The United Sports Club () is a 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

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 ...

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 ...

. United SC was founded in 1927. The club competes in the

I-League 2 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 ...

, as well as 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 ...

, the oldest football league in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. United SC soon emerged as one of the most successful teams from the state in 2010s, after Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. The club previously participated in

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 ...

, which was then top flight of Indian football league system. The club mostly uses

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. ...

as home ground.

History

1927–2009

United SC was originally established in 1927 as Eveready Association Club. Since then, they participated in fewer editions of the

. The club has a tradition of bringing up local and unknown talents from various parts of Bengal. In 2003, they lifted their first trophy All Airlines Gold Cup, defeating

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, ...

2–1. In 2004, they emerged victorious in the Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup, defeating ANFA XI in final by 4–2 in penalty-shootout, after the game ended 1–1. During the 2005–06 season, they participated in Kalinga Cup in Odisha and reached the final, defeating Bangladeshi side

Badda Jagoroni Sangsad Badda Jagoroni Sangsad () is a Bangladeshi football club based in Badda, Dhaka. It currently competes in the Dhaka Senior Division League, the third-tier of Bangladeshi football. History Early years The club was founded in Badda, Dhaka throu ...

by 4–2. They clinched the title defeating Cuttack SSH 2–0. Eveready Association also reached the final of the 111th edition 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 ...

but lost 1–5 to

Bayern Munich II FC Bayern Munich II (''FC Bayern Munich Amateure'' until 2005) are the German reserve football teams, reserve team of Football in Germany, German association football club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich, currently playing in the Regionalliga B ...

at the end. India football Sayed Rahim Nabi

In 2006, the club was renamed as United Sports Club to attract a title sponsor and the football division owned by United Sport Football Team Private Ltd. Later, veteran manager

Amal Dutta Amal Dutta (4 May 1930 – 10 July 2016) was a former Indian footballer, coach and football manager. Born in Calcutta, then Bengal Presidency, he is considered as the first professional football coach in the country. A finest thinker of the sp ...

was roped in as head coach in place of Belgian

Philippe De Ridder Philippe De Ridder (born 6 August 1964 in Brussels, Belgium) is a Belgian coach, football administrator and a former football player. He is currently the co-owner and CEO of Chevsa Sports Marketing & Management, a Kolkata based sports marketing ...

. With the inflow of sponsorship, the club clinched promotion to the first division of the

in 2007. Previously the club has competed in the

National Football League (India) The National Football League (NFL) was the men's highest level of the Indian football league system#Men's, Indian football league system from 1996 to 2007. Founded by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 1996, the NFL was the first footb ...

before joining the newly formed

. Later in 2009, they roped in

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 ...

as head coach.

2010–2020

Prayag United participated in the 123rd edition of the

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 ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. United emerged champion at the

Ambedkar Stadium Dr. Ambedkar Stadium is a football stadium in New Delhi, India. The stadium is named after Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, social reformer and architect of the Indian Constitution. It was earlier known as Corporation Stadium. It has held competitions like ...

with a 1–0 tie-break win over

JCT FC Jagatjit Cotton & Textile Football Club (formerly known as JCT Mills FC; abbreviated as JCT FC, or simply JCT) is an Indian association football, football academy based in Phagwara, Punjab, India, Punjab. Founded in 1971, the club was sponsored ...

. For the

2010–11 I-League The 2010–11 I-League was the fourth season of the I-League, which was the highest football league competition in India during the time. It ran from 3 December 2010 to May 2011. Dempo are the defending champions. On 30 May 2011 Salgaocar won t ...

season, United SC played 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 ...

. On Indian Transfer deadline day United SC made headline news by signing

India national football team The India national football team represents India in men's international Association football, football and is governed by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for Football in India, football in India. It is a member of FIFA, ...

striker

Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri (, born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru and captains the India national team. He is the all-time top scorer in Indian Super League history. He is ...

until the end of the season. On 3 April 2011, Chhetri scored his first goal for Chirag United against

Dempo Dempo Mining Corporation Limited is a prominent mining company from the western Indian state of Goa. The mineral business was founded by Vasantrao S. Dempo in 1941, along with his younger brother Vaikuntrao Dempo. Vasantrao was the founding c ...

, however, Dempo won the match 4–2. Chhetri then scored a brace on 29 April 2011 against

ONGC The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is an Indian central public sector undertaking which is the largest government-owned oil and gas explorer and producer in the country. It accounts for around 70 percent of India's domestic pro ...

to help salvage a 2–2 draw for Chirag. In June 2011 after the

season ended, old sponsors Chirag chose to cut ties with United SC and thus Chirag United SC became Prayag United Sports Club. Even though the team has lost a lot in terms of sponsorship money the club is still able to sign and retain their current players. Lalkamal raiding HAL defense

On 3 August 2011, it was announced that United Sports Club had signed a sponsorship deal with ''Prayag Group'' and on 7 August 2011 United Sports Club officially changed their name to ''Prayag United SC''. In October, the club narrowly missed the opportunity of winning the

, after a 5–4 defeat to

Churchill Brothers Churchill Brothers Futebol Clube de Goa (simply known as Churchill Brothers) is an Indian professional football club based in Margao, Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League, alongside the Goa Professional League (reserves). Founded in 1 ...

. The association, however was cancelled in the summer of the 2013, when the company found itself involved in the chit-fund scam. The name was again changed to ''United Sports Club''. Abijit mondal

In November 2012, Dutchman

Eelco Schattorie Eelco Schattorie (born 18 December 1971) is a Dutch football manager. He was most recently the manager of Saudi First Division League club Al-Safa. Career Born in Swalmen, Schattorie started as a youth and assistant coach, later becoming the ...

was roped in by the club as their new manager, and he managed his first game in India on 10 November 2012, where he led Prayag to a 10–1 victory over newly promoted

United Sikkim United Sikkim Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. Incorporated in 2011, the club usually competed in the Sikkim Premier Division League. United Sikkim is the only club from Sikki ...

. Schattorie won his first and only cup for the side on 20 March 2013 when Prayag United defeated

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 the

final 1–0 through a

Ranti Martins Ranti Martins Soleye (born 5 September 1986) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Martins regarded as one of the best foreign players to play in India. He is the record goal scorer in the history of Indian top ...

goal. The following season in the I-League, They thrashed

Air India FC Air India Football Club is a football section of the same-named Indian institutional multi-sports club. Founded by Anand Prajapati in 1952, the club is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Sponsored by Air India, the club previously played in the Mu ...

by 5–1 margin, and eventually finished the

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 ...

campaign leading Prayag United to a fourth-place finish with 44 points. In that season, they emerged as the runners-up of the 2012 IFA Shield, losing to

by 4–2 on penalties. Sanjay sen

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, the club won their maiden

title by defeating

East Bengal FC East Bengal Football Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of the Indian football league system. The cl ...

in the final by 1–0 margin. In that competition (Semi-finals), they also defeated a foreign side

Deportivo Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its Association football, football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, Costa Rica, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aym ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. After the end of 2013–14 I-League season,

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

finished on tenth position with 26 points in 24 matches and was evicted from I-League for not fulfilling the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

's club licensing criteria. On 24 July 2015, it was announced that the club appointed

Bino George Bino George Chiramal Padinjarathala (born 22 November 1976) is an Indian professional manager (coach) and former footballer. He was the East Bengal assistant coach to Stephen Constantine for the Indian Super League. He is currently coaching the ...

as the new head coach. United emerged as champions in the 2019–20 Calcutta Premier Division B with 28 points in 14 matches and earned promotion to Division A. In that season, United reached to the semi-finals of the

2020 IFA Shield The 2020 IFA Shield is the 123rd edition of the IFA Shield. It will have four I-League teams and eight Calcutta Premier Division teams. No overseas teams were invited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Real Kashmir beat George Telegraph in t ...

but lost to George Telegraph SC by 2–1.

2021–present

United SC maintained good form in domestic league, as they moved to championship round of

2022–23 I-League 2 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

. At the end of the round in May, they finished in fifth position. In June 2023, the Indian Football Association (IFA) announced the merger of both Premier Division A and B of the

, ahead of its 125th edition, in which United was allowed to compete in Group I. In 2023–24 I-League 2, the club was managed by Ranjan Bhattacharjee. In that league season, United SC earned sixth-place finish with 15 points in 14 matches. In 2024–25 season, the club stayed and took part in the

Crest & colours

The club crest is designed in the shape of a blue and white circle, that includes words ''United Sports Club'' in the blue strip. This is to show United Sports Club as the main name of the club. Inside the crest, there is a

Peafowl Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

on top of a

. While the crest is

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, the official colours of United SC are

purple Purple is a color similar in appearance to violet light. In the RYB color model historically used in the arts, purple is a secondary color created by combining red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in modern printing, purple is ...

and

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

. While still sponsored and owned by ''Chirag Computers'', United Sports Club's official colours were purple and white. The home kit for United SC includes a purple and yellow jersey with purple shorts and white socks while the away kit is all white with red socks.

Ownership

Originally established in 1927 as the EverReady Association, the club was renamed as the United Sports Club in 2006, following financial backing by Chirag Computers, a subsidiary of RP Group Company. With the inflow of sponsorship thereafter, the club clinched promotion to the first division of the

in 2008. In 2011, Prayag Group (also known as Chirag United Sports Pvt. Ltd.) bought the majority stake of the club, and rebranded it as "Prayag United". Alokesh Kundu and Siddhartha Bhattacharya became General Secretary and Director of United Sports respectively. The club in headquartered in 33/8, Nabi Krishna Ghoshal Road.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Stadium

United Sports Club currently plays at the 20,000 seating Kalyani Municipal Corporation Stadium in

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 ...

. Though the officials initially said that club would move to

Siliguri Siliguri (, ; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major Tier ii cities in india, tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the twin cities, Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeel ...

, they have decided to stay in Kalyani for the 2013–14 season and continued there. Previously, the club used the iconic

for their home matches of the I-League and the Calcutta Football League.

Players

First-team squad

Notable players

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

player * Carlos Hernández (2012–2013) Foreign players * Keegan Nash 2009) * Eduardo Du (2009–2010) * Yusif Yakubu (2011–2012) * Eric Brown (2013–2015) *

Kayne Vincent Kayne Vincent (born 29 October 1988) is a New Zealand professional footballer who currently plays as a forward for Western Springs in the Northern League. Born in Auckland, he played football in Japan, New Zealand, India, Australia, Thailand ...

(2011–2013) *

Eugene Gray Eugene Gray (born 12 May 1974 in Liberia) is a Liberian retired footballer. Career In February 1996, he had an unsuccessful trial at Croatian side Hajduk Split. Previously on the books of Persitara Jakarta Utara, Gray stated that football in ...

(2003–2006) *

Edmilson Marques Pardal Edmilson Marques Pardal (simply known as Edmilson) is a Brazilian footballer. Career East Bengal In 2007 Edmilson signed with East Bengal FC in the I-League 2007-08. In his only season with the club he played 27 matches while scoring 23 goa ...

(2009–2010) *

(2012–2014) *

Bello Razaq Rasaq Oladimeji Bello (born 19 August 1984) is a Nigerian professional footballer, who plays for Aryan as a centre-back in the Calcutta Football League. Career Razaq played for Viva Kerala before heading towards United SC of Kolkata. He firs ...

(2012–2014) * Junior Obagbemiro (2010–2011) * Isaac Boakye (2013) * Ian Nekati (2022) Noted Indian internationals *

(2011) – all-time top goalscorer and most-capped player of the India national team. *

Deepak Mondal Deepak Kumar Mondal (born 12 October 1979) is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. A graduate of the Tata Football Academy, An Arjuna Award winner, he was one of India's most prominent right backs for over a d ...

(2011–2014) – recipient of both the Arjuna Award and AIFF Player of the Year. * Subrata Paul (2012–2013) – former India captain, recipient of Arjuna Award.

Honours

League

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 ...

**Third place (1):

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

(as ''Chirag United'') *

**Runners-up (1): 2009 **Third place (1): 2007 * Calcutta Premier Division B **Champions (1): 2019–20

Cup

**Champions (1):

(as ''Chirag United'') **Runners-up (1):

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

(as ''Prayag United'') *

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 Act ...

( W.B.), and played between the local clubs of

and other invited ones. **Champions (2):

, 2015 (as ''U-19 team'') **Runners-up (2): 2005 (as ''Eveready Association''), 2012 **Third place (1): 2014 * All Airlines Gold Cup **Champions (1): 2003 (as ''Eveready Association'') * Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup **Champions (1): 2004 (as ''Eveready Association'') * Kalinga Cup **Champions (1): 2005 *

Trades Cup The Trades Cup (also known as the Trades Challenge Cup or IFA Trades Challenge Cup) was an Indian football tournament held in Kolkata and organised by Indian Football Association. Incorporated in 1889, it was the second-oldest football tourname ...

**Champions (1): 2007 **Runners-up (1): 2006 *EK Nayanar Memorial Gold Cup **Champions (2): 2005, 2011 * Amta Sanhati Gold Cup **Champions (1): 2015 *Kalna Independence Cup **Champions (1): 2016 *Naihati Gold Cup **Runners-up (1): 2022 *Madhyamgram MLA Cup **Runners-up (1): 2022–23

Team records

Notable wins against foreign teams

Seasonal records

Other records

* United SC's biggest margin win in domestic football: 10–1 vs

(10 November 2012;

) * Highest goalscorer in a single edition of

, while representing United SC (then known as Prayag United):

(with 26 goals in 2013–14 season), also won "Best Player of the I-League" award 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 ...

as well as the "Best Forward" award. * Highest goalscorer in a single edition of

, while representing United SC: Sahil Harijan (with 11 goals in 2023–24 season).

Managerial records

Other departments

Football: youth section and academy

In 2013, United SC launched its U20 team to participate in the

Elite League (India) The Youth League is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the All India Football Federation. It consists of 3 age groups competitions: U17 (AIFF Youth League), U15 (Junior League) and U13 (Sub-Junior Le ...

as Prayag United U20 and competed in 2012 and 2013 I-League U20. The club's U19 team was formed in 2010 and competed in the

and 2012 editions of U19 I-League. They later participated in the league during the

2014–15 I-League U19 The 2014–15 I-League U19 is the seventh season of the Indian I-League U19 The Youth League is a system of youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the All India Football Federation. It con ...

season from group A – ''Kolkata'' zone and moved to final round. They have also participated in 2017–18 edition of youth league. Club's under-19 team also took part in IFA U19 Calcutta Football League. United SC's reserve team also participated in regional tournaments like All India Steel Express Football Championship. The club has been operating United Sports Football School for youth development, having two campuses in Shyamnagar, and Doon Heritage School in Siliguri. In December 2023, football academy of United SC gained 'elite category' accreditation by the

. ;Honours *

From 2015 to

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, the IFA Shield was designed as an youth tournament wherein youth teams of all divisions were allowed to participate (ref.: ). **Winners (1): 2015 *IFA U19 Calcutta Football League **Runners-up (1): 2011 *Krishanu Dey U19 Championship ** Runners-up (1): 2004 * Dream Sports Championship (Kolkata Leg) **Runners-up (1): 2024

Men's cricket

United SC operates 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 ...

team which is affiliated to 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). ;Honours *CC&FC Merchant's Cup **Champions (1): 2021–22

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * *

External links

United SC
at Soccerway
United SC
at Global Sports Archive {{West Bengal Sports Association football clubs established in 1927 Football clubs in Kolkata I-League clubs 1927 establishments in India I-League 2 clubs