Dalhousie Athletic Club is an Indian
multi-sports club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
based in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
. It was established in 1880, during the
British rule in India
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
. The club tent is located in Mayo Road,
Kolkata Maidan
The Maidan (; bn, ময়দান), also referred to as the Brigade Parade Ground, is a large public park and urban green space in the center of Kolkata, India. With a total area of , it is the largest urban park in the world. It is a va ...
, in Esplanade. Dalhousie competed in the Premier Division of
Calcutta Football League
The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is offi ...
for a long time.
History
Formation and early history
Dalhousie AC was founded as the Trades Club in 1878, and is the second oldest football club established in the country.
The athletic division was incorporated by the British employees of jute mills and members of then established organizations such as the Naval Volunteers, Police, Customs and the Armenian Club. Trades Club was renamed as Dalhousie Club after the famous Dalhousie Institute, which was situated on the south side of Dalhousie Square and was originally constructed as a Monumental Hall. The club later won prestigious
Calcutta Football League
The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is offi ...
four times in 1910, 1921, 1928 and 1929. With having British officials in club committee, Dalhousie instituted and organized
Trades Cup (the second oldest football tournament in the country) in 1889, with the help of trading community of Calcutta. It was the first open football tournament in India, where Indian, British, regimental and college clubs participated, and the club clinched the trophy in inaugural edition defeating Howrah AC 2–1. Dalhousie later achieved the prestigious
IFA Shield
The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
title in 1897, and 1905. In 1905, the club reached Gladstone Cup final, held in
Chinsurah
Hugli-Chuchura or Hooghly-Chinsurah is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the bank of Hooghly River, 35 km north of Kolkata. It is located in the district of Hooghly and is home t ...
, but lost 6–1 to
Mohun Bagan
Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...
.
Present years
In 2014, they participated in the 14th
Darjeeling Gold Cup
All India Darjeeling Gold Cup, also known as All India Brigade of Gorkha's Gold Cup Football Tournament, or simply GTA Chairman's Gold Cup, is an Indian association football tournament held in Darjeeling and organized by the Indian Darjeeling G ...
in Siliguri and reached the final, but finished as runner-up after losing 5–0 to then
I-League
The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...
side
ONGC.
Dalhousie participated in Calcutta Premier Division B in 2014–15, and participated in tournaments like Amta Sanghati Gold Cup. They were relegated to first division in 2015–16. Playing in the lower divisions for a couple of years, the club in June 2022, launched their new home and away jerseys at a seasonal ceremony in club tent.
At the program, Dalhousie became affiliated to
Mohun Bagan
Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...
with aim of qualifying for the premier division,
in which then
AIFF
Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices. The format was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic Arts' Interchange File ...
senior vice-president Subrata Dutta,
IFA
IFA or Ifa may refer to:
Organisations
Economics
* Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK
* Index Fund Advisors
* Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK
* Institute of Ac ...
secretary Anirban Dutta, and Mohun Bagan secretary Debasish Dutta attended.
Honours
League
*
Calcutta Football League
The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is offi ...
**Champions (4): 1910, 1921, 1928, 1929
Cup
*
IFA Shield
The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
[ Fourth oldest football tournament, organized by the ]IFA
IFA or Ifa may refer to:
Organisations
Economics
* Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK
* Index Fund Advisors
* Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK
* Institute of Ac ...
( W.B.), and played between the local clubs of West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
and other invited ones.
**Champions (2): 1897, 1905
**Runners-up (5): 1900, 1902, 1922, 1927, 1928
*
Trades Cup
**Champions (2): 1889, 2019
**Runners-up (1): 1907
*Gladstone Cup
**Runners-up (1): 1905
*
Darjeeling Gold Cup
All India Darjeeling Gold Cup, also known as All India Brigade of Gorkha's Gold Cup Football Tournament, or simply GTA Chairman's Gold Cup, is an Indian association football tournament held in Darjeeling and organized by the Indian Darjeeling G ...
**Runners-up (1): 2014
See also
*
Football in Kolkata
*
History of Indian football
The history of football in India is a long and detailed one, as it was the national sport at one time. The impetus for this was to unify the Indian Army. There is evidence for refereed between a team of football games being played in the Indian ...
*
Football clubs in Kolkata
Notes
References
Further reading
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*Dutta, P. L., ''Memoir of 'Father of Indian Football' Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary'' (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1944) (hereafter Memoir)
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*Ghosh, Saurindra Kumar. ''Krira Samrat Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary 1869–1940'' (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1963) (hereafter Krira Samrat).
*Roselli, John. ''Self Image of Effeteness: Physical Education and Nationalism in Nineteenth Century Bengal''.
Past & Present (journal)
''Past & Present'' is a British historical academic journal, which has been a leading force in the development of social history. Founded in 1952, the journal is published four times a year by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Past and Pre ...
. 86 (February 1980). p. 121–48.
*
*Sinha, Mrinalini. ''Colonial Masculinity, The Manly Englishman and the Effeminate Bengali in the Late Nineteenth Century'' (
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
:
Manchester University Press, 1995).
*Chatterjee, Partha. ''The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Post-colonial Histories'' (Calcutta:
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1995).
*Mason, ''Football on the Maidan'', p. 144; Dimeo, ''Football and Politics in Bengal'', p. 62.
*
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''From recreation to competition: Early history of Indian football''. pp. 124–141. Published online: 6 Aug 2006. ''www.tandfonline.com''. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
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External links
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*{{cite web, title=IFAWB Clubs: Men's Division (CFL 1st DIVISION), publisher=IFA, url=https://ifawb.org/clubs/ , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009123425/https://ifawb.org/clubs/ , archive-date=2022-10-09
Multi-sport clubs in India
Football clubs in Kolkata
1878 establishments in India
Sports clubs in India
Sports clubs established in 1878
Association football clubs established in 1878