Bengaluru FC CEO Parth Jindal said that the club management felt it was time to make the switch to the Indian Super League. The JSW group-owned Bengaluru FC, along with Tata Steel Limited, joined the ISL bandwagon after winning the bids for the two new teams.“Bengaluru FC has always been about the bigger picture – to help Indian football develop,” Jindal is quoted as saying by PTI, “We felt the time was right to make the switch to the ISL. The league is marketed really well and it has undergone changes since its inception. We’ve chosen to go with the road ahead for Indian football.”

Bengaluru FC have had almost unprecedented success in their short history in Indian football. They have won the I-League title once. In 2016, they became the first Indian team to be runners up in a continental competition when they reached the final of the AFC Cup. Jindal said that the club is looking forward to the “new challenges” that the ISL will bring.

“We’ve enjoyed tremendous success in the I-League in a very short span of time and the ISL will be a completely new challenge that we’re relishing. We’re really looking forward to new rivalries and the ISL experience as a whole,” Jindal said.

Jindal said ISL was the way forward for Indian football.

“Like I mentioned, we felt the ISL, at this point in time, is the way ahead for Indian football. The longer league this season will help Indian football on so many fronts. Then there’s the prospect of playing the AFC Cup through the ISL which was a key factor in us deciding to join the league.”