Mumbai: Bollywood icon & ICL stakeholder, Mithun Chakraborty announced an alliance between his team, Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT) and Bengal’s prominent sports club – Howrah Union Club at a press conference held in Kolkata. The formation of a separate company called the Royal Bengal Sports was also announced along with the launch of Mithun’s team’s website – www.theroyalbengaltigers.com.
Mithun said, "This announcement cements my association with ICL which was formulated in March 2008 with the foremost objective of endorsing and promoting sports in my native West Bengal. The alliance between my team and Howrah Union Club is one of its kind initiatives, which aims to take Bengal’s local sports talent, across sporting disciplines, on the path of creating national sports icons from Bengal."
Commenting on the association, Indian Cricket League (ICL) business head Himanshu Mody said, "Howrah Union’s rich sporting heritage and ICL’s in-depth understanding of the modern sports environment will propel sports in West Bengal a long way forward. ICL acknowledges Mithunda’s instrumental role as an architect of this alliance. We are sure that his iconic status in West Bengal will help promote both the organizations and its sportsmen to an unprecedented level in the Indian sports scenario."
Howrah Union Club secretary Indranath Dey said, "Over the last 86 years, it has always been our tradition to promote sports and games at the Kolkata Maidans. We are extremely proud to be a part of this mega endeavour, which we foresee to be a milestone in Bengal’s sport scenario. Under the guidance of Mithunda, we are sure that the RBT-Howrah Union alliance will take Bengal’s sports to greater heights. We thank ICL for giving us a bigger platform."
Royal Bengal Tigers (RBT) business head Rajib Chatterjee said, "I think players deserve an exposure on par with international standards. My association with Howrah Union for a while now, has exposed me to the dedication & passion for sports inculcated in the club’s philosophy, under the astute leadership of Dey."
"We, at Essel Sports see this alliance as an opportunity where we could readily take both cricket and football to the highest level and contribute to the cause of sports in the country," Chatterjee further added.
