First target is to get Mohammedan Sporting out of financial crisis: Dipendu

KOLKATA: The uncertainty over domestic football season and the financial fallout due to Covid-19 pandemic has hit

Mohammedan Sporting Club

(MSC) severely. But the recent change of guard at the club, with the appointment of a young brigade - Sk Wasim Akram as general secretary, Sharique Ahmed as finance secretary and

Dipendu Biswas

as football secretary - Mohammedan Sporting now see a ray of hope. In an exclusive chat with TOI, Dipendu, who is also the technical director, opens up on this tough period,

I-League

dream, sponsors and much more.


Excerpts:

After being the TD, football secretary comes as an added responsibility. How big a challenge is it?

It is an honour. Getting this new post is a new challenge for me. This time a new and young brigade has taken over at the club and this will be a big challenge for all of us, as expectations will be high.

In this crisis period, is lack of experience an issue?

We have planned things step-by-step. We are confident of taking the club to the next level. The fans have a lot of expectations. Besides me, others are also aware of how a football institution runs and that will help us.

This period has hit MSC severely. How tough has this time been?
This time has been really tough for us, financially. Also we were playing well in the second division and were on our way to I-League qualification but this pandemic halted it. Our target now is to get a sponsor. We had talks with a few corporate bodies, who are interested in investing and in a couple of days' time, we might have some positive results. Without a proper sponsor or investor, it will be tough to get good players and compete with others.

Besides getting a sponsor, what is your main target looking ahead?
Our main and biggest target when it comes to football is playing in the I-League. Keeping this is mind, we are building a good team. We are working on the I-League qualification format (for 2nd division clubs) which AIFF has given us. To win in that short format we need a balanced team. And if we qualify, we will aim at staying and continue playing in the I-League. There have been instances earlier when we dropped to 2nd Division even after playing in the top league. We need to change that. We even have ISL on our mind and are also focusing on youth development.

Any players the club is targeting to sign for the qualifying matches?
We are targeting a couple of star players like Papa Babacar Diawara, Eze Kingsley and Katsumi Yusa. We had talks with all of them and we are looking forward to sponsors who will invest and help us get these players.

Is this dual role at MSC more challenging for you than playing for a top club?
Playing is much easier. I used to get instructions to score and play well. But this job is a more challenging and responsible job. To manage a team and get the best out of them is tough.

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