Mohammedan Sporting begin pre-season training with I-League in sight
MOHAMMEDAN SPORTING HAVE started their pre-season training camp ahead of the 2nd Division League.
They are the first major national level club to return to a full training schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A big shout out to all our fellow black panthers who came out in numbers to support the team on their first training session post lockdown.
— Mohammedan SC (@MohammedanSC) August 24, 2020
Special thanks to Noor Mohamad for his never ending love and support.#blackpanthers pic.twitter.com/V8INIjWnda
The Black Panthers, under the guidance of new general secretary Wasim Akram, have put together a squad that aims to win the 2nd Division League and qualify for the I-League.
The club was relegated from the top division league in the 2013-14 season after finishing at the bottom of the table in I-League.
Ever since then, fans of the 129 year old popular club have been waiting to see them mount a comeback at the national stage; but due to financial struggles the club had not managed to do so. Although the club was approached by many potential suitors for sponsorship deals, their strict policy of not accepting any liquor brands limited their options for bagging a high value deal.
There were instances of fans trying to donate their entire savings to the club to help them fund a good team. Club officials had to step in and convince the fans not to do so.
This season, however, good times finally seem to have returned to the club. Their squad signings so far look impressive...
GOALKEEPERS: Priyant Singh, Jafar Mondal, Subham Roy, Miraj Ali
DEFENDERS: Shafiul Rahman, Shoubhik Ghosh, Hira Mondal, Sujit Sadhu, Arijit Singh, Eze Kingsley, Anwar Ali, Balwinder Singh, Nabi Hussain Khan
MIDFIELDERS: Abhishek Rijal, Satyam Sharma, Firoj Ali, Tirthankar Sarkar, Suraj Rawat, Vanlalbiaa Chhangte, Sena Fanai, Sanjib Ghosh, Moses Lalrinzuala, Aditya Saha, Moinuddin Khan, Sheikh Faiaz, Samuel Shadap, Sohail Khatri
FORWARDS: Willis Plaza, Jaskaranpreet Singh, MS Dwangliana, Shamsad Ali, Himanshu Jangra, Pritam Sarkar
The club wanted to begin training around late July or early August but they faced many roadblocks due to the pandemic. To convince the state government to allow them to start pre-season, the club implemented many safety measures; including installing a sanitizing tunnel at their home stadium.
Finally, after obtaining permission from the state government, MSC held their first day of training at their own ground. After that, they moved the camp to Kalyani, which is slated to be one of the venues for the 2nd Division League, and subsequently the I-League.
