chennai: There have been unhappy tidings in the New Year. Yet another club has closed down and one more I-League club is on the brink of financial disaster and may be on the verge of collapse. News has come that Mumbai Tigers, launched with much fanfare two years ago, have decided to shut shop. So about 30 registered players, Coach Bimal Ghosh and goalkeeper’s coach Bhaskar Maity are out of a job.
They were formed as Dodsal two years ago and aimed to be Mumbai’s best professional team. They finished runners up in the 2012 Durand tournament and club officials said they would strengthen their squad with some classy foreign professionals.
Sponsored by the Dubai based Dodsal group, this club had massive ambitions. They had planned to recruit ex-French international and former Manchester United left back Mikael Silvestre when they got admission to the I-League.
In 2013 they changed their name to Mumbai Tigers, so they were associated with the city and the fans could identify with them. Impressed, the All India Football Federation offered them a place in the 7th Airtel I-League as one of the franchise clubs along with Bengaluru FC.
It all started to go wrong in August 2013. News filtered through that Mumbai Tigers had rejected the offer to join the I-League and were content in playing the 2nd division. Citing financial restraints and an inability to hire players, Mumbai Tigers said they wanted to play in the 2nd division as they felt the squad was inadequate for the main I-League.
In the 2013 Durand tournament, Mumbai Tigers impressed with their stylish approach play and speed and lost in the semi finals. Nippy striker Bikash Jairu finished as the tournament’s top-scorer with seven goals and was hailed as a future international.
Others to impress were midfielders Chhangte Malswamkima, M. Pradeep, Zeeshan Rehman and winger Abhishek Ambedkar. Ghosh who had coached Air India since 1992, had always excelled in spotting and developing new talent. Mumbai Tigers reflected the cohesive work ethic that Ghosh always propagated. They were favoured to win the 2nd division I-league in 2014. So what went wrong? Team owner Rajan Kilachand says they spent '30 crores in two years but did not get adequate returns. He cited difficulty in obtaining land to build their stadium and inadequate publicity.
These seem lame excuses. It seemed Mumbai Tigers had got ambitious and wanted to play in the proposed IMG-Reliance league as a franchise from Mumbai. The proposed league has been postponed and may not be held this year. So it seems the motivation for the owners of Mumbai Tigers withered away and they shut shop, yet another blow for Indian and Mumbai club football.
In Kolkata, United SC are struggling to pay their players. Despite frantic efforts by club officials, no sponsor is willing to join them after Prayag withdrew at the start of the season. Some players have been unpaid. Coach Eelco Schattorie and star striker Ranti Martins may leave after the 2014 Federation Cup.
Mahindra United in 2010, JCT in 2011, Pailan Arrows in 2013, Mumabi Tigers in 2014 and maybe United SC in the near future. The bell tolls for Indian club football.
