File photo of East Bengal players during a training session.
SC East Bengal on Monday said they have applied for club licensing exemption for the 2020-21 season.
Newest entrants in the Indian Super League, East Bengal, along with Odisha FC, NorthEast United FC, Kerala Blasters and Hyderabad FC were the five clubs who had failed to meet the AFC and national licensing criteria.
"We have requested for an exemption to participate in the National Competition from the Club Licensing committee," a club official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"We were not able to comply with documents pertaining to the 2019-2020 season for different criteria but have submitted all documents which were in our control. We are hopeful that the committee will take the best decision for the club."
FC Goa, ATK Mohun Bagan, Bengaluru FC, Jamshedpur FC, Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC have successfully secured the AFC and National licences for the 2020-21 season.
Any club which failed to secure AFC License will not be able to take part in continental tournaments like AFC Champions League and AFC Cup even if they qualify from the ISL.
For clubs to get license, they need to fulfil five main criterias -- sporting, infrastructure, personnel and administrative, legal and financial. Each division has further sub-divisions.
