Bagan requests AIFF for fielding four foreigners

Kolkata, Nov 18 (UNI) Mohun Bagan has requested the AIFF to allow four foreigners to be on the ground in I-League that gets off on November 24.

Mohun Bagan secretary Anjan Dutta told UNI today, ''We have sent a letter to the AIFF requesting them to allow all the four foreigners during the I-league.'' ''We spent huge amount of money to build a side and if we cant play the four foreigners then there is no use bringing the fourth one,'' he added.

Anjan further said if the first suggestion was not found acceptable, the AIFF they could at least allow all the teams to enlist all the four foreigners in the 18 players listed for the game.

''This is to ensure that the fourth foreigner could be brought in as a substitute to fulfill the purpose of the team and also make sure that all atleast three foreigners could play at any point of time,'' he said.

All India Football Federation (AIFF) executive committee decided on Friday to allow all teams to recruit four foreigners instead of three for the I-League.

The latest development is a bit surprising as the buzzword had been about reducing the number of foreigners in Indian football to encourage local talent.

UNI