Indian Super League (ISL) organiser, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), on Friday invited bids for a new to team to participate in the seventh edition of the tournament.

The development is being seen as the first step in East Bengal’s entry into the country’s No. 1 league this season itself.

East Bengal on Wednesday got an investor in city-based Shree Cement. Making the announcement, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who played a big role in the negotiations, made a strong pitch for the club’s inclusion in the ISL.

The tender notice says the bid is for the participation of one more team for the seventh edition to be staged in 2020-21. The bids have been invited from six cities: Calcutta, Delhi, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Siliguri and Bhopal.

Interested parties have to collect the bid document by 5pm on September 7, submit the soft bid document by September 14 and a hard copy by September 17.

With the addition of a new franchise, this year’s ISL, to be played in three venues in Goa, will have 11 teams. The new season is scheduled to start in November.

Mamata had said on Wednesday that the coming in of the new investor will be “self-sufficient” for East Bengal to complete the formalities of playing in the ISL this year.

“Now we will apply and it’s up to FSDL to decide which team will be included,” East Bengal assistant secretary Shanti Ranjan Dasgupta was quoted as saying by PTI.

Club had an executive committee meeting on Friday, where it was decided that the annual general meeting would be held on September 27.