East Bengal Club facts for kids
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| Full name | East Bengal Club |
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| Nickname | Red & Gold Brigade Bangal Brigade Torch Bearers |
| Founded | August 1, 1920 |
| President | Murari Lal Lohia |
East Bengal Club, often called East Bengal, is a famous Indian sports club from Kolkata, West Bengal. It's most known for its professional men's football team. This team plays in the Indian Super League (ISL), which is the top football league in India. East Bengal is one of the most successful football clubs in the country.
The club also has teams for many other sports. These include women's football, men's and women's cricket, field hockey, athletics, and eSports.
East Bengal was started on August 1, 1920. It began with only a men's football team. But over time, it grew to include other sports like hockey after 1947 and cricket in the 1970s. The women's football team was added in 2001.
East Bengal is one of the most popular sports clubs in Asia. Many of its fans are from the "Bangal" community. These are people who moved from the eastern part of Bengal (now Bangladesh) after India was divided in 1947. For them, East Bengal Club became a symbol of their identity and hope.
This movement of people caused some rivalries between those who moved and the people already living in West Bengal. These groups were called "Bangal" and "Ghoti." This led to rivalries in many parts of life, including sports. East Bengal has a big rivalry with Mohun Bagan, another club from Kolkata. Mohun Bagan is mostly supported by the "Ghoti" community. Their matches are called the Kolkata derby, which is Asia's biggest sports rivalry. East Bengal also has a local rivalry with Mohammedan.
The club's colors are red and golden yellow. This is why they are nicknamed the "Red and Gold Brigade" and "Lal Holud" (which means red and yellow in Bangla). The club's fans are known as the "Torchbearers."
Contents
Club History
East Bengal Club was formed on August 1, 1920. This happened after a disagreement at another club called Jorabagan. On July 28, 1920, Jorabagan Club was supposed to play against Mohun Bagan. A player named Sailesh Bose was left out of the team. Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri, who was a vice-president at Jorabagan, wanted Bose to play. When his request was not accepted, Chaudhuri left the club.
He then joined with Raja Manmatha Nath Chaudhuri, Ramesh Chandra Sen, and Aurobinda Ghosh to start a new club. They named it East Bengal Club because the founders came from the eastern part of Bengal. Sarada Ranjan Ray became the first president. Suresh Chandra Chowdhury and Tarit Bhusan Roy were the first joint secretaries. Soon after, the first team squad was announced. It included players like Nagen Kali, Goshto Paul, and Sailesh Bose.
Club Symbols
Club Crest
In 1930, a big protest movement called Satyagraha happened in India. This affected football too. Indian clubs stopped playing in the Calcutta Football League. During this time, East Bengal was not allowed to move up to the First Division. Thousands of East Bengal fans and officials protested at the East Bengal Ground.
During this protest, people carried flaming torches. Because of this, a hand holding a flaming torch became the club's symbol. This symbol, called 'Mawshal' in Bangla, is still used today. In 2020, East Bengal released a special crest to celebrate its 100th birthday.
- East Bengal crests
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First logo
Club Colours
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East Bengal's main colors are red and yellow. The home uniform usually has a red and yellow jersey with black shorts. The away uniform colors change each year.
The founders chose these colors when the club was new. They were looking for jerseys, which came from England back then. They saw a red and gold shirt at the Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co. department store in Chowringhee, Kolkata. They liked it and decided on those colors. The jersey cost ₹80 in 1920, which was a lot of money back then. These colors have been a part of the club ever since.
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Sports Teams
Men's Football Team
The men's football team is the most famous part of East Bengal Club. It was the first team when the club started in 1920. East Bengal FC is one of India's most successful football clubs. They have won 39 state leagues and 3 national titles. They have also won many other cups like the Durand Cup and Federation Cup. East Bengal is also the only Indian club to win a FIFA-recognized international tournament. This was the ASEAN Club Championship in 2003.
Women's Football Team
The women's football team was created in 2001. They won the Calcutta Women's Football League in their very first season. They were runners-up in 2002. The women's team was restarted in the club's 100th year. In their first year back, they finished as runners-up in the 2020 Kanyashree Cup.
Youth Teams and Academy
The East Bengal Club Reserves is the team just below the main senior team. It usually has younger players, but sometimes older players join too. This team plays in the Calcutta Football League.
The East Bengal Academy includes teams for players under 21, under 18, under 15, and under 13. The under-21 team is the last step for young players to join the main team. These youth teams play in leagues like the Reliance Foundation Development League and the Youth League.
Cricket Team
The East Bengal Club Cricket team plays in different tournaments for various age groups. These tournaments are run by the Cricket Association of Bengal. The team plays its home matches at famous grounds like the Eden Gardens. They have won about 60 major state-level trophies. Famous cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sourav Ganguly have played for this team.
Hockey Team
The hockey team started after India became independent. The club is part of the Bengal Hockey Association. They have won 13 trophies, including the Calcutta Hockey League and the Beighton Cup. The team was stopped in 2000 but restarted in 2021.
Athletics Team
East Bengal also has an athletics team. It is connected with the West Bengal Athletic Association. The team takes part in various athletics events in West Bengal. The club also holds its own yearly athletics events at the club ground.
E-Sports Team
East Bengal also joined the first season of e-ISL. This is where teams from the Indian Super League play the video game FIFA 22. Two young players, Ankit Gupta and Shayantan Mondal, represented the club.
Club Ownership
East Bengal is set up as a registered society, which means people can become members. There are about 12,000 members. A company called East Bengal Club Pvt. Ltd. was also formed. Both the society and the company work together to run the club. Sponsorships and investments come through this company. The club has its own rules, and changes are made at special meetings.
Currently, the football part of the club is managed by a new company called Emami East Bengal FC Pvt. Ltd. This company is owned by both East Bengal and Emami Group. Emami Group owns 77% of this new company.
Home Stadiums
The club has used several stadiums in Kolkata and nearby areas. The Eden Gardens was used for football before the Salt Lake Stadium opened in 1984. The first ground the club used was Kumartuli Park.
Salt Lake Stadium
The Salt Lake Stadium, also known as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), is a large stadium in Kolkata. It was built in 1984. It is the biggest non-auto racing stadium in India. It is mainly used for football matches. The stadium has a running track, a long jump track, an electronic scoreboard, and natural grass. It also has floodlights, a conference hall, and a medical room. The Salt Lake Stadium hosts East Bengal's home games in the Indian Super League and AFC competitions. The stadium's capacity was 85,000, but it was later changed to 68,000.
East Bengal Ground
The East Bengal Ground is in Kolkata and is the club's historic home. It is located in the Maidan (Kolkata) area, near Fort William and Eden Gardens. This stadium is mostly used for Calcutta Football League matches. It is also used by the club's academy, women's, and hockey teams. The stadium can hold 23,500 people.
Eden Gardens
The Eden Gardens is the second largest cricket stadium in India. It can hold 68,000 people, but it used to hold around 100,000. East Bengal has used this stadium many times. For many years, Eden Gardens was the home ground for the men's football team before Salt Lake Stadium was built. After Salt Lake Stadium opened, the club continued to use Eden Gardens for its cricket teams.
Other Stadiums
Barasat Stadium is also used by the club for some local matches. This happens especially when Salt Lake Stadium or East Bengal Ground cannot be used. Kanchenjunga Stadium in Siliguri has also hosted club football matches several times. It hosted the 2012 Federation Cup. Kalyani Stadium, near Kolkata, was used by East Bengal as their home ground during the 2019–20 I-League season.
The team also practices at one of the VYBK practice grounds.
Club Management
| Role | Name |
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| President |  Murari Lal Lohia |
| General secretary | Rupak Saha |
| Assistant general secretary | Santi Ranjan Dasgupta |
| Finance secretary | Sadananda Mukherjee |
| Treasurer | Debdas Samajdar |
| Football secretary | Saikat Ganguly |
| Cricket secretary | Sanjib Acharya |
| Hockey secretary | Prabir Kumar Dafaddar |
| Athletic secretary | Partha Pratim Roy |
| Ground secretary | Rajat Guha |
Club Achievements
Football Honours
East Bengal FC has won many important trophies:
| Type | Competition | Titles | Seasons |
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| International | ASEAN Club Championship | 1S | 2003 |
| Domestic | National Football League | 3 | 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04 |
| Federation Cup | 8 | 1978, 1980, 1985, 1996, 2007, 2009–10, 2010, 2012 | |
| Indian Super Cup | 3 | 1997, 2006, 2011 | |
| IFA Shield | 29 | 1943, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1958, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2018 | |
| Durand Cup | 16 | 1951, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1978, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2004 | |
| Calcutta Football League | 39 | 1942, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1961, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 | |
| Rovers Cup | 10 | 1949, 1962, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1980, 1990, 1994 |
- Record
- S Shared record
Cricket Honours
- CAB First Division League
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- Champions (16): 1974-75, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1980-81, 1983-84, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2013-14, 2016-17
- CAB Senior Knockout
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- Champions (13): 1975-76, 1977-78, 1979-80, 1982-83, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1997-98, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15
- J. C. Mukherjee Trophy
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- Champions (12): 1977-78, 1983-84, 1986-87, 1987- 88, 1993-94, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2016-17
- P. Sen Memorial Invitation Trophy
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- Champions (10): 1976-77, 1978-79, 1993-94, 1997-98, 1999-2000, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2011-12, 2013-14, 2016-17
- A. N. Ghosh Memorial Trophy
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- Champions (8): 1992-93, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16
- CAB Super League
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- Champions (1): 2016-17
Hockey Honours
- Calcutta Hockey League
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- Champions (10): 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1989, 2022
- Beighton Cup
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- Champions (4): 1957, 1962, 1964, 1967
- Runners-up (3): 1963, 1970, 1987
Awards
- Banga Bibhushan: 2022
Partner Clubs
East Bengal has partnered with other clubs:
Leicester City (2002–2003)
Sheikh Russel KC (2022–present)
More About East Bengal Club
- East Bengal Club in international football
- East Bengal Club league record by opponent
- List of East Bengal Club wins against Foreign teams
- List of foreign players for East Bengal Club
- List of East Bengal Club records and statistics
- Indian football clubs in Asian competitions
