Kolkata: Nigerian Nurain Karim Omlaja was named captain as former champions Mohammedan Sporting named a 32-member squad for the Calcutta Football League Premier Division that got underway on Tuesday.
The Nigerian represented Jammu and Kashmir FC last season and had also experience of playing in JCT and Royal Wahingdoh FC. Coached by Mridul Banerjee, the 32-member squad also have two more foreigners in Nurudeen Olawale and Dolphine Bernard.
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The 124-year-old club had won the Durand Cup and the IFA Shield but only to be relegated from the I-League in 2014 as its president and MP Sultan Ahmed said they're looking forward to turn it around in the upcoming season.
"It took us 73 years to win Durand and 43 for the Shield hope the wait is not much longer in the CFL," said Ahmed.
Eleven-time champions Mohammedan Sporting also unveiled their jersey and a theme song beside naming 'Meethi' as their co-sponsor.
In the wake of the financial scam in West Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting had a difficult time last year leading to their announcement that they're "shutting down" temporarily but only to change their stance.
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"We're still going through a financial crisis and looking for a title sponsor. However, we do not want any liquor or smoking brand to sponsor our team. The club is all about passion for football. It's a fan base club and go we're guaranteed to get at least 20,000 supporters wherever we go in the country," Ahmed said.
Mohammedan Sporting will begin their campaign against reigning I-League champions Mohun Bagan in the CFL at the Vidyasagar Krirangan in Barasat on August 9.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Ishan Debnath, Naseem Akhtar, Dibakar Mondal, Seikh Sadikuddin;
Defenders: Sourav Chakroborty, Bikramjit Singh, Karim Omlaja Nurain (c), Misbauddin, Tonmoy Ghosh, Deepak, Kamran Farooque;
Midfielders: Rajinder Kumar, Dependu Dawry, Basanta Singh, Tabrez Rahman, Monirul Mondol, Bijoy Mandi, Mumtaz Akhter, Dipanker Das, Rana Gharami, Dolphine Bernard, Birender Gurung, Tanmoy Mondal, KB Suraj Bahadur, Deepak Kachap;
Forwards: Mohammad Irfan Khan, Sourav Mallick, Sooraj Mondal, Nurudeen Olawale, Ajay Singh, Manas Sarkar, Ricky Lalremsiama;
Coach: Mridul Banerjee.
