Indian football has been all doom and gloom for a while now. The national team hasn’t looked great, and the World Cup dream remains a distant one. Failure to make the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers still rankles, and there is no immediate solution in sight either. That’s where Mohun Bagan Super Giant (MBSG) are like a breath of fresh air. The management is committed and professional, financial support isn’t an issue, the fan base is ever-growing and the quality of players is at a very decent level and can get better from here.
That’s what brings me to the moot point of this piece. Sanjiv Goenka and the MBSG management are motivated and keen. They have deep pockets and have tasted success. They also have a solid Indian core. It is now on them to take Indian football ahead and make MBSG competitive at the Asian level. If the national team can’t, let the club do it, and it will have a galvanising impact on Indian football. Mohun Bagan are now the best in India by a distance. Their next target should be the AFC competitions. No one is asking them to win just yet, but if they can at least be competitive, it will help Indian football going forward.
Mohun Bagan, for the record, have not had much success at the Asian level. In 2024, they were ousted in controversial fashion and missed out. Can they make it count in 2025? Can they bring in a few more quality players who will make the club competitive at a far higher level? What impact could that have on a growing fan base and on Goenka as a sports czar?
Imagine an Indian club competing with the best in Asia and not getting outplayed. Imagine Vishal Kaith, Liston Colaco, Subhasish Bose, Anirudh Thapa, Manvir Singh and Sahal Abdul Samad playing with stars like Jamie Maclaren at their peak! Could that be the revolution Indian football has long been after?
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🚨EXCLUSIVE: History made, but the mission isn’t over!🟢🔴
EXCLUSIVE Reactions ft. Sanjiv Goenka, Dimi Petratos, Jamie Maclaren & Subhasish Bose.
The next goal is clear – bringing the ISL Cup to Kolkata!#MohunBaganSG #ISL #JoyMohunBagan @debasissen @rpsggroup @mohunbagansg… pic.twitter.com/nWNsRiGFuB
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) February 24, 2025
On a day India were playing Pakistan in Dubai and Virat Kohli was leading the assault with his 51st hundred, there were 60,000 fans at the Salt Lake Stadium. They had come from all across Bengal and stayed on for the entire duration of the celebrations. It does say something. It is a sign that not all hope is lost for Indian football if leading corporates like RPSG take up the mantle.
A competitive Mohun Bagan will give Goenka a global footprint in football, and will fit in well with the group’s expansion plans into the English sports ecosystem with the acquisition of the Manchester team in The Hundred. Imagine the MBSG bunch travelling to Manchester to watch the Manchester Originals play, and also spending some days at City or United training with those teams.
With vision, things can happen. Yes, you need deep pockets, and with Goenka, that’s not a problem. It is now on him to drive the mission forward. Is being the best in India the end in itself, or is it another stepping stone towards Asian greatness? Whichever way you look at it, there is an element of optimism. Of hope. And that’s the key takeaway from Mohun Bagan’s record-breaking season, which has been like a balm in an otherwise grim Indian football scenario.
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