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West Bengal football team

State football team representing West Bengal of India

West Bengal football team

State football team representing West Bengal of India

FieldValue
clubnameWest Bengal
পশ্চিমবঙ্গ
imageIFA (WB) logo.svg
image_size300px
fullnameWest Bengal football team
founded
(as Bengal football team)
groundSalt Lake Stadium
capacity68,000
ownerIndian Football Association (West Bengal)
mgrtitleHead coach
managerSanjoy Sen
leagueSantosh Trophy
season2024–25
positionChampions
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পশ্চিমবঙ্গ (as Bengal football team)

The West Bengal football team (), also known as IFA Bengal football team or earlier the Bengal football team, is an Indian football team representing West Bengal in Indian state football competitions including the Santosh Trophy. They were the second Indian team to participate in the continental top tier tournament – Asian Champion Club Tournament, by playing in the 1970 edition following Mysore in 1969.

History

Bengal made its debut in the national competitions at the 1941–42 Santosh Trophy. West Bengal have appeared in the Santosh Trophy finals 47 times, having won 33 titles, the most by any team. Managed by Balaidas Chatterjee, the team won six Santosh Trophy titles between 1949 and 1959. In 1962, former Indian captain Samar Banerjee guided Bengal winning the trophy.

Prior to 2003, the team competed as "Bengal football team". On 16 August 2021, West Bengal played a friendly match against India national team at the Salt Lake Stadium and it was won by India by 1–0. In October 2022, West Bengal managed by Biswajit Bhattacharya clinched gold at the 36th National Games of India, defeating Kerala 5–0 in final.

Team

The following 22 players were called up for to the 2024–25 Santosh Trophy.

Honours

State (senior)

State (youth)

  • B.C. Roy Trophy

    • Winners (18): 1961–62, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2003–04, 2024–25
    • Runners-up (10): 1975–76, 1987–88, 1999–00, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2017–18, 2023–24, 2025–26
  • Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy

    • Winners (12): 1965–66, 1978–79, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2007–08, 2015–16
    • Runners-up (7): 1987–88, 1988–89, 1996–97, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09
  • M. Dutta Ray Trophy

    • Winners (6): 1992, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005
    • Runners-up (7): 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003

Stadiums and grounds

The league and tournaments are generally played at the following Stadiums and Grounds:

  • Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Salt Lake
  1. capacity of around 85000
  2. Important matches of Local League, Shield, I-League and International Matches are played here.
  • Vidyasagar Krirangan, Barasat
  1. Capacity around 20,000 and Flood Light
  2. Matches of Local League, Shield are played here. It is also used for holding I-League matches also.
  • Sailen Manna Stadium, Howrah
  1. Present capacity is only around 10,000. But ground condition is extremely good.
  2. Some important CFL matches and IFA Shield are played here.
  • Rabindra Sarobar Stadium
  1. Capacity around 22,000.
  2. Important League & Shield matches are played here.
  • East Bengal/Aryan, Mohun Bagan/CFC and Mohammedan/Howrah Union Ground
  1. Full capacity of these ground are 23,500, 22,000 and 15,000 respectively. All the grounds have floodlight facilities.
  2. Most of the League Matches of Premier League and First Division are played here. But these grounds are available for Football only during the period from 16 May to 10 January every year.
  • 10 Open Grounds in the Maidan
  1. Only matches of Junior Division and other ordinary competitions are played here. These grounds are available for football only during the period from 16 May to 30 September every year.
  2. Besides the above-mentioned grounds and stadium, infrastructure of SAI i.e. Sports Authority of India, Kishore Bharati Krirangan are also used.
  3. Grounds available at various places in Kolkata and Howrah are used for conducting Nursery League Matches. Besides above, small stadiums are also available in almost all the Districts towns and some Sub Divisions. Most important and mentionable stadium is at Siliguri – Kanchenjunga Stadium, where International Tournament like Jawaharlal Nehru Cup was also played. Khardah, Kalyani, Burdwan, Durgapur, Midnapur, Haldia, Malda, Raigunje, Balurghat and a few other District Towns also have Stadium.
  • Indoor Stadium
  1. Netaji Indoor Stadium (AC), Kolkata- Capacity 12,000.

Salt Lake Stadium

Main article: Salt Lake Stadium

Aerial view of the Salt Lake Stadium

Yuva Bharati Krirangan (, ), commonly known as Salt Lake Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal. It is currently used for football matches and athletics. The stadium was built in 1984 and holds 120,000 people in a three-tier configuration.

It is situated approximately 10 km to the east of the Kolkata downtown and is elliptical in shape. The roof is made of metal tubes and aluminium sheets and concrete. There are two electronic score boards and control rooms. The lighting is uniformly distributed to facilitate nocturnal sports. There are special arrangements for TV broadcasting.

The stadium covers an area of 76.40 acre. It was inaugurated in January 1984. The salient features of the stadium are unique synthetic track for athletic meets, electronic scoreboard, main football arena measuring 105m x 70m, elevators, VIP enclosures, peripheral floodlighting arrangement from the roof-top, air conditioned VIP rest room and Conference Hall. Other features of the stadium are also commentary boxes for All India Radio and TV along with several platforms for TV cameras, press boxes, dormitories and AC. rooms, player's changing rooms, practice grounds for football, cricket and kho kho, volleyball field and an ultra-medium gymnasium. The stadium has its own water arrangements and standby diesel generation sets.

The floodlights which illuminate the stadium consist of 624 bulbs of 2 kW each and two electronic scoreboards consisting of 36,000 bulbs of 25 watt each. The four underground reservoirs have unique fire-fighting arrangements with a capacity of 10,000 gallons. The architectural and structural design of the stadium was the work of the Joint Consultants viz., M/S. Ballardie, Thompson & Matthews Pvt. Ltd. and M/S. H.K. Sen & Associates – both from Kolkata, West Bengal. The track was prepared by Reckortan Tartan Track, Germany. The electronic scoreboards were supplied by Electro Impex of Hungary.

After its inauguration in January 1984 with the Jawaharlal Nehru International Gold Cup Soccer Tournament, the Salt Lake Stadium has hosted several important international tournaments or matches such as The Pre-World Cup Tournament in 1985, Super-Soccers in 1986, 1989, 1991 and 1994, 3rd S.A.F. games in 1987, U.S.S.R. Festival in 1988, Charminar Challenger Trophy in 1992, Jawaharlal Nehru International Gold Cup in 1995. The chief engineer of the stadium is Somnath Ghosh.

The stadium also hosts different kinds of cultural programs such as dance and music concerts.

Performance in AFC competitions

  • Asian Club Championship: 1 appearance
## Notable players *Below the players, are notable footballers who represented the West Bengal football team.* - IND Sailen Manna - IND P. K. Banerjee - IND Chuni Goswami - British Burma Fred Pugsley - IND Mohammed Rahmatullah - PAK Osman Jan - PAK IND Balai Dey - IND Shabbir Ali - IND Samar Banerjee - IND Jarnail Singh - IND Peter Thangaraj - IND Krishanu Dey - IND Subrata Bhattacharya ## Sponsors ::data[format=table] | Sponsor type | Sponsor's name | |---|---| | Sponsor | DTDC | | Co-Sponsor | | | Kit Sponsor | Cosco | :: ## References ## References 1. (6 January 2022). ["West Bengal, Kerala & Punjab drawn together in tantalizing group in 75th edition of Hero Santosh Trophy"](https://www.the-aiff.com/article/west-bengal-kerala-punjab-drawn-together-in-tantalizing-group-in-75th-edition-of-hero-santosh-trophy). *[[All India Football Federation]]*. 2. Mukherjee, Soham; Easwar, Nisanth V. (1 April 2020). ["How have Indian clubs fared in AFC Champions League and AFC Cup?"](https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/india-clubs-in-afc-champions-league-afc-cup/3dj1qowtkdxc1pzji71c49vnz). *[[Goal (website)*. 3. (9 July 2011). ["Another Santosh feather in Bengal's cap"](http://www.the-aiff.com/pages/tournament/index.php?tournamentdetail=22&N_Id=2577). *The All India Football Federation*. 4. (26 July 2013). ["Mohun Bagan Ratna — Late Balaidas Chatterjee to receive the award posthumously"](http://www.mohunbaganac.com/interview-detail/mohun-bagan-ratna-late-balaidas-chatterjee-to-receive-the-award-posthumousl). *Mohun Bagan Athletic Club*. 5. (20 August 2022). ["India's star Olympic football captain Samar 'Badru' Banerjee dies"](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/indias-star-olympic-football-captain-samar-badru-banerjee-dies/articleshow/93675414.cms). *[[Press Trust of India]]*. 6. ["Santosh Trophy Winners"](https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/indiasantoshhist.html). 7. Wadwha, Arjun. (19 May 2008). ["History of Football in India"](http://www.thesportscampus.com/200805197/introduction-to-football/history-indian-football). *TheSportsCampus*. 8. (26 August 2021). ["Farukh Choudhary, Ishan Pandita guide India to 2-0 win over Mohammedan SC"](https://khelnow.com/football/india-football-team-vs-mohammedan-sc-friendly-live-streaming#iLightbox[gallery175085]/0). 9. (12 October 2022). ["National Games: W Bengal hammer Kerala 5–0 to clinch gold in men's football"](https://wap.business-standard.com/article/sports/national-games-w-bengal-hammer-kerala-5-0-to-clinch-gold-in-men-s-football-122101101341_1.html). *Business Standard India*. 10. Sarangi, Y. B.. (11 October 2022). ["National Games: West Bengal routs Kerala 5–0, wins men's football gold medal after 11 years"](https://sportstar.thehindu.com/national-games/national-games-narohari-shrestha-hat-trick-west-bengal-beats-kerala-5-0-wins-men-football-gold-medal/article65998238.ece). *[[Sportstar]]*. 11. Ghoshal, Deepankar. (10 October 2022). ["National Games 2022: The glory of a group of hard-working footballers awaits the trophy at the Bengal National Games"](https://newswaali.com/national-games-2022-the-glory-of-a-group-of-hard-working-footballers-awaits-the-trophy-at-the-bengal-national-games-news-waali/). *News Waali*. 12. [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/indiasantoshhist.html List of Santosh Trophy Finals] 13. Gupta, Sabyasachi. (2024-12-31). ["ফুটবলে ভারতসেরা বাংলা: ছ’বছর পর সন্তোষ ট্রফি জয়"](https://bongfootball.in/west-bengal-wins-2024-25-santosh-trophy-final/). 14. ["Indian Football Association"](https://www.the-aiff.com/association/494). 15. ["East Bengal Football Club"](http://www.eastbengalfootballclub.com/stadium/). 16. Mulcahy, Enda. ["Asian Club Competitions 1970"](https://www.rsssf.org/tablesa/ascup70.html). 17. (14 September 2008). ["Indian Legendary Football Players Profile: SAILEN MANNA — LIVING LEGEND OF INDIAN FOOTBALL"](http://www.kolkatafootball.com/kolkatafootball_indian_legend_footballers_profile.html). *Kolkata Football*. 18. ["Chuni Goswami Profile"](http://www.iloveindia.com/sports/football/players/chuni-gosami.html). 19. (13 November 2020). ["PUGSLEY"](https://eastbengaltherealpower.com/pugsley/). 20. soumen78. (2016-03-31). ["List of Foreign Players to Play for East Bengal Club from 1942 – East Bengal Club, India – Records, Funs and Facts"](https://eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/list-of-foreign-players-to-play-for-east-bengal-club-from-1942/). *Eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com*. 21. [https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/indian-football-team-at-the-asian-games-1958-tokyo Indian football team at the Asian Games: 1958 Tokyo] {{Webarchive. [link](https://web.archive.org/web/20180905102115/https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/indian-football-team-at-the-asian-games-1958-tokyo). (5 September 2018 . ''Sportskeeda.com''. Retrieved 22 August 2021.) 22. (26 December 2022). ["Osman Jan, Delhi's Santosh trophy hero who also captained Pakistan"](https://theprint.in/sport/osman-jan-delhis-santosh-trophy-hero-who-also-captained-pakistan/1282459/). 23. Chakraborty, Sruti. (24 February 2023). ["Balai Dey: The man who connects India, Pakistan and the Hero Santosh Trophy"](https://www.the-aiff.com/article/balai-dey-the-man-who-connects-india-pakistan-and-the-hero-santosh-trophy). *All India Football Federation*. 24. ETV Bharat News Desk, West Bengal, 12:56 PM IST. (16 June 2019). ["ভারত-পাকিস্তানের জার্সি গায়ে মাঠে নেমেছিলেন বলাই দে [Balai Dey, who played for both the India and Pakistan]"](https://www.etvbharat.com/bengali/west-bengal/state/kolkata/balai-dey-who-played-for-india-and-pakistan-1/wb20190616125621719). *[[ETV Network]]*. 25. Das, Rudra Narayan. (29 November 2011). ["Player Biography : Shabbir Ali – Only Footballer To Win Dhyan Chand Award"](http://www.indianfootballnetwork.com/blog/2011/11/29/shabbir-ali-biography/). *Indian Football Network*. 26. (20 August 2022). ["India's star Olympic football captain Samar 'Badru' Banerjee dies"](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/indias-star-olympic-football-captain-samar-badru-banerjee-dies/articleshow/93675414.cms). *[[The Times of India]]*. 27. Singh, Ujwal. (12 August 2020). ["Past Masters of Indian Sports: Jarnail Singh Dhillon, the hard tackler who many consider the all-time best Indian defender"](https://www.firstpost.com/sports/past-masters-of-indian-sports-jarnail-singh-dhillon-the-hard-tackler-who-many-consider-the-all-time-best-indian-defender-8695801.html). ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bengal_football_team) and is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the [article history page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bengal_football_team?action=history). ::
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