Mohun Bagan threaten to boycott CFL derbies; announce youth-oriented squad for local league

MOHUN BAGAN HAVE decided to treat the Calcutta Football League as a platform for bringing out more local talent while they focus their resources on the national competitions. 

In a decision taken by club officials yesterday, they said the squad for the upcoming Calcutta Football League will consist of academy graduates and reserve players, with a bent on giving youth players some exposure. They won't even employ head coach Sanjoy Sen to take charge of this squad: assistant coach Shankarlal Chakraborty will head the campaign, with Sen in charge only for I-League, AFC Cup and Federation Cup.

They have also decided that while most of their matches will be played on their own ground under floodlights, they will boycott the "exhibition matches" i.e. the Derby games against East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting over a dispute with the Indian Football Association for not sharing ticket revenue from those matches with the clubs.

The decision has been greeted with mixed reactions from the Kolkata football circuit, where some have said using the CFL to promote new talent is a good way to go, while others have said Bagan's decision to boycott exhibition matches in order to avoid playing East Bengal, who have won the CFL for the last 6 seasons, and are looking for a record breaking 7th title, and may look to field a strong side to secure that feat.

But the decision to boycott matches may be just a tactical move from the Mariners to pressure IFA into sharing some gate and TV revenue with them. 

In multiple statements given to the press, Mohun Bagan officials have said CFL no longer held a significant interest to them, and they were much more interested in I-League and Asia. They also said that the club's new sponsor will be unveiled before the I-League begins in January.