East Bengal, Bagan to release players for camp

KOLKATA, JULY 11. The national football camp for the England tour will pick up momentum with the two Kolkata giants - Kingfisher East Bengal and Mohun Bagan - having agreed to release the players.

The All India Football Federation decided to go soft on the requisition of players following a plea from Indian Football Association, sparing two of East Bengal's players from attending the camp.

Mohun Bagan, which did not have a big list to negotiate, was the first to release its players. East Bengal, having six players in the national call-up, appealed for a curtailment. East Bengal will now have three players - Dipankar Roy, Sangram Mukherjee and Bijen Singh - in the camp while striker I.M. Vijayan and defender Dipak Mondal will be joining the team just before its departure on July 20. The sixth in the list from East Bengal, Joe Paul Anchery has already pulled out owing to injury.

Mohun Bagan has also released its players R.P. Singh and Renedy Singh, while the third player Basudev Mondal is still uncertain as he has requested to be spared, citing personal problems. The camp got under way, with Sukhvinder Singh as coach incharge, at Patiala on Sunday.

- Our Sports Reporter

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