An Uprising of Red and Gold Story

It was a time when sports in India meant to people that it is Football and Hockey. Time then changed slowly. After 1983, things took a massive turn around. Cricket slowly started getting up to the ladder while pushing the other sports down. At present Cricket has taken the maximum attention in Indian Sports. This is the time when East Bengal has unleashed a silent brand revolution that is all set to give new vistas to the ground realities of Indian football.

The beginning of this packaged marketing of East Bengal can be traced back to the years 1998-99 when Dr Vijay Mallya's United Breweries came to the city to foster the club and align it with its Kingfisher brand.

They realized that the club could not survive on individual compassion and formed Kingfisher East Bengal under a company United East Bengal Football Team Pvt. Ltd. The sponsors had realized that the amount of funds pumped in had to be realized in some manner and it was possible only if East Bengal converted themselves into a rich and regal brand that matched the slug line---The King of Good Times.

East Bengal as a club took a giant step when they began the changes in their backyard. Playing, training, traveling and leisure were geared up in a hitherto unthought-of manner. Residential training camps in five star comforts, organized fan merchandising and promo films on satellite TVs, medical insurance cover for the players, professional physical trainer from overseas, air-conditioned locker rooms and even lessons on media handling turned East Bengal's image on its head.

Then came East Bengal's association with a professional soccer club manager FMMI International and they helped East Bengal get a romping deal with Leicester City then an English Premier League side.

The gains were East Bengal's. The players could go and train at Leicester and get the tips on coaching, camps and academy along with club management and marketing of the club. Leicester having a sizable Indian population also showed its eagerness to associate itself with an Indian club that lead the nation's soccer baton. East Bengal proved to be their choice largely due to the progressive outlook imbibed into the club through a corporate handling of affairs.

Understanding that visibility mattered, East Bengal spent Rs 7.75 lakhs from their pocket to make sure all the AFC Cup matches were shown on Doordarshan and now they are trying to tie up with a sports channel to further showcase themselves. And now the website to help people get a first hand knowledge of the club and also get valuable feedback from fans and readers. It would also give a platform to all associated with East Bengal to speak out.

Indeed the future of Indian soccer looks to be in red-gold.

Compiled by: Rajarshi Ghosh