Football fraternity cheers Bagan special fan zone

KOLKATA: The Indian football fraternity has cheered Mohun Bagan’s decision to have a hospitality zone at Salt Lake stadium during the team’s I-League’s Kolkata Derby clash against East Bengal on March 28.
Officials of various clubs, players and even coaches see this as an encouraging initiative. “This is a fantastic step by Mohun Bagan. If the oldest club in India embraces the most modern means of hospitality for fans, it is great news,” said Larsing Ming Sawyan, MD of Shillong Lajong FC.“The Meghalaya government is building a VIP enclosure at JN Stadium in Shillong and we hope to give even better hospitality to fans from next season,” he added.
I-League CEO Sunando Dhar is also happy with the development. “I had popped this idea when I had a meeting with the clubs in Kolkata recently. I am happy that Bagan have taken this initiative,” said Dhar. Kushal Das, general secretary of All India Football Federation, also termed it a “very positive initiative”.
Pune FC coach Karim Bencherifa — who has been in charge of Mohun Bagan twice before — finds the idea positive. “If I had the time, I would have bought a ticket for the hospitality zone. That is if I am not invited for it,” joked Bencherifa.
Mustafa Ghouse, COO of Bengaluru FC, said, “The derby is the highlight of the I-League and I think it is a very positive step from such a well-established club to make things more spectator friendly.” East Bengal’s executive committee member Ritwik Das, on his part, said that he will be in a position to make a comment on it only after getting to know the details about the hospitality zone.
Players also see it as a heartening development for football in the country. “This should have been done earlier. But, it is good that they are starting it. The craze for the Kolkata derby is so huge that even if they had four more boxes like this, not a single ticket would have been left unsold,” said former India star striker Dipendu Biswas, a veteran of many Kolkata derbies.
Former India defender Mahesh Gawli, who plied his trade in Kolkata with East Bengal, echoed Dipendu: “This is definitely very good news. I am extremely happy. We need such initiatives to attract fans to the stadium and also for the betterment of Indian football.”