CALCUTTA, May 2: From April 1998, Mohun Bagan will cease to exist as a club. It will be converted into a company known as the Mohun Bagan Athletic Club Limited, according to secretary Anjan Mitra.

A chartered accountant by profession, Mitra confirming this and said the club has already been registered under the new name as per section 25 of the Indian Companies Act. Mitra informed that the whole matter would be finalised in a short time. A clutch of big corporate bodies are swooping down on Calcutta after Bagan announced their decision to go up for sale.

A few leading multinationals have already approached Mohun Bagan, hinting that they might be interested in buying the club. A Birla Group company contacted Mitra today morning and inquired about the details. Once the club becomes a corporate, all the members will automatically become shareholders.

Mohun Bagan was founded by a group of nationalist minded locals in 1888 as the first Indian football club. The main idea behind the founding of the club was to break the monopoly of British Army teams in Calcutta football. This aim was fulfiled in 1911, when the club, playing bare-footed, won the IFA Shield.

Within a few years, it became an institution which gave rise to nationalist feelings. Turning out in Mohun Bagan's colours was a matter of prestige for a player. The club is also known for promoting the game, having brought Pele to Calcutta as a part of the famous Cosmos team in 1976. However, as the game became more professional, Bagan started losing its hold. Money power soon gained more importance than prestige.

After their National League debacle, a major revamp was always on the cards. The cash-strapped outfit finally decided to put itself on the market after other clubs lured a few of their leading players away, dangling bags of money during the inter-club transfers this year.

``It is high time we realise that money is required to show results,'' Mitra said. ``Of the 12 teams in the National League this year, nine were office teams.'' These corporate bodies, feels Mitra, draw good mileage by sponsoring football teams. ``Look at JCT. The logo their footballers carried on the shirts was worth millions of rupees in advertisement.'' Bagan officials are using this single point to woo prospective buyers. Moreover the club has a lot of assets in Calcutta.

Apart from being the only club to hold a permanent lease in the Maidan -- where where all the clubs have their tents and stadia belongs to the Army -- Bagan also has a number of flats and a fleet of cars.

Recently, Bagan entered into a one-year contract with Tata Tea to sponsor the team. The Rs 25 lakh-sponsorship ends on March 31, 1988.

``Till then Mohun Bagan will remain a club. Only after the contract ends, will it be converted into a corporate body,'' Mitra informed. Even Tata Tea, Mitra hinted, might be interested in buying the club.

The company Mohun Bagan AC Ltd. will start with a capital base of Rs 10 crore. Of this, Rs 7.5 crore will be put up in the market, the remaining being disbursed among members. ``We realised that in order to get good players, we need to have at least Rs 2 crore,'' Mitra, the brain behind this plan, added. ``Most of the corporate bodies went into the transfer bazaar with this amount in their pocket. We just do not stand a chance.''

Realising that this would be the trend in future, Bagan officials preferred to go corporate instead of sinking into oblivion.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.