What’s the story?
If you were there at the Barasat stadium on Sunday when Mohun Bagan took on Churchill Brothers, the unfamiliar sight of watching a set of female supporters screaming their lungs out for the Mariners would have caught your eyes. These women, who call themselves the “Lady Mariners” are India’s first organised female-only supporter’s club, and their energy and passion for the game has already drawn a lot of plaudits.
In case you didn’t know...
Football in Bengal is a male-dominated game, but there has been a sea of change in the last few years. The fairer sex have been making their way to the stadiums in large numbers, but up until now, there was no recognised group. Lady Mariners, which was established in 2015 but became fully functional only in late 2016, has been the culmination of the trend.
These women, who come from different parts of suburban Kolkata, are die-hard Mohun Bagan fans, either by birth or by influence. They even launched their own jersey recently, an event that was attended by goalkeeper Debjit Majumdar.
The heart of the matter
Impressively, the ladies are led by the 80-year-old Shanti Chakraborty, who has been a staunch Mohun Bagan fan all her life. She attends every home game of the Green and Maroon brigade and serves as an inspiration to the group, which is about 30 members strong.
Most of them come from Bengali families who have been supporting the club for generations or have friends and relatives who do the same.
What’s next?
The ladies make sure that they do their bit in spurring their team on, and hope to be recognised by the club soon. One of them admitted to the Bengali daily, Anandabazar Patrika that nothing inspires them more than donning the famous red and maroon jersey and coming to the stadium to cheer their favourite team.
Given the fact that the All India Football Federation and the Green Tribunal have now permitted Mohun Bagan to play at the Rabindra Sarobar, which is at the heart of Kolkata, one expects more and more women to make it to the games this time around.
Sportskeeda’s Take
The rise of the West Block Blues and East Bengal Ultras had given birth to a brand new fan culture in Indian football, but it had mostly been restricted to men. Lady Mariners is a one of a kind movement, which is rare in world football.
So, as of now, we hope they keep growing in number and serve as a motivation to all the football-loving women out there in the country to come out and vocally support their sides during the long footballing season.
