Kolkata football giants East Bengal have finally submitted their invitation to bid (ITB) papers to the AIFF’s Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) to participate in the upcoming season of the Indian Super League (ISL).

After days of confusion on what will be the name of the parent company which will overlook the footballing activities of East Bengal, the club officials and their investor Shree Cement Limited decided to name the company as Shree Cement East Bengal Foundation after registering the company with Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

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“We are extremely happy to announce that the consortium of Shree Cement Ltd and East Bengal club have placed the bid to participate in this year’s ISL,” the club announced on Twitter late on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, East Bengal had announced Shree Cements as their new investor and further declared that they would appeal to the organisers of the ISL to make a dramatic late entry into this season’s tournament.

The East Bengal Bengal and Shree Cements officials made the announcement in a joint press conference with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Evern since city rivals Mohun Bagan had joined hands with ATK to get their name registered in ISL, East Bengal were under tremendous pressure to make their case for India’s premier football competition.

Due to a broken deal with previous investor Quests and financial instability, the Kolkata giants were earlier denied entry into the ISL by the Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL). But with a new investor at their disposal, East Bengal’s fate turned for the better.

Even after closing bids for new entries, (FSDL), too, tweaked the rules and opened the window to accept bid for a new team for the ISL 2020-21 which will be held in Goa behind closed doors from November-March amid Covid-19 pandemic.

The ISL, in its seventh edition, will be played behind closed doors at three venues – Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda; GMC Athletic Stadium, Bambolim; and Tilak Maidan Stadium, Vasco. East Bengal’s arch rivals Mohun Bagan, after its merger with ATK, will debut in this ISL season.