Football in Kolkata

See also: List of football clubs in West Bengal

Mohun Bagan taking on Bayern Munich at the Salt Lake Stadium in 2008.

Football is one of the most popular sports in Kolkata, West Bengal.[1][2] East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan are the heart of Kolkata 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.[3] Kolkata is known to be the Mecca of Indian football,[4][5] with the two most supported teams in the city of Kolkata – Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, whereas Mohammedan Sporting having a pan India fan base.[6][7] The city is also home to the biggest football stadium in India, the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, which as of 2015 has a capacity of 85,000. The record attendance of 131,781[8] came in a match between the said two teams in the semifinal of the 1997 Federation Cup.

  1. ^ "Football - the passion play in Kolkata". IBN Live. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  2. ^ Hor, Sandip (2010). "Indian Link — The City of Wonders". indianlink.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  3. ^ Pillai, Manu S (8 June 2018). "How football kicked off in India | As with the English language, when the British transported the sport to India, they didn't expect the 'natives' to beat them at it". lifestyle.livemint.com. Delhi, India: Livemint Delhi. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Durand Cup: 'জান জান মহামেডান', ফুটবল মক্কা চাইছে রেশমি কাবাবের সৌরভ". ekolkata24.com (in Bengali). 2 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  5. ^ Majumdar, Boria, Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (1 February 2006). Goalless: The Story of a Unique Footballing Nation. New Delhi: Penguin India. ISBN 9780670058747. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Mohun Bagan VS SC East Bengal". FIFA. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  7. ^ Banerjie, Indranil (15 May 1985). "Money, violence and politics enter Calcutta football". India Today. Kolkata. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  8. ^ "The Deadly Derby Awaits – Please Fasten Your Seat Belts". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2018.