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Bhawanipore FC is an Indian professional football club based in Bhowanipore, Kolkata, West Bengal.[3][4][5] The club was established in 1910,[6] and competed in the I-League 2nd division in 2020–21 season,[7][8] then second tier of Indian football league system. Bhawanipore currently competes in the Calcutta Premier Division A.[9][10][11]

Bhawanipore

Full name	Bhawanipore Football Club[1]
Nickname(s)	Yellow Army
Short name	BFC
Founded	1910; 112 years ago (1910)
Ground	Salt Lake Stadium[2] Kalyani Stadium
Capacity	85,000 20,000
Owner	Sangbad Pratidin
Head coach	Sankarlal Chakraborty
League	I-League 2nd division, Calcutta Premier Division A
2020–21	2nd, Group B 2nd, Final round
Home colours Away colours

History

Bhawanipore Football Club was founded in 1910 by Nani Mitra in Bhowanipore, Kolkata.[12] After the independence of India, Robi Das became the first ever footballer from Bhawanipore who represented India in men's tournament at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.[13] The club in 1948, reached the final of IFA Shield and finished as runner-up after a 2–1 defeat to Mohun Bagan.[14][15][16] In January 2012, they were officially certified by the All India Football Federation to participate in the I-League 2nd Division, the second tier of football in India.[9][17] After playing 6 games during the season Bhawanipore ended in 6th place out of 7 in Group C and thus failed to move to the Final half. They have also participated in domestic tournaments such as IFA Shield,[18] and Durand Cup. In the 1960s, Bhawanipore have gone through rivalries with two of India's most successful clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in CFL.[19] Notable Bengali footballers Asim Moulick and Parimal Dey appeared with the club in 1971.[20]

In 2013, Bhawanipore clinched the Bordoloi Trophy, defeating Aizawl 1–0.[21] They achieved third place in the 2013 I-League 2nd Division.[22] In next season, the club participated in 2014 I-League 2nd Division and moved to the final round of I-League qualifiers,[23] and achieved second place with 17 points in 8 matches.[24][25][26][27] In May 2018, they officially announced that legendary defender Subrata Bhattacharya was appointed as new head coach.[28][29]

In the 2019–20 I-League 2nd Division, Bhawanipore participated and made it to the final round of I-League qualifiers.[30] Sankarlal Chakraborty was appointed as head coach and they signed who foreign players; Liberian Ansumana Kromah and Ghanaian Philip Adjah.[31][32] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India, usual final round format was scrapped off. It was decided that the final round of the league will be rescheduled into a new format and all the non-reserve teams from the preliminary stage will automatically progress to this round. It was officially named as I-League Qualifiers.[33] The teams from the preliminary round were scheduled to play in a round-robin format in two venues, at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata and Kalyani Stadium in Kalyani, near Kolkata to advance to the 2020–21 I-League.[34][35][36][37] Bhawanipore finished on the second position of the league table at the end of I-League qualifiers, with 9 points in 4 matches.[38][39] In 2022 Calcutta Premier Division, Bhawanipore as group champion, qualified to "super six" round and finished as runner-up, behind Mohammedan Sporting.[40][41]

Management and sponsorship

In 2012, Sangbad Pratidin became a premium sponsor of the club and they were also affiliated with Mohun Bagan AC.[42] Sangbad Pratidin Bhawanipore Football Club Private Limited was incorporated on 22 December 2011. Its last annual general meet (AGM) happened on 29 September 2017.[42] Its current board members and directors are Ashok Kumar Tiwari and Arun Sengupta.

Stadium

Bhawanipore Football Club currently plays at the 20,000 seater Kalyani Municipal Corporation Stadium in Kalyani. They also use Rabindra Sarobar Stadium for some of their home matches.[43]

Fans

Football is pretty famous in Bhawanipore. A club recognised Bhowanipore fan club by the name West Bengal Palace, has been in support since 2019. The Kalyani Municipal Corporation Stadium main galleries have seen an average attendance of 20,000. The players and the coach have often acknowledged the fans' support in the success and called them The 12th Man.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
2012—present	Cosco	Sangbad Pratidin[44]

Rivalry

Bhawanipore has the rivalries with other two Calcutta Football League sides Kalighat Milan Sangha and Tollygunge Agragami FC, which is often referred to as the "South Kolkata Derby".[45]

South Kolkata Derby

Opponent	Played	Wins	Draws	Losses
Bhawanipore	5	0	4	1
Tollygunge Agragami	6	0	6	0
Kalighat Milan Sangha	7	1	6	0
Total	18	1	16	1

Players

Current squad

As of 28 July 2022[46]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  IND Dibyendu Sarkar 2 DF  IND Sourav Chakraborty 4 DF  IND Kingshuk Debnath (Captain) 5 DF  IND Arijit Bagui 7 DF  IND Prakash Sarkar 11 MF  IND Sujay Datta 12 MF  IND Faizal Ali 14 MF  IND Debanna Chakraborty 15 FW  IND Sanju Pradhan 16 DF  IND Monoranjan Singh 17 FW  IND Jiten Murmu 18 MF  IND Supriya Pandit 19 MF  IND Prosenjit Paul

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  IND Samar Kumir 21 GK  IND Suvam Sen 23 MF  IND Subhankar Das 25 FW  IND Enjamul Hoque 26 MF  IND Rana Gharami 28 MF  IND Supriya Pandit 30 MF  IND Pankaj Moula 37 DF  IND Bikramjeet Singh 9 FW  TRI Willis Plaza 10 FW  CIV Gnoheré Krizo

Season statistics

Season	Div.	Tms.	Pos.	Attendance/G	Federation Cup/Super Cup	AFC Champions League	AFC Cup
2012–13	IL2	23	G6th	-	DNP	DNP	DNP
2013–14	IL2	26	3	-	GStage	DNP	DNP
2014–15	IL2	11	2	-	DNP	DNP	DNP
2019–20	IL2	18	2	–	DNP	DNP	DNP

Key

• Tms. = Number of teams
• Pos. = Position in league
• Attendance/G = Average league attendance

Managerial history

updated on 20 January 2020

Name	Nationality	From	To	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Win%
Debjit Ghosh	India	2012[47]	2013	6	0	3	3	8	11	000.00
Carlton Chapman	India	2013[48]	2014	18	10	7	1	34	18	055.56
Sankarlal Chakraborty	India	2019[49]	present	9	5	2	2	13	10	055.56

Honours

League

• I-League 2nd Division
  • Runners-up (2): 2014–15,[26] 2019–20[50]
  • Third place (1): 2012–13[51][52]

• CFL Premier Division
  • Runners-up (1): 2022[41]

Cup

• Ogilvie Cup
  • Winners (1): 1944[53]
• Bordoloi Trophy
  • Winners (1): 2013[54]
• IFA Shield
  • Runners-up (1): 1948[55]
• Naihati Gold Cup
  • Winners (1): 2022[56]

See also

• Football in Kolkata
• Mohun Bagan Athletic Club
• List of football clubs in Kolkata

References

Further reading

• Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
• Martinez, Dolores; Mukharji, Projit B (2009). Football: From England to the World: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-88353-6. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
• Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.
• Nath, Nirmal (2011). History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service. ISBN 9788187891963. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
• "Triumphs and Disasters: The Story of Indian Football, 1889—2000" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
• Majumdar, Boria; Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (2006). A Social History Of Indian Football: Striving To Score. Routledge. ISBN 9780415348355. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021.
• Basu, Jaydeep (2003). Stories from Indian Football. UBS Publishers' Distributors. ISBN 9788174764546. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022.

External links

• Bhawanipore FC on Facebook
• Bhawanipore FC at Soccerway
• Bhawanipore FC at the-aiff.com

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