Mohammedan Sporting: Is the revival dream turning sour?

The entry of Mohammedan Sporting Club — erstwhile third pillar of the Big Three of Kolkata football — into the Indian Super League (ISL) for 2024-25 has been one of the best news for its legion of supporters in a long time. However, in less than six months, the dream seems to be turning sour.

The 125-year-old club coached by Andrey Chernyshov is currently in 12th spot in the 13-team elite competition, with only two wins after 16 rounds. Not really unexpected, given this is its debut season in the big league, but it’s the shrinking cash flow, resulting in pending salaries for players and staff, that is threatening to be a dampener for the campaign, not to speak of some bad press.

The team is scheduled to take on former champions Mumbai City FC next in an away game on Sunday, but there are simmering doubts about team morale in such a situation. A falling out between the club’s top brass and original investors Bunker Hill over the transfer of shares has now resulted in new stakeholders Shrachi Sports, which entered into a three-year partnership in August 2024, refusing to release further funds.

The impasse kicked up a storm in local football circles when, on Monday, most of the Mohammedan Sporting players refused to turn up for practice. After a couple of tense days which saw some hectic backend parley, they were back in business on Thursday.

A senior Shrachi official was optimistic that there could be some light at the end of the tunnel soon. ‘’The heartening news is the players have gone back to practice. The three stakeholders have had a round of meetings and we are hopeful of resolving the issue soon,’’ Tamal Ghoshal, director of Shrachi Sports, said.

What exactly is the bone of contention behind the impasse? Bunker Hill, a sports management company based in Gurugram, had taken charge of the club in 2020, offering a cash injection and operational support to help it rise up the ranks from I-League second tier to the I-League itself. In 2023, the club agreed to offer 51 per cent shareholding to Bunker Hill, a percentage which was meant to be revised to 61 per cent in case of a promotion to the ISL.

While Mohammedan Sporting qualified for ISL 2024-25 after being I-League champions, Bunker Hill says there has been no exchange of shares so far. ‘’Despite fulfilling our financial commitment and exceeding expectations, the transfer of these shares have not occurred,’’ Bunker Hill said in a release on Tuesday.

Shrachi Sports, which signed an MoU with the club management and Bunker Hill, are supposed to be 30.5 per cent stakeholders, with a projected shareholding as follows: Mohammedan Sporting 39 per cent; Bunker Hill & Shrachi Sports 30.5 per cent each. However, the share transfer process has been in limbo so far, resulting in a fallout between Bunker Hill and Mohammedan Sporting last month.

“We are now caught in a crossfire between the club and the original investors Bunker Hill, who sent a legal notice to the club last month. We have already spent more than 50 per cent of our committed investment in Mohammedan Sporting Club Pvt. Ltd and the period of the MoU has lapsed,” Ghoshal told National Herald. “We too have not been issued any shares by the club despite repeated promises to do so.”

With two wins after 16 rounds, the black-and-white brigade is now second last in the 13-team standings with 11 points, but has had a number of impressive results in the last few rounds, rallying to salvage a draw against Chennaiyin FC and a 1-0 away win against former champions Bengaluru FC.

A good performance against Mumbai City FC can make things look up, though the onus is on the management to put its house in order soon.