Calcutta Football League

Calcutta Football League
কলকাতা ফুটবল লীগ
Organising body Indian Football Association
Founded 1898 (1898)
Country  India
Divisions 7
Number of teams 157 (Clubs and Units)
Domestic cup(s) IFA Shield
All Airlines Gold Cup
League cup(s) IFA Trades Cup
Current champions Mohun Bagan (30th title)
(2018)
Most championships East Bengal (39 titles)
TV partners Sadhna News
2018

The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a men's professional football league in Bengal. For sponsorship reasons, the league is officially known as the Officer's Choice Blue Calcutta Premier League. One of the top football leagues in the state. League system where several football clubs of the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) participate. It currently consists of seven-tier pyramid system.[1]

Indian Football Association (IFA) conducts the CFL with 157 mostly Kolkata based clubs and units. Started in 1898, this league is the oldest league in Asia and regarded as one of the oldest football competitions in the world.[1] There are about 8,500 directly registered players of IFA who participate in CFL.

Division structure

With the season starting 2015, the clubs were redistributed in to these six divisions:[1]

  1. Premier Division
    1. Premier Division A
    2. Premier Division B
  2. First Division
  3. Second Division
  4. Third Division
  5. Fourth Division
  6. Fifth Division:
    1. Fifth Division Group A
    2. Fifth Division Group B (Age Group: 13+ to U-16)

Usually in each division, the 10-team league plays a single leg, in which all teams played against each other. Then in the second leg, the league is divided into a top and bottom half. The top 5 teams played for the title while the bottom 5 played against each other to avoid relegation to a lower division. The most successful clubs participating in the top-tier of the league includes East Bengal Club, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting Club. However, since 1982, the league has been won by either East Bengal or Mohun Bagan. [2]

Sponsorship

League Title Sponsor

Period Sponsor Industry Tournament Name
1898–2004 No Sponsor Calcutta Football League
2005–2014 India Sahara Conglomerate Sahara Calcutta Premier League
2015–Present India Officer's Choice Blue Beverage Officer's Choice Blue Calcutta Premier League

Other sponsors

  • India Shyam Steel - Referee jersey sponsor
  • India Khadim's - Prize money sponsor

Media Coverage

Period TV Channel
1898–2004 No Telecast
2005 Tara Newz
2006 Kolkata TV
2007 24 Ghanta
2008 Star Ananda
2009-11 News Time
2012 24 Ghanta
2013-15 Jalsha Movies
2016 ETV News Bangla
2017 Kolkata TV
2018–present Sadhna News

List of winners

The list only contains the names of the teams that have won the highest division of the league system.[3]

Club Titles Winning years
East Bengal391942, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1961, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Mohun Bagan301939, 1943, 1944, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2018
Mohammedan111934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1948, 1957, 1967, 1981
Calcutta F.C.81899, 1907, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1925
Dalhousie A.C41910, 1921, 1928, 1929
Durham Light Infantry31931, 1932, 1933
Black Watch21912, 1913
Gordon Light Infantry FC21908, 1909
King's Regiment21904, 1905
N Staffordshire Regiment21926, 1927
Royal Irish Rifles21900, 1901
Scottish Borderers11902
Eastern Railway F.C11958
10th Middlesex Regiment11915
12th Special Service Battalion11919
70th Company RGA11911
91st Highlanders11914
93rd Highlanders11903
Cameron Highlanders11924
Gloucestershire Regiment11898
Highlander Light Infantry11906
Lincolnshire Regiment11917

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Calcutta Football League". IFA. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  2. ↑ "ifawb.com". www.ifawb.com.
  3. ↑ "List of Calcutta Football League Champions". IFA. Retrieved 8 September 2013.


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