# Football in West Bengal

Association football is two most-popular sports in West Bengal, the others being Cricket. East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan are the heart of West Bengal football. The rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, originating from the Calcutta Football League as the Kolkata derby, is one of the fiercest in the world and considered among the flagship events in the Indian footballing calendar. West Bengal is known to be the Mecca of Indian football, with the two most supported teams in the country being based within the city – Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
The IFA had organised many historical tournaments like the Trades Cup, the Gladstone Cup, the Cooch Behar Cup and the coveted IFA Shield, prior to the incorporation of Calcutta Football League in 1898. The Trades Cup is the oldest tournament in Kolkata, being instituted in 1889.

## State teams

The following list includes the performance of West Bengal's state teams at major competitions.

### Men's team

| Tournament | Best performance |
| Santosh Trophy | Champions (1941–42, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1962–63, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83 (Shared with Goa), 1986–87, 1988–89, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2016–17) |
| National Games | Gold (1994, 2011, 2022) |
| B.C. Roy Trophy | Champions (1961–62, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2003–04, 2024–25) |
| Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy | Champions (1965–66, 1978–79, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2007–08, 2015–16) |
| M. Dutta Ray Trophy | Champions (1992, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005) |

### Women's team

| Tournament | Best performance |
| Senior Women's National Football Championship | Champions (1991–92, 1996–97) |
| National Games | Silver (1999, 2002) |
| Junior Girl's National Football Championship | Champions (2011–12) |
| Sub–Junior Girl's National Football Championship | Champions (2010–11) |

## Affiliated district associations

All 23 district of West Bengal are affiliated with the Indian Football Association.
| No. | Association | District |
| 1 | Alipurduar District Football Association | Alipurduar |
| 2 | Bankura District Football Association | Bankura |
| 3 | Paschim Bardhaman District Football Association | Paschim Bardhaman |
| 4 | Purba Bardhaman District Football Association | Purba Bardhaman |
| 5 | Birbhum District Football Association | Birbhum |
| 6 | Cooch Behar District Football Association | Cooch Behar |
| 7 | Darjeeling District Football Association | Darjeeling |
| 8 | Dakshin Dinajpur District Football Association | Dakshin Dinajpur |
| 9 | Hooghly District Football Association | Hooghly |
| 10 | Howrah District Football Association | Howrah |
| 11 | Jalpaiguri District Football Association | Jalpaiguri |
| 12 | Jhargram District Football Association | Jhargram |
| 13 | Kolkata District Football Association | Kolkata |
| 14 | Kalimpong District Football Association | Kalimpong |
| 15 | Malda District Football Association | Malda |
| 16 | Paschim Medinipur District Football Association | Paschim Medinipur |
| 17 | Purba Medinipur District Football Association | Purba Medinipur |
| 18 | Murshidabad District Football Association | Murshidabad |
| 19 | Nadia District Football Association | Nadia |
| 20 | North 24 Parganas District Football Association | North 24 Parganas |
| 21 | South 24 Parganas Football Association | South 24 Parganas |
| 22 | Purulia District Football Association | Purulia |
| 23 | Uttar Dinajpur District Football Association | Uttar Dinajpur |

## Organisation of football in West Bengal
### Men's

* Calcutta Football League
* IFA Shield
* Trades Cup
* Uttarbanga Cup
* Jayanta Chatterjee Inter District Football Tournament
* IFA Futsal Championship

### Women's

* Calcutta Women's Football League
* Women's IFA Shield

### Youth

* CFL 5th Division Group B
* IFA Nursery League

### Evolution of the football system

| Years | Years | 1889–1893 | 1893 | 1893–1993 | 1993–2019 | 2019–2021 | 2021–2023 | 2023–present |
| 2023–present ||
| Men's |||||||||
| State leagues | 1 | None | Formation of Indian Football Association (IFA) | CFL Premier Division | CFL Premier Division | CFL Premier Division | CFL Premier Division | CFL Premier Division |
| State leagues | 2 | None | Formation of Indian Football Association (IFA) | None | None | CFL 1st Division | CFL 1st Division | CFL 1st Division |
| State leagues | 3 | None | Formation of Indian Football Association (IFA) | None | None | None | None | CFL 2nd Division |
| State leagues | 4 | None | Formation of Indian Football Association (IFA) | None | None | None | None | CFL 3rd Division |
| State leagues | 5 | None | Formation of Indian Football Association (IFA) | None | None | None | None | CFL 4th Division |
| State leagues | 6 | None | Formation of Indian Football Association (IFA) | None | None | None | None | CFL 5th Division Group A |
| State leagues | 7 | None | Formation of Indian Football Association (IFA) | None | None | None | None | CFL 5th Division Group B |
| Cup competitions | Cup competitions | Trades Cup | Trades Cup | Trades Cup | Trades Cup | Discontinued | Discontinued | Discontinued |
| Cup competitions | Cup competitions | | | IFA Shield | IFA Shield | IFA Shield | Not continued | Not continued |
| Women's |||||||||
| State leagues | 1 | | | None | Kanyashree Cup Premier Division A | Kanyashree Cup Premier Division A | Kanyashree Cup Premier Division A | Kanyashree Cup Premier Division A |
| State leagues | 2 | | | None | None | None | None | Kanyashree Cup Premier Division B |
| Cup competitions | Cup competitions | | | None | None | None | None | Women's IFA Shield |

## Notable footballers visits

Because it is often called India's football capital, many international footballing personalities have visited Kolkata, West Bengal. In 1977, Mohun Bagan played a friendly match against the famous North American Soccer League club New York Cosmos, which featured Pelé. The match, which took place at Eden Gardens, had an attendance of 80,000. The match ended 2–2. Others who have visited Kolkata are Argentinean footballing legend Diego Maradona and current star Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi made his captaincy debut for his national side in Kolkata's, West Bengal Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on 2 September 2011 against Venezuela. German legends, including Franz Beckenbauer and Oliver Kahn, have also visited. The best goalkeeper in football history, Russian Lev Yashin, visited in 1955 and 1973. English World Cup–winning legend Bobby Moore was the chief guest during the 1984 Nehru Cup. Emeka Ezuego, the Nigerian World Cup player, played for East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting. Majid Bishkar, the Iranian World Cup player, played for East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting from 1980 to 1986. Cameroon footballing legend Roger Milla played for Diamond Club in some exhibition matches in the Centenary Celebration of Mohun Bagan. Uruguay football captain Diego Forlan visited Kolkata in 2010. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge visited in 2010. Julian Caminho visited Kolkata, West Bengal twice—first in 1988 to play for East Bengal and again in 2011. MacDonald Mukansi played for East Bengal in 2007.
Others who have also visited are Terry Paine, Carlos Alberto Torres, Enzo Francescoli, Valencia Ramos, Jorge Burruchaga, Ricardo Gareca, László Kiss, Nicky Butt, Włodzimierz Smolarek, Andrzej Buncol, Eusébio, Ronald Koeman, Paul Breitner, and Swansea City's Neil Taylor.
In July 2023, Argentine World Cup and World Cup Golden Gloves winner Emiliano Martinez also visited the city of Joy, courtesy to Satadru Dutta's initiative. He was grandly welcomed by the citizens and Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

## Footballers from West Bengal

The state of West Bengal has contributed many legends to Indian football, such as:
* Chuni Goswami, first Padma Shri awardee, awarded best striker of Asia in 1962.
* Gostho Pal, footballer, who was member of the Mohun Bagan team that won the IFA shield against a British team in the pre-independence period.
* Krishanu Dey, footballer, known as the "Indian Maradona".
* Mohammed Salim, first player from the Indian subcontinent to play overseas, in the year 1936 for the Scottish Club Celtic FC.
* Pradip Kumar Banerjee, named Indian Footballer of the 20th century by, and awardee of the FIFA Order of Merit.
* Shailen Manna, footballer, the only Asian Footballer ever to be named among the 10 best Captains in the world by the English FA in 1953.
* Subrata Paul, member of Indian team, first Indian goalkeeper to play professionally for a foreign club in 1st division (Danish Superliga).
* Sudip Chatterjee, footballer, considered among the finest in Indian football, declared AIFF player of the decade in 1994.

## International players origin

* Robin Dutt, former manager of Bundesliga club, Werder Bremen.
* Neil Taylor, Welsh footballer of half-Bengali origin.

## Arjuna award winners

* P. K. Banerjee
* Chuni Goswami
* Arun Lal Ghosh
* Prasun Banerjee
* Sudhir Karmakar
* Shanti Mullick
* Subrata Bhattacharya
* Deepak Kumar Mondal
* Subrata Pal