Mohammedan Sporting may take part in Super Cup

By Debayan Mukherjee

Kolkata, March 19 (IANS) City football heavyweight Mohammedan Sporting SC in a letter to the Indian Football Association (IFA) on Tuesday expressed its interest to take part in the Super Cup, after several I-League clubs refused to play due to ill-treatment.

"The letter will be forwarded to the All India Football Federation (AIFF)," a source close to the development told IANS.

"We have written to the IFA expressing our interest in taking part in the Super Cup. We are one of the oldest clubs in the country and want to be part of such a prestigious tournament," said a Mohammedan Sporting official.

Several clubs, including I-League champions Chennai City FC, had threatened not to take part in the Super Cup, a knockout tournament involving I-League and Indian Super League (ISL) clubs, as AIFF president Praful Patel did not pay heed to their demands.

In the qualifiers being held in Bhubaneswar, Minerva Punjab FC, Gokulam Kerala FC and Aizawl FC did not turn up for their matches ignoring the AIFF's threat of action.

Now with the pre-quarters starting on March 29, it's expected that Mohun Bagan and Chennai City FC won't play their matches against Bengaluru FC and Chennai City FC, respectively, while East Bengal, slated to take on Delhi Dynamos FC on March 30, are yet to take a call.

Mohammedan Sporting are taking part in the 2nd Division League. Recently, they lost to Rainbow Athletic Club 0-2 in a preliminary round group C clash hampering their chances of making it to the final round.

Last year, Mohammedan Sporting clinched the 65th Bordoloi Trophy beating Oil India 3-1 in the final.

(Debayan Mukherjee can be contacted at debayan.m@ians.in)