East Bengal find an investor, and it's not Manchester United

CM steps in to 'motivate' Emami Group into financing struggling city giantsKOLKATA: A day after BCCI president Sourav Ganguly hinted at the possibility of Manchester United taking the ownership of East Bengal, state chief minister Mamata Banerjee put all speculations to rest, announcing on Wednesday that the Emami Group would be the new investor for the Kolkata club. "Both sides came to me for tea today and have agreed (to join hands together).

As a result, East Bengal's problems in relation to playing in the ISL have been solved," Banerjee told reporters in presence of East Bengal and Emami Group's key functionaries. While the chief minister's announcement cleared the uncertainty hanging over East Bengal's future following the end of their tumultuous two-season association with previous investor Shree Cement Ltd, the club officials welcomed the move, saying the priority would now be forming a "competitive" team in the new season.

"Because of various reasons, we failed to live up to expectations in the past of couple of seasons. Our focus now is predominantly on making a strong and competitive team so that we can fight for the championship and not finish at the bottom of the table," senior East Bengal official Debabrata Sarkar, who attended the meeting with the CM at Nabanna, told TOI.

Taking "pride" in the new venture, the city-based multinational company also offered "the best standards of the sport" to the club and its fans. "It is a great moment of pride for us to forge a relationship with an iconic football club like East Bengal.