Southern Samity is an Indian professional multi-sports club 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 ...

. Founded in 1945, the club is also based in

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 ...

, North Bengal. Apart from sports, they are also involved in numerous cultural activities. Its

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 ...

section competes in the Calcutta Football League premiere division A, and previously participated in the I-League 2nd Division, then second tier of Indian football league system.

History

Formation and journey

Southern Samity was founded in the city of

in 1945, during the British rule in India. During that time they were involved in various sporting and cultural activities. In 1959, the club got their affiliation from the

Indian Football Association The Indian Football Association, abbreviated as IFA, is the organisation that administers football in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the oldest football association in India and was founded in 1893. Among the founders was former Engli ...

(IFA), but the club got their footsteps in Indian football long after their foundation. From 2007 to 2008 onwards, Frontlink International took charge of the club's football department, which boosted the growth highly.

Present years

In the year of 2008–09, they emerged as the champions of Calcutta Premier Division B and were promoted to the Calcutta Premier Division A. In 2011, Southern Samity created history as they became the first club after Behala Youth in 1975 to reach the prestigious

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 ...

semi-final on debut. In 2011–12 CFL season, the club was managed by Shabbir Ali. They also reached to the quarter-final of the 2012 IFA Shield. Southern Samity participated in the 2013 I-League 2nd Division and moved to the final round, where they achieved sixth position. In 2015, they played 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 ...

Group A. In 2016, Southern Samity appointed Amit Sen as their new head coach and participated in the 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division, where they achieved success and qualified for 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 ...

. They finished the season as runners-up with 17 points from 10 matches, behind champions NEROCA FC. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, Southern Samity reached the quarter-finals of the

before losing 0–1 to

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 ...

side Real Kashmir. Besides football, the club along with state football governing body IFA, and Kalighat MS have joined the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in West Bengal from May 2021 by providing free vaccinations to people. On 1 July 2021, Southern Samity appointed Biswajit Bhattacharya as their new head coach. The club then roped in Ugandan trio Hamdan Nsubuga, Peter Mutebi and Habib Kavuma. They began their 2021–22 Calcutta Premier Division campaign with a 3–0 defeat against Mohammedan Sporting. On 23 August, Southern Samity was deducted six points by IFA and also handed two losses which includes their forfeited match against United Sports, and were relegated to the Premier Division B. In June 2023, the Indian Football Association (IFA) announced the merger of both Premier Division A and B of the Calcutta Football League, ahead of its 125th edition, in which Southern Samity was placed within Group-I.

Stadium

Southern Samity used Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Lake Gardens, Kolkata, as their home ground for matches of both the I-League 2nd Division and Calcutta Football League. Opened in 1961, the stadium is also known as Lake Stadium and has a capacity of 22,000 spectators.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Players

Current squad

Team management

Notable players

Past and present internationals The foreign players below had youth/senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed, represented their countries before or after playing for Southern Samity. * Echezona Anyichie (2011–2012) * Alfred Ndyenge (2011–2012) * Matthew Mayora (2012) * Sherwin Emmanuel (2012–2013) * Teah Dennis Jr. (2017–2018) * Victor Kamhuka (2017, 2021–) * Mahmoud Al Amnah (2019–2020) * Habib Kavuma (2022–) Noted Indian player(s) *

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 ...

(2017) – recipient of both the Arjuna Award and AIFF Player of the Year.

Honours

League

* I-League 2nd Division **Runners-up (1): 2016–17 * Calcutta Premier Division B **Champions (1): 2009 **Runners-up (1): 2018–19 * CFL Second Division **Champions (1): 2007–08

Cup

* Kalinga Cup **Champions (1): 2013 *Jananayak Karpuri Thakur Cup **Champions (1): 2014 *Naihati Gold Cup **Champions (1): 2021 * Domjur Gold Cup ** Champions (1): 2010 * Netaji–Subhash Trophy ** Champions (1): 2010 * Darjeeling Gold Cup ** Runners-up (1): 2010 * ONGC Gold Cup ** Runners-up (1): 2010–11

Women

* Calcutta Women's Football League ** Runners-up (1): 2021–22

Other departments

Southern Samity Women

The club has its women's football section, that competes in the Calcutta Women's Football League. In the 2021–22 league season, they achieved success with runner-up finish.

References

External links

Southern Samity club profile and results
at Soccerway
Southern Samity
at Everything For Football * * * {{West Bengal Sports Southern Samity Association football clubs established in 1945 I-League 2 clubs Sports clubs and teams in India 1945 establishments in India Football clubs in Kolkata