Aizawl FC’s transfer budget was 20 times less than Mohun Bagan and East Bengal

Aizawl FC took a big step in their pursuit of a famous I-League title win with their 1–0 win over Mohun Bagan earlier today. The club from the hills of Mizoram has now gone three points clear of Mohun Bagan at the top of the league table with a game to go.

That means the Reds are only a draw away from what will be one of the unlikeliest wins in the Indian sporting scene. Having been relegated last season, Aizawl were reinstated on subjective grounds and have now repaid that move by inching ever closer to the title, probably already putting one hand on it.

However, it has not always been smooth sailing for a club that has had to beat the budget to compete against the wealthier clubs from Kolkata and Bengaluru. Aizawl are one of the least wealthy clubs in the I-League, making their charge to the title an ever more impressive feat.

There have been undertones of Leicester City’s famous Premier League title win in 2015–16 in Aizawl’s march to the summit of Indian football, and it has been a Leicester-like rise for the Reds.

Their owner, Robert Royte, explained Sportskeeda about the budgetary challenges he and his club have had to overcome to come within touching distance of the title, an unprecedented achievement for a club from North East India, where success has not always followed the passion for football.

“I’m quite surprised to hear about his number as our budget is far lower, I feel people put so much of emphasis on money in football, Leicester proved it last time as well. It’s all about improving your weaknesses with the resources that you have. Our budget was 20 times less than the clubs you mentioned [Mohun Bagan and East Bengal],” Royte told Sportskeeda.

The gulf is there for us to see. For having war-chests 20 times bigger than Aizawl’s, both Bagan and East Bengal are the most fancied clubs in Indian football. However, it is Aizawl who currently sit three and nine points ahead of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal respectively.

That they have managed to almost achieve the impossible on a shoestring budget suggests that football is still home to sport’s most unfathomable and absurd stories. And Aizawl FC’s rise against the grain will mark a milestone in Indian football and could usher a change in the entire Indian footballing landscape, proving that the answer to all problems is not always money.