[Exclusive] "We’re eyeing ISL 2023-24" – Mohammedan Sporting Club’s investor Dipak Kumar Singh reveals

Mohammedan Sporting Club, a 130-year old institution credited with upstaging British dominance in Indian football, have had a roller coaster ride over the years.

It must be remembered that Mohammedan were the first Indian club to win the prestigious Calcutta Football League First Division title on both sides of India’s independence. Between 1934 and 1948, they won the competition eight times, including five consecutive titles from 1934 to 1938. As the years passed, their trophy cabinet continued to grow in size and their fame spread far and wide.

However, poor management and lack of vision in the 80s triggered an inevitable peripeteia that pushed the club’s hard-earned glory into the backwaters of history. Such are the vagaries of fate that the once rulers of Indian football were forced to contemplate a shutdown in 2014, owing to severe financial crisis and elusive on-field success.

Cut to October 2020. The “sinking ship” was rescued by a Gurgaon-based company called Bunkerhill Pvt Ltd, which came on board as Mohammedan’s investor and embarked on a process to set things right.

Within a year, the Black Panthers have made a remarkable turnaround and reaffirmed their status as a giant of Kolkata football. The crowning moment came on 18th November 2021 when they ended a 40-year drought to clinch their 12th CFL First Division title. In addition, Mohammedan finished runners-up in the Durand Cup and the inaugural Futsal Club Championship, and claimed the Second Division I-League title during this one-year cycle.

How has this revival been set in motion? What is Bunkerhill’s vision for Mohammedan Sporting Club moving forward? When can one see the Black Panthers in the Indian Super League?

Prior to the start of Mohammedan’s I-League 2021-22 campaign, Bunkerhill’s director Dipak Kumar Singh answered these questions and plenty more in an exclusive conversation with Sportskeeda.

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Q: Congratulations on the CFL triumph. What has been the most memorable compliment you’ve received so far?

Singh: The best compliments are coming from the Mohammedan Sporting fans. They’re saying that ever since Bunkerhill came on board, whatever we’re touching is turning into gold. We’ve made the finals of four competitions in the last one year, which is a great achievement. This year has been a complete transition compared to what we were two years back.

Q: You yourself were a cricketer and have been a part of the Cricket Association of Bengal’s Stadium Committee. How much of an advantage is it for MSC to get an investor like that?

Singh: I was brought up in West Bengal’s Asansol. Cricket has always been my first love. I’ve played the game right from my childhood to my university days. I was an all-rounder; I used to open both the batting and the bowling.

After a while, I decided to take up administrative duties. My association with Mohammedan Sporting Club began in cricket. Their cricket team has been doing well for quite some time now. Later, I shifted my focus to football because Mohammedan have huge potential there, given their rich legacy.

I have some other ventures revolving around cricket. SportsCube is a state-of-the-art academy in Gurgaon where top Indian players like Shikhar Dhawan, Deepak Hooda and Khaleel Ahmed have trained.

Q: You’re also supporting India’s finest Taekwondo academy. Could you tell us something about that?

Singh: Yes. The academy’s name is Peace Taekwondo. It was started by Vinay Kumar Singh. I got associated with him three years back. We share the vision of bringing Olympic medals to India in taekwondo. We needed a good coach for the academy, so we brought an Afghan coach who has been a two-time world champion. Eight No 1 ranked players from across 14 weight categories in India belong to our academy. This has happened in just five years. It’s a residential state-of-the-art academy that provides holistic training in taekwondo. No private academy in India offers this kind of facility. Bunkerhill feels there’s huge business potential in taekwondo and we’re currently exploring it. In the next few years, we’ll expand Peace Taekwondo Academy throughout India.

Q: Could you talk us through their training process and nutritional requirements?

Singh: Yeah, sure. Taekwondo demands a very strict training process. The students stay in a hostel and train six days a week. We look after their skills, fitness, nutrition, and strength and conditioning. The food prepared for them is based on the inputs provided by our nutritionist. We give them the right kind of protein. In this sport, you need to lose weight as per the weight category you’ll compete in. The academy also has a gym which is designed specifically for athletes. Taekwondo is a body-contact sport, so a lot of injuries happen to the players. We help them recover in the best possible way by using the latest strength and conditioning techniques.

Q: After India’s massive success at the Tokyo Olympics, more and more corporate organizations have begun investing in Olympic sports. Apart from taekwondo, do you have plans of supporting other Olympic sports as well?

Singh: At the moment, we’re only focused on taekwondo. I keep getting names of budding athletes who need corporate support. We’re in talks with some of them, but nothing has been finalized. We want to take taekwondo to the next level in India. We give our students scholarships and send them to various championships. The Olympics are one big event, but there’s plenty of preparation that goes behind it. Recently, one of our taekwondo teams traveled to Russia and Iran, and performed well there. Such exposure will help them before the next Olympic Games.

"We're very different from the investors of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan," says Dipak Kumar Singh (Image Courtesy - Dipak Kumar Singh on Facebook)

Q: Let’s talk about Mohammedan Sporting Club now. Why did you decide to invest in a club that had been mired in financial difficulties and had achieved little success over the past two decades?

Singh: The fanbase of Mohammedan - that’s the biggest reason. When I came on board last year, the two other popular clubs [Mohun Bagan and East Bengal] from Kolkata had already been acquired. We need to understand that Indian football is going through a massive transition at the moment. Mohammedan, being one of the three Kolkata giants, has to be part of this transition. We at Bunkerhill felt there was genuine potential in Mohammedan because of their huge fanbase and that we could create a big impact in Bengal.

Q: You seem to have a long-term vision for the club. What are the things you want to get right before Mohammedan makes the big leap towards the ISL?

Singh: We’re trying our best to take Mohammedan Sporting to the ISL. Our vision is very different compared to how some other clubs have entered the ISL. We don’t want to be in the ISL just for the sake of being there. We want to create a core team first and prepare ourselves to perform well in the ISL. Football is a professional sport, so players move on. But we want to make our players feel that Mohammedan is their club. We’re not in a hurry right now.

Q: How is Bunkerhill different from the investors of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan?

Singh: We’re very different from them. Unlike the investors of East Bengal and some other teams, we’re a professional sports management company. We’ve got experience in this field and know quite well how teams and athletes are managed. That’s a definite advantage we have over them. Even with a low budget we’ve been able to create a very competitive team. Team building is not an easy task; you need to possess the technical know-how for that. We’re trying to assemble a much better Mohammedan squad compared to last season. There’s less commercial interest and more passion involved here.

Q: Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt Ltd has an 80% stake in ATK Mohun Bagan and Shree Cement Ltd has a 76% stake in SC East Bengal. On the flipside, you settled for a 50-50 partnership with Mohammedan Sporting Club. Could you explain the thought process behind that?

Singh: I want the Mohammedan officials to feel safe and be part of everything. They’ve been running the club for so many years, so they deserve respect. A 76% or an 80% stake is like a takeover. We want to create an environment where others feel safe. That’s why I’m getting so much flexibility (smiles).

Q: For any football club, having an own academy is of paramount importance. How would you ensure a steady supply-line of quality players to Mohammedan’s senior team? Do you also have plans to renovate the Mohammedan tent and ground?

Singh: [Enhancing MSC’s] Infrastructure is one of our top priorities. We’ve already modernized our club tent and built a new cafeteria inside. We need to wait for the army’s approval at every step, so it takes a bit of time. We cannot do everything at once, but we’ve received a go ahead from the army. We’ll keep upgrading the infrastructure step by step.

We also aim to build a state-of-the-art academy for Mohammedan Sporting. We have big plans for this, and we’ll divulge the details soon.

Q: What are the off-field factors that have led to Mohammedan’s resurgence in this one year?

Singh: Well, there are many factors. First, I would like to thank the Mohammedan officials for being so cooperative. We share a great rapport with them and they have given us ample flexibility. I’m involved in every decision made by the club and we’re trying to revive the club’s good times.

As investors, we’ve made sure that the players and the technical staff get the best facilities and are in a comfortable space of mind. They’re staying in five-star hotels for months, using the best training facilities in Kolkata, and special attention is given to the players’ nutrition and strength and conditioning. You can also see a marked change in our social media work. The standard is similar to and even better than some ISL teams.

Q: A few ISL teams that are struggling at the moment might want to lure away some Mohammedan players during the January window. How will you guard against that and retain the core players if you’re planning to build a team for the future?

Singh: We’ve clearly communicated to our players that they’re here because we want to play in the ISL soon. We want them to be with Mohammedan when we enter the ISL. That’s why we’ve handed multiple year contracts to the head coach [Andrey Chernyshov] and most of the players. Even foreigners like Nikola Stojanovic, Shaher Shaheen and Andelo Rudovic have been given long-term contracts.

Marcus [Joseph] currently has a one-year contract, but we’re certainly thinking of an extension. He has scored 12 goals in 13 games for us, so you can understand how impactful he has been. He’s very happy here and satisfied with the kind of facilities we’re providing. He has said he loves to play for Mohammedan, so we’ll extend his contract pretty soon as well.

Q: The final question and this is the most important one. When exactly can we expect to see Mohammedan Sporting Club in the ISL?

Singh: Next year might be a bit tough…we’re currently working towards it. Next to next year, there’s a huge chance. We’re eyeing ISL 2023-24.