Norde fit, may play against Aizawl FC

There's good news for Mohun Bagan fans. The club’s heartthrob, Sony Norde, is fit and may play in their next game against Aizawl FC at home on Saturday, an official from the club confirmed on Wednesday.

Norde, who arrived a couple of weeks ago, was busy getting himself fit under club’s physical trainer Samiran Nag throughout the week. He didn't even travel with the team in their first I-League match against Gokulam Kerala at Kozhikode.

After watching their team fail to get three points, fans were desperate to see Norde in the first team. Much to the delight of them, Norde is already showing signs of improvement; he scored a sublime goal during a practice session a day earlier.

On Wednesday, Mohun Bagan played a practice match against local club Kalighat MS and Norde played for around an hour. Though he failed to score, his skills and dribbles were eye-catching. Dipanda Dicka and Henry Kisekka scored in Mohun Bagan’s convincing 2-0 victory.

The fitness trainer and doctor have already given green signal to the club about Norde. In all probability, Norde will sign for the club on Friday and may be included in the squad against Aizawl FC. But it’s up to coach Sankarlal Chakraborty whether he will introduce Norde against Aizawl or keep him for the match against Indian Arrows which is scheduled on November 10.

Ganguly, Goswami to be given Life Membership

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly will be given the Life Membership from Mohun Bagan, it was announced on Wednesday. Along with Ganguly, former Indian hockey player Vece Paes, Mohun Bagan legend Subimal (Chuni) Goswami and film persons Prosenjit Chatterjee and Debshankar Haldar will also be conferred with the Life Membership.

This is the first time that the club will give Life Membership to the eminent personalities. Before that, Honorary Membership was given from the club which was eligible for one year. But unlike honorary members, life members can enjoy voting rights and can also contest club elections.

Mohun Bagan’s newly formed executive committee convened their first meeting on Wednesday. Swapan Sadhan Bose was elected as unopposed in the General Secretary position. In today's meeting, former Supreme Court justice Gitanath Ganguly was selected as the President of the club. He will work with six vice-presidents namely Chuni Goswami, Subrata Mukherjee, Arup Roy, Birendra Chatterjee, Balaram Chowdhury and Asit Chatterjee.

However, there was no announcement about any new sponsor or investors. Bose said, "We took office only today. It’s too early to name any sponsor. But yes, we are talking with a few companies and will take decision only when everything gets sorted.”

He also said the club is already mulling all options to play in next year’s Indian Super League. Before that, they want to develop infrastructure along with the youth academy.