A group of senior members sitting on the redecorated galleries in the Mohun Bagan ground trained their gaze on the dark clouds gathering yonder signalling imminent rain.
A group of senior members sitting on the redecorated galleries in the Mohun Bagan ground trained their gaze on the dark clouds gathering yonder signalling imminent rain. Their faces lit up at the prospect, as rains have become synonymous with the successful celebration of one of the most notable victory in the annals of Indian sport – the IFA Shield triumph in 1911.
Mohun Bagan loves to associate itself with that epochal win against the British East York Regiment and celebrates the day (July 29) as its foundation day.
In keeping with that tradition, the club this year sought to begin its quasquicentennial celebrations from Tuesday as the exact date of its foundation remains uncertain.
“It was established in 1889 and in August, but it is not known exactly on which the date it was founded,” says Subhransu Roy, a noted sports researcher from the city. The day saw a big gathering of former players, members and the media, and the club sought to commemorate the occasion befittingly by organising a host of ‘friendlies’ on its ground.
The club management used the opportunity to announce a bigger function at an unannounced date to make the 125 years celebrations more memorable. “We are the oldest and one of the most popular football clubs in Asia. Mohun Bagan symbolises a way of life in Bengal and that has sustained our popularity for all these many years,” says Mohun Bagan general secretary Anjan Mitra. “We have planned big celebrations and hope to bring them around by September,” he added.
Mohun Bagan successfully completed the club licensing criterion this year and entered the threshold of professionalism. “The club ran on the patronage of Kings and Zamindars in the early years, but continued to receive popular support for its notable performances on field. What is remarkable here is the transcendence from an amateur set-up to a more corporatised arrangement,” says Mr. Roy.
Much like its later cousin and traditional rival, East Bengal Club (established 1920), Mohun Bagan has a big community support which is ever growing. “Mohun Bagan has been able to retain its identity as the champion club of India despite not always performing. In recent years, it has not done well in the national tournaments, but its popularity remains intact,” says Mr. Roy.
“We have thousands of people waiting to become members of the club. This is the image of the club, and the older it grows the more popular it will become,” says Mr. Mitra, the secretary of the club since 1995.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Amitabha Das Sharma / Kolkata – July 30th, 2014