Dawn Of A New Era: ATK Mohun Bagan

Mohun Bagan will be known as ATK Mohun Bagan next season as the famous club merged with the two-time winning club in the Indian Super League by selling a majority stake to ATK FC on Thursday. The merger will take effect from June, and they will participate in ISL 2020-21 as a team.

Both teams, however, will play separately in the current I-league and ISL seasons. As per the agreement, ATK’s principal owner RP Sanjeev Goenka Group (RPSG) will acquire an 80 percent stake from Mohun Bagan Football Club (India) Private Limited.

Announcing the merger, RPSG Group Chairman Sanjeev Goenka said, “RPSG Group openly welcomes and honors Mohun Bagan in the RPSG family. Personally, it is an emotional reunion for me because my father was a member of the late RP Goenka Mohun Bagan.”

Goenka said that after the merger the club would be named ATK Mohun Bagan so that the identity of the two clubs would remain. He said, “The name of the new club will be ATK Mohun Bagan. The identity of Mohun Bagan and ATK will remain as before. ” Goenka hinted that the new club could retain the colors of the jerseys of both teams. Mohun Bagan‘s jersey is green and dark red while ATK has red and white.

He said, “We have not yet decided what color the jersey will be. It is not relevant right now. The governing team will decide on it.” The All India Football Federation supported the merger, calling it a historic step in the country’s football history.

AIFF President Praful Patel said, “I congratulate veteran Mohun Bagan Club and Hero ISL Club ATK on the merger. I am confident that the officials of both clubs would have taken into consideration the best interest of the fans and the wider interest of Indian football before arriving at this decision. Magic can be created when tradition and heritage merge with business houses. ”

AIFF secretary Kushal Das further added, “I am confident that this will be one of the historical events in the history of Indian football. Officials of both clubs deserve praise for this decision.”