Rainbow Athletic Club 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

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 ...

, that competes 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 ...

. The club was formerly known as Rainbow Athletic Club or simply Rainbow, and as NBP Rainbow Athletic Club due to past sponsorship ties. In 2018, Rainbow AC participated 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 ...

, the second tier of the

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 ...

. In 2020, the club was acquired by the Indian conglomerate Aditya Group, following which it was officially renamed as Aditya School of Sports Rainbow Athletic Club, abbreviated as ASOS Rainbow AC.

History

The team was founded in 1956 as Baranagore Rainbow Club by football enthusiast Pradip Roy and his associates. It was later renamed NBP Rainbow AC. The club has a rivalry with

East Bengal Club East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's association football, football team that competes in the Indian ...

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, ...

, Mohammedan Sporting, and

Peerless SC Peerless Sports Club (formerly known as Peerless FC), or simply Peerless, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1993, the club is owned by Peerless Group and currently competes in the Calcutta Premi ...

. Rainbow participates in 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 ...

Premier Division. In the 2019–20 season, the team was managed by Jahar Das. In 2020, the club entered into a partnership with Indian conglomerate Aditya Group. It was announced that the new entity would have former India international Debjit Ghosh as its technical director. In June 2023, the IFA announced the merger of both Premier Division A and B of the Calcutta Football League ahead of its 125th edition, in which Rainbow was placed in Group B.

Ground

Rainbow Athletic Club plays most of its home matches at the Amal Dutta Stadium, which is located in Dumdum, near

, in the

North 24 Parganas North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and ...

district. The stadium has a capacity of about 15,000 spectators. The club played the majority of its matches in the

2023 season at this venue.

Crest and colours

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Players

Records

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

Honours

* CFL Premier Division B **Runners-up (2):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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 ...

References

{{West Bengal Sports Association football clubs established in 1956 Football clubs in Kolkata 1956 establishments in West Bengal I-League 2 clubs