On its 125th anniv, CM Mamata Banerjee announces Rs 1.5 crore incentive for Bagan

The remaining eight Calcutta Football League premier division ‘A’ teams would get Rs 10 lakh each.

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“At present, I feel Mohun Bagan’s immediate requirement is to renovate the floodlights for which I am announcing Rs 1 crore,” Mamata said to a rapturous applause from the 5,000-odd supporters during the grand felicitation ceremony. She added that “there will be similar such announcements for East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting if they do well in the next season.”

The I-League winners will be felicitated by the state government later this year. Bagan won the title last season with centre-half Bello Rasaq – who has now joined East Bengal – scoring the equaliser against Bengaluru FC in the deciding contest.

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Sarbananda Sonowal attended the event along with former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly. “We all are aware of Mohun Bagan’s legacy. My heartiest congratulations to (coach) Sanjoy Sen and his team for winning the I-League,” said Ganguly.

The events of the day began with the felicitation of the I-League winning squad. The players, coach and support staff were given memorabilia and a cash award of Rs 10 lakh. The ‘Mohun Bagan Ratna’ was awarded to club legends Arumay Naigam and the Late Karuna Shankar Bhattacharya (posthumously) for the years 2014 and 2015, respectively. Katsumi Yusa and Debjit Majumder received the best footballer awards for the season 2013-14 and 2014-15, respectively. Special awards were given to Chuni Goswami, Leander Paes, Gurbux Singh and Ganguly for their “iconic” contribution to their field of sport.