Bhawanipore Club, also known as সংবাদ প্রতিদিন ভবানীপুর ক্লাব for sponsorship reasons, is an Indian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Bhowanipore Bhowanipore (also Bhowanipur; ) is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History In 1717, the East India Company obtained the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settlement from ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. The club was established in 1910, and competed in the

I-League 2nd Division The I-League 2 is an Indian men's professional association football, football league. It is the 3rd tier of the Indian football league system, behind the Indian Super League and the I-League. It operates as a system of promotion and relegation ...

, then second tier of

Indian football league system The Indian football league system is the league structure of football club competitions in India. The highest level of men's club football competition is the Indian Super League. Indian Women's League, founded in 2016, is the highest level of ...

. Bhawanipore is currently competing in the

Calcutta Premier Division The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based association football, football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association, Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the Indian State Leagu ...

. It is also nominated for the newly established

I-League 3 The I-League 3 is an Indian men's professional football league. It forms the fourth tier of the Indian football league system, below the I-League 2 and above the State leagues. History For the first time, the AIFF introduced qualifiers for ...

, 4th division national league in India.

History

Bhawanipore Football Club was founded in 1910 by Nani Mitra in

. After the independence of India,

Robi Das Rabi Bhusan Das (date of birth 7 August 1925; died 21 April 1998) was an Indian footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Honours Mohun Bagan *Durand Cup: 1953 Bengal *Santosh Trophy The National Footba ...

became the first ever footballer from Bhawanipore who represented

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in men's tournament at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

in London. At that time Indo-Pak footballer Taj Mohammad Sr. appeared with the club. The club in 1948, reached the final of

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is a football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, the football governing body in the Indian state of West Bengal. The IFA came into existence in 1893, and was named after the association. The IFA Shield to ...

and finished as runner-up after a 2–1 defeat to

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...

. In January 2012, they were officially certified by the

All India Football Federation All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the governing body of football, futsal and beach soccer in India. It is a member of FIFA, and is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation and South Asian Football Federation. It is affiliated wit ...

to participate in the

, the second tier of football in India. 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

, and

Durand Cup The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons) is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the ...

. In the 1960s, Bhawanipore have gone through rivalries with two of India's most successful clubs

and

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

in CFL. Notable Bengali footballers Asim Moulick and Parimal Dey appeared with the club in 1971. In 2013, Bhawanipore clinched the

Bordoloi Trophy The Bharat Ratna Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Trophy, commonly known as Bordoloi Trophy, is a premier annual Indian football tournament held in Guwahati and organized by the Guwahati Sports Association (GSA). The tournament was founded in 1952 by ...

, defeating

Aizawl Aizawl (, American English, US: , British English, UK: ; Mizo language, Mizo: ), formerly known as Aijal, is the capital city and the most populous city of Mizoram, India. It is also the third largest city in northeast India. It is situated ato ...

1–0. They achieved third place in the

2013 I-League 2nd Division The 2013 I-League 2nd Division was the sixth season of the league under its current title. The season began on 9 March 2013. The original 21 clubs who would participate in the 2nd Division were officially announced on 25 January 2013, however s ...

. In next season, the club participated in

2014 I-League 2nd Division The 2014 I-League 2nd Division was the seventh season of the I-League 2nd Division under its current title. The season began on 7 February 2014. It contained 11 clubs in two groups and twelfth club United Sikkim directly entered into final rou ...

and moved to the

final round A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

of I-League qualifiers, and achieved second place with 17 points in 8 matches. In May 2018, they officially announced that legendary defender

Subrata Bhattacharya Subrata Bhattacharya (; born 3 March 1953) is an Indian football manager and former professional footballer. He primarily played as a defender for India national team and spent seventeen years playing for Mohun Bagan. Regarded as one of the ...

was appointed as new head coach. In the 2019–20 I-League 2nd Division, Bhawanipore participated and made it to the final round of

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

qualifiers. Sankarlal Chakraborty was appointed as head coach and they signed who foreign players; Liberian

Ansumana Kromah Ghanefo Ansumana Agogo Kromah (born 24 December 1993), known simply as Ansumana Kromah, is a Liberian professional footballer who plays as a forward. Career Kromah made his professional debut in India, playing for Peerless SC in Calcutta Footb ...

and Ghanaian Philip Adjah. ''mohammedansportingindia.com''. Retrieved 12 May 2021 Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of , according to Indian government ...

, 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''. The teams from the preliminary round were scheduled to play in a round-robin format in two venues, at the

Salt Lake Stadium The Salt Lake Stadium, officially known as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), is a multi-purpose stadium, used mostly for football matches, located in Salt Lake City, Greater Kolkata, with a capacity of 68,000 spectators. Named after S ...

and

Kalyani Stadium Kalyani Stadium is a stadium in Kalyani, West Bengal, Kalyani, West Bengal, India. The stadium holds 20,000 spectators. It usually hosts matches of the I-League and the Calcutta Football League. About It is the home stadium of Mohun Bagan A. ...

Kalyani Kalyani may refer to: Film and television * ''Kalyani'' (1940 film), a Hindi film * ''Kalyani'' (1952 film), a Tamil film * ''Kalyani'' (1971 film), a Kannada film * ''Kalyani'' (1979 film), a Telugu film * ''Kalyani'' (1983 film), an Oriya ...

, near Kolkata to advance to the

2020–21 I-League The 2020–21 I-League (known as the ''Hero I-League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of the I-League, one of the top tier Indian professional football leagues, since its establishment in 2007. The tournament was hosted in bio-sec ...

. Bhawanipore finished on the second position of the league table at the end of I-League qualifiers, with 9 points in 4 matches. In

2022 Calcutta Premier Division The 2022 Calcutta Football League Premier Division was the 124th overall season of the two highest state-level football divisions of West Bengal. The division consists of two tiers within it: Premier Division A and Premier Division B. Premier ...

, Bhawanipore as group champion, qualified to "super six" round and finished as runner-up, behind Mohammedan Sporting. In June 2023, the Indian Football Association made an announcement that the merger of both Premier Division A and B of the

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the state leagues. It is the oldest football league in Asia. The CFL ...

have done ahead of its 125th edition, in which Bhawanipore was allowed to compete in Group II. The club later qualified for CFL "Super Six" round. They gained

spot in August 2023, to compete in the inaugural edition.

Management and sponsorship

In 2012, ''

Sangbad Pratidin Sangbad Pratidin () is a daily Indian Bengali language, Bengali newspaper simultaneously published from Kolkata, Barjora and Siliguri. It was founded by Swapan Sadhan Bose, on 9 August 1992. The Editor-in-Chief is Srinjoy Bose. Content Beside ...

'' became a premium sponsor of the club and they were also affiliated with

Mohun Bagan AC Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest multi-sports clubs in Asia. The club has various sports departments like association football, footb ...

. Sangbad Pratidin Bhawanipore Football Club Private Limited was incorporated on 22 December 2011. Its last annual general meet (AGM) happened on 29 September 2017. Its current board members and directors are Ashok Kumar Tiwari and Arun Sengupta. The club tent is located in Kolkata Maidan, 700069.

Stadium

Bhawanipore Football Club currently plays at the 20,000 seater Kalyani Municipal Corporation Stadium in

. They also use

Rabindra Sarobar Stadium The Rabindra Sarobar Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Lake Gardens, Kolkata, India. It is used for football (soccer), football matches and serves as the home of many Calcutta Football League matches. History The venue opened in 1961. It also ...

for some of their home matches.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Rivalry

Bhawanipore has the rivalries with other two

sides Kalighat Milan Sangha and

Tollygunge Agragami FC Tollygunge Agragami Football Club is an Indian professional multi-sports club known for its football section. It is based in Tollygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1943 as "Russa Agragami Samity", the club competes in Calcutta Premier Di ...

, which is often referred to as the ''"South Kolkata Derby"''.

South Kolkata Derby

Season statistics

;Key *Tms. = Number of teams *Pos. = Position in league *Attendance/G = Average league attendance

Managerial history

Honours

Football

League *

**Runners-up (2): 2014–15, 2019–20 **Third place (1):

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

CFL Premier Division The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the state leagues. It is the oldest football league in Asia. The CFL ...

**Runners-up (4): 1952, 2016–17, 2017–18,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Cup * Cooch Behar Cup **Champions (3): 1923, 1927, 1929 *Ogilvie Cup **Winners (1): 1944 *

**Winners (1): 2013 *

**Runners-up (1): 1948 *Naihati Gold Cup **Winners (1): 2022 *

LaLiga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

Youth Tournament (U-14) **Winners (1): 2024 *Biju Patnaik Memorial Trophy ** Winners (1): 2011

Cricket

*CAB First Division Championship **Winners (4): 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2023–24 *J. C. Mukherjee T-20 Championship **Winners (2): 2021, 2023, 2024 *N. C. Chatterjee T-20 Championship **Winners (1): 2024 * P. Sen Memorial Trophy **Runners-up (1): 2023 *CAB First Division One-Day Meet **Champions (1): 2024

Notable players

Foreign internationals

The foreign players below had senior/youth international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed, represented their countries before or after playing for ''Bhawanipore FC''. *

Richard Gariseb Richard Gariseb (born 3 February 1980 in Okahandja) is a Namibian football defender. He plays for Bhawanipore F.C. and Namibia national football team. He was a participant at the 2008 African Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, ...

(2012–2014) * Mohammad Mashriqi (2012–2014) * Orok Essien (2016–2017) * Victor Kamhuka (2019–2020) * William Opoku (2020) * Arthur Kouassi K'gnan (2020) *

Henry Kisekka Henry Kisekka (born 31 August 1989) is an Ugandan professional footballer who plays as a forward. Club career Regarded as an important asset to Dong Nai's attacking line in 2012, he recorded 11 goals, helping his team achieve promotion. Not m ...

(2021–2022) * Echezona Anyichie (2021–2022) *

Willis Plaza Willis Deon Plaza (born 3 August 1987) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a forward. Club career Early years In his early career, Plaza played club football in Trinidad and Vietnam for San Juan Jabloteh, Navibank Sài Gòn ...

(2022–2023)

Other notable player(s)

* José Ramirez Barreto (2012–2014) –

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Golden Boot winner in 2000–01.

Other departments

Youth football and academy

Bhawanipore FC operates several youth teams (U-13, U-15 and U-18) and academy. Under-19 team of the club previously took part in Youth I-League, competed in "Kolkata zone" in 2014. In April 2024, the club entered into a partnership with La Liga Academy for grassroots development in youth football. In July, club's academy team named Bhawanipore Pro India Academy, took part in LaLiga U-14 Youth Football Tournament held at the

University of Putra University of Putra Malaysia ( Malay: ''Universiti Putra Malaysia''), abbreviated as UPM, is a Malaysian public research university located in Serdang, Selangor. Formerly it was named Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Agricultural University of ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, and became undefeated champions.

Men's cricket

Bhawanipore FC's men's

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

(named 'Bhawanipore Club') section is under the jurisdiction of the

Cricket Association of Bengal The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is the governing body for cricket in the Indian state of West Bengal. It owns the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata, where its headquarters are located. CAB is a full member of the Board of Control for Cr ...

(CAB), and competes in First Division League, J. C. Mukherjee T-20 Trophy and other regional tournaments. Club's cricket section is currently headquartered in 1, Nepal Bhattacharjee Street, Kolkata. Noted Indian international cricketers Rishi Dhawan, Jitesh Sharma, and other players like Chirag Jani have appeared with Bhawanipore in P. Sen Trophy. In 2023 edition of P. Sen Memorial Trophy, the club reached final, lost to

at the end. Bhawanipore also participates in CAB T-20 Trophy. In 2023–24 season, the club won treble, by winning CAB First Division Championship, J. C. Mukherjee T-20 Championship and the CAB One-day meet.

Men's hockey

Bhawanipore Club runs men's

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

section. Noted India international Jaswant Singh Rajput appeared with the club in domestic leagues.

Tennis

Lawn tennis is a sport practiced at the Bhawanipore Club, and it is an affiliated member club of the Bengal Tennis Association (BTA).

Futsal

The club runs futsal section and men's team competes in the IFA Futsal Championship, in which they clinched title in 2025, defeating United Kolkata Sports Club in final.

Affiliated clubs

''The following club is affiliated (reciprocal) with Bhawanipore FC:'' *

References

General sources Bibliography * * * * * * * * Further reading * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
Bhawanipore FC
at Soccerway
Bhawanipore FC
at the-aiff.com {{West Bengal Sports Bhawanipore Club Football clubs in Kolkata Association football clubs established in 1910 1910 establishments in India I-League 2 clubs I-League 3 clubs