East Bengal FC
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| Full name | East Bengal Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Red and Gold Brigade |
| Founded | 1 August 1920 |
| Ground | East Bengal Ground |
| Capacity | 23,500 |
| Owner | United Breweries Group |
| Manager | Mridul Banerjee |
| League | I-League |
| 2016–17 | I-League, 3rd |
| Website | Club home page |
East Bengal Football Club is a professional football club, based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It currently competes in the I-League, the top-tier of Indian football pyramid. The club has won 3 National Football League (India) (later named as I league) titles, 8 Federation Cups, 3 Indian Super Cups and many more. The club is the current holder of the Calcutta Football League. The club has represented India the most number of times in the Asian competitions, with its best performance being a semi-final berth in the AFC Cup 2013. East Bengal had also won ASEAN Club Championship in 2003. With the start of the National Football League in 1996, East Bengal is the only club to have qualified for all the leagues till date.
The club has a long-standing rivalry with the other major Kolkata club Mohun Bagan, with whom it contests the Kolkata derby. Also there exists a small derby between East Bengal and Mohammedan SC.
On 28 July 1920 Mohun Bagan were scheduled to play Jorabagan in the Coochbehar Cup. Jorabagan sent out their starting eleven but with the notable exclusion of defender Sailesh Bose who was dropped from the squad for reasons not disclosed. The vice-president of Jorabagan, Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri, asked for Bose to be included in the line-up but the club coaches did not listen. Chaudhuri left the club due to this and along with Raja Manmatha Nath Chaudhuri, Ramesh Chandra Sen, and Aurobinda Ghosh, formed East Bengal on 1 August 1920; 97 years ago.
The club then participated in their first tournament in the same month of their formation in the Hercules Cup which was a 7-a-side tournament. East Bengal won the tournament. After the tournament the club became affiliated with the Indian Football Association. The club then entered league play in the IFA Second Division. The club finished in third place in the first season in the Second Division.
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