Kolkata football giants East Bengal are set to be declared the champions of Calcutta Football League after seven years following Diamond Harbour FC’s (DHFC) decision to not show up for the deciding match at the Kishore Bharati Stadium on Thursday. It was not a good advertisement for the state league despite the best efforts by the Indian Football Association (IFA), the parent body, to persuade DHFC to play the match on February 13. Diamond Harbour FC wanted the CFL decider against East Bengal to be postponed as they were supposed to play a RFDL and I-League second division game with a short gap. IFA requested RFDL to postpone the game scheduled on February 14. Despite having their RFDL game postponed, Diamond Harbour still did not turn up for the CFL decider which sparked a major controversy.
“Definitely it is not a good advertisement for football,” said Subrata Dutta, former senior vice president of AIFF and currently the Chairman of IFA to RevSportz. “I absolutely do not support DHFC’s decision to not play the game. At the same time, it needs to be seen if Diamond Harbour’s concerns were legitimate.”
According to Mr Dutta, “The recent development clearly highlights the lack of co-ordination among the governing body officials. Calcutta Football League needs to be completed by September every year which was the case before. Each year the league is getting dragged to February. The state league and IFA shield need to be protected.”
On being asked whether Indian Super League (ISL) is hampering the state leagues, the former AIFF vice president said, “The state leagues are not affected by Indian Super League. In fact, the state associations should look at ways how to revive and improve the standard of their own leagues. Only then can we see a growth in the overall standard of Indian football. The state leagues should act as the supply line for footballers. There is no conflict between ISL and Calcutta Football League.”
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It was primarily the state leagues that brought players to the fore for the Santosh Trophy or the national team. That changed in the 1990s with the introduction of the National Football League, and then subsequently that of the I-League and the Indian Super League. In most Indian squads now, the number of players from Bengal, Kerala and Goa combined is less than from Manipur or Mizoram. Why? Because the state leagues in Kerala, Goa have been destroyed.
Not that they could be compared to the Calcutta Football League, but Kerala once had teams like Kerala Police, Titanium, Premier Tyres, FACT, Keltron and others. Goa boasted of teams like Salgaocar FC, Dempo, Churchill Brothers, Sporting Clube de Goa. Leagues in Punjab and Mumbai are non-existent. Punjab once had teams like Punjab Police, BSF, JCT Mills Phagwara while Mahindra United (previously known as Mahindra and Mahindra) and Air India had a big influence in Indian club football from Mumbai.
Former India footballer Mehtab Hussein who represented both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, said, “The state leagues serve as the platform for local talents. We came up through the ranks, doing well in the Calcutta Football League and going on to represent the country.”
He added, “We need to find a model to develop football in the country. There must be guidelines set by AIFF which have to be adhered by every state association. It is disappointing to see only a handful of players from Bengal like Subhasish Bose, Pritam Kotal and Souvik Chakraborty making their presence felt in ISL. But it is not that footballers from Bengal don’t have the potential or talent. Then we would not have won the Santosh Trophy. It is about proper planning.”
Another former India footballer Rahim Nabi also voiced the same opinion as Mehtab. According to Nabi, “The Calcutta League should have been completed way before. During our time, the league was not dragged for such a long period. The clubs need to respect the parent body. It is unfortunate to see a club not turning up for a match which is not a good advertisement”
Talking about the Calcutta Football League, over the years, it was made famous by the rivalries formed between the three big clubs – Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, and Mohammedan Sporting. But with the three included in Indian Super League, their primary focus has been to do well in the top tier league in the country. The recent development only showcases the sorry state of affairs in the football being run by the state associations.
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