Mohammedan SC (Kolkata)

For other sports clubs with the same name, see Mohammedan Sporting Club.

Mohammedan SC
Full nameMohammedan Sporting Club
Nickname(s)Black and White Brigade, The Black Panthers
Short nameMSC, MDSC
Founded22 February 1891; 133 years ago (1891-02-22)
Ground
Capacity
  • 12,000
  • 85,000
  • 15,000
Owner
  • Bunkerhill Private Limited (30.5%)
  • Shrachi Sports (30.5%)
  • Mohammedan SC Pvt Ltd (39%)
PresidentAmiruddin Bobby
Head coachAndrey Chernyshov
LeagueIndian Super League
2023–24I-League, 1st of 13 (promoted)
Websitemohammedansportingclub.com
Current season

Mohammedan Sporting Club is an Indian multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal.[1][2] The club is best known for their professional men's football section which competes in the Indian Super League,[3] the top of the Indian football league system, as well as Calcutta Football League (CFL),[4][5][6] the oldest football league in Asia.[7] Formed in February 1891, it is one of the oldest active football clubs in the country.[8][9] Mohammedan is first Indian club to win the Durand Cup, also the first Indian club to win a overseas tournament.[10]

The club became affiliated with the Indian Football Association (IFA) to play in the second division of CFL before earning promotion to the premier division of CFL in 1933 and a year later, Mohammedan became the first Indian team to win the league and in 1938 became the first team to win it five consecutive times.[11] After the independence of India, Mohammedan became the first Indian club to win a football tournament on foreign soil by lifting the Aga Khan Gold Cup in 1960.[12] In 1996, the club was one of the founding members of India's first nationwide league – National Football League (NFL). For all its laurels, Mohammedan has never won a top-tier league, only managing to win the 2004–05 NFL Second Division to qualify for NFL, and the 2020 I-League qualifiers to qualify for I-League, which was then the first-tier league of India.[13] They have won the Federation Cup twice in 1983–84 and 1984–85.[14]

Founded during the early years of India's independence movement, Mohammedan had been a symbol of progressive Muslim identity through the tumultuous period of freedom struggle in colonial India and the subsequent struggle for status in an altered post-partition landscape.[15][16][17] Therefore, the club is primarily supported by the Muslim population of Bengal and it had provided a major backing to the community residing in Kolkata by spreading the sport to a sizeable population during its foundation days.[18] This led to communal rivalry with its cross-town competitors – East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, which were primarily supported by the Hindu population of Bengal during the early decades.[19][20][21] The rivalries with both the teams have become non-communal and mostly insignificant over the course of time due to the rarity of their meetings at major tournaments. The club's youth team took part in Manchester United Premier Cup of India.[22]

  1. ^ "Football in Bengal". www.ifawb.com. The Indian Football Association (West Bengal). Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  2. ^ "GSA Team Info – Matches – Roster – Club History – Trophies: Mohammedan Sporting Club (Kolkata)". globalsportsarchive.com. Global Sports Archive. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  3. ^ "I-League: Mohammedan Sporting ride on Manzi's double strike to beat Real Kashmir 2-0". The Times of India. Kolkata, West Bengal. Press Trust of India. 28 February 2021. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  4. ^ "IFAWB Clubs: Men's Division (CFL PREMIER DIVISION)". ifawb.org. Indian Football Association. Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  5. ^ Chakraborty, Sanghamitra (5 June 2023). "Calcutta Football League: মোহনবাগান-মহমেডানের গ্রুপে অভিষেকের ক্লাব, ইস্টবেঙ্গলের গ্রুপে ভবানীপুর" [Calcutta Football League: Debutant club in Mohun Bagan-Mohammedan group, Bhavanipur in East Bengal group]. TV9 Bangla (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  6. ^ Biswas, Koushik (5 June 2023). "Calcutta Football League : বাজল কলকাতা ফুটবল লিগের ঘণ্টা, কঠিন গ্রুপে মোহনবাগান" [Calcutta Football League: Bell of Calcutta Football League rings, Mohun Bagan in tough group]. Ei Samay (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  7. ^ Mitra, Atanu (8 November 2017). "How Asia's oldest football league made its mark". redbull.com. RedBull. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  8. ^ Schöggl, Hans. "India — List of Foundation Dates". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Regionalism and club domination: Growth of rival centres of footballing excellence". Soccer & Society. 6:2–3 (2–3). Taylor & Francis: 227–256. 6 August 2006. doi:10.1080/14660970500106410. S2CID 216862171. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Mohammedan Sporting embrace history amidst thunderous cheers at Yuba Bharati Krirangan".
  11. ^ Hoque, Elis (19 July 2019). "হারিয়ে যাওয়া মোহামেডানীদের সালতামামি…" [Diary of the lost stars of Mohammedan]. onnodristy.com (in Bengali). Dhaka: Onno Dristi Bangla. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  12. ^ Tom Lewis; Neil Morrison; Novan Herfiyana; Karel Stokkermans (2003). "Aga Khan Gold Cup (Dhaka, Bangladesh): Aga Khan Gold Cup 1960". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  13. ^ Sengupta, Somnath (8 February 2012). "Indian Football : BREAKING NEWS (8th February, 2012) : I-League Clubs On War Path With AIFF?". The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  14. ^ "From the history book, roll of honour". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 10 January 2015. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  15. ^ Wadwha, Arjun (19 May 2008). "History of Football in India". thesportscampus.com. TheSportsCampus. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  16. ^ "Iconic Mohammedan Sporting facing identity crisis". The Times of India. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  17. ^ "SALIM! Celtic's First Asian Sensation". the-shamrock.net. 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  18. ^ Mullick, Sounak (26 January 2019). "Mohammedan Sporting Club: The erstwhile giants of Bengal football". thebridge.in. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  19. ^ "SALIM! Celtic's First Asian Sensation". the-shamrock.net. 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  20. ^ Wadwha, Arjun (19 May 2008). "History of Football in India". thesportscampus.com. TheSportsCampus. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  21. ^ "Iconic Mohammedan Sporting facing identity crisis". The Times of India. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  22. ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava (2007). "Manchester United Premier Cup (U15) India Finals 2007 — From 10 upto 13 January 2007 in Mumbai, Maharashtra". IndianFootball.de. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.