East Bengal F.C: Birth of a Champion.

East Bengal, the Red and Gold Brigade of Indian football, was set up on 1^st August 1920. The club was incepted due to a rift in Jorabagan Club. Jorabagan dropped its prominent player, Shri Sailesh Bose, in a match against Mohun Bogan in Coach Behar Cup Tournament in 1920. Shri Bose was a resident of eastern part of Bengal. In protest, Shri Suresh Chowdhury, the zamindar of Nagarpur of Mymensingh District and the Vice President of the Club decided to resign.

Shri Chowdhury, with the support of other prominent personalities of eastern districts of Bengal, residing in Calcutta, set up the East Bengal Club. The contributions of Shri Chowdhury, Rai Bahadur Tarit Bhusan Roy, and Professor Sarada Ranjan Roy in setting up the Club will always be remembered in the history of East Bengal.

The Club gave birth to a great rivalry between Ghoti and Bangal. The cultured, sophisticated, soft- spoken residents of Calcutta were known as the Ghoti while the simple, spontaneous residents of eastern districts of Bengal were known as the Bangal. The socio- economic compulsions forced the Bangal community to migrate from their root to Calcutta. The migrated people were in search for an identity in colonial Calcutta and East Bengal provided them an ‘identity of superiority’.

The first match between these two clubs took place in 1925 in Calcutta Football League which was won by East Bengal by a solitary goal. This was the beginning of a great football rivalry which is still prevailing. Even today, a clash between these two clubs is enjoyed by millions of fans.

East Bengal made a mark in its year of inception by winning a six-a- side Hercules Cup which was organized at Shyam Park in North Calcutta. However, it was not sufficient to enter into the Calcutta Football League because of the strict restriction imposed on the participation of Indian teams in the League.

Shri Gopal Roy, the Raja of Tajhat, in a kind gesture withdrew his team and shifted his players to East Bengal to provide the Club an opportunity to participate in the Second Division of the League. East Bengal secured third place in the Second Division. In the first year, the Club won seven trophies in various events.

1925 was a memorable year for East Bengal as in this year the Club was promoted to the First Division of the Calcutta Football League. The Club was also invited to participate in the Durand Cup at Simla. In 1942, East Bengal emerged as the Champion of the Calcutta Football League for the first time.

It was indeed a historical moment of the Club. In the next year, the Club clinched the IFA Shield. In 1945 East Bengal won both the First Division Calcutta Football League and IFA Shield. The Club set a record by winning the IFA Shield three times in a row between 1949 and 1951 and adjudged as the best Indian soccer club by the English FA Annual Almanac of 1951- 52.

East Bengal has an impressive record against the foreign teams. They defeated Pas Club of Iran in 1970, Piyong Young Club of Korea in 1973, Dok- Ro- Gang Club of Korea in 1973 and the Port Authority Club of Thailand in 1978. But, the biggest achievement was in 2003 when East Bengal won the ASEAN Cup in Jakarta by beating BEC Tero Sasana by three goals to one in the final. Millions of fans greeted the team which secured this epochal victory.

Today is the birthday of East Bengal. We would expect that the Club will achieve many more milestones in future. This is the time to look beyond Indian football, this is the time to reach out at the International level. We hope that East Bengal will provide the direction which will be followed by the other clubs of India.

Ankan Banerjee

Lecturer, Department of Sports Management

Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management