East Bengal Ultras

East Bengal Ultras (Bengali: ইস্ট বেঙ্গল আল্ট্রাস), also known as Bangal Brigade (due to the ethnicity of majority of the fanbase), is the vocal supporters' movement for Indian club, East Bengal FC, one among the two co-existing premier football leagues in India. Founded in 2013, it was the first ever Ultras group in Indian football and revolutionised the Indian football fan movement.

East Bengal Ultras
NicknameBangal Brigade
AbbreviationEBU
Established2013
TypeSupporters' group, Ultras group
ClubEast Bengal F.C.
LocationKolkata, West Bengal
StadiumEast Bengal Ground
Salt Lake Stadium
Barasat Stadium
Kanchenjunga Stadium
StandNorth stand in East Bengal Ground
B2 in Salt Lake Stadium
ColoursRed and Gold
Websitehttps://ebultras.wordpress.com/

The ultras group started with 5-10 people, and now they are thousands in number, along with 100-150 core members. They were the first supporters' group in India to organise a pyro-show on-field and first in South Asia to organise a live chant show, named Tunes of Colony, in 2019. Currently, they have around 25 chants and slogans.

East Bengal Ultras are known for making some of the largest unique tifos. In 2019-20 I-League season, they set a record for the biggest tifo—10,000 sq ft (930 m2)—in Indian football history, and broke the previous record of 7,200 sq ft (670 m2) which had also been set by the East Bengal Ultras.

Support

East Bengal is one of India's oldest and most successful football clubs and has won multiple international trophies. In 1970, when they defeated Iran's PAS Tehran Football Club in the IFA Shield final, over 80,000 East Bengal fans lit torches and held them up as a sign of their victory and dominance. Since then the fans have followed the tradition of lighting up the torches in the terraces.[1][2]

Initial days: 2013–2016
Initial days of East Bengal Ultras

East Bengal Ultras made their first appearance in an away game in 2013 at Bengaluru in Karnataka.[3] They started with smoke shows in the 2015 Calcutta Football League (CFL) Kolkata Derby, which they won by a score of 4–0. They made the first big Tifo in the 2016 Kolkata Derby at the Salt Lake Stadium in Bidhannagar. It had the shape of a large East Bengal Jersey which had the number 12 printed on the back, indicating the fans were the club's 'twelfth man'. It was unique and was the first time something like this had been seen in Indian Football. This tifo became very popular.[4][5]

The East Bengal Ultras continued with colourful mosaic shows at matches against Bengaluru FC and Salgaocar F.C. in the Barasat Stadium in the 2015-16 I-League. These were firsts in India's fan culture.[6]

East Bengal Ultras created history in the 2016 CFL Opener in the Kalyani Stadium with South Asia’s first ever 3D tifo which had an East Bengal player holding the CFL Trophy with the backdrop of the Kolkata Skyline and a written slogan— Kolkata Amader (In English, 'Kolkata is Ours')—due to their commanding display in the Calcutta Football League.[7][8]

Growth of Ultras Culture: 2017–present
Viking Clap in East Bengal Ground

East Bengal Ultras began the 2016-17 I-League campaign with two newly introduced pole flags and a scarf show against Aizawl FC. The first big tifo of 2017 was a smoke show and another 3D tifo against Bengaluru FC. These attracted coverage by foreign sports media such as Copa90,[9] Football Fans Asia and Exhale Sports as they created a never-before-seen atmosphere in Indian Football. The entire stadium was filled with red and yellow smoke. East Bengal Ultras not only created an intimidating atmosphere in the senior team matches but also in youth derbies. The Ultras activities performed during the U18 and U16 derbies against fierce rivals Mohun Bagan prompted a lot of discussion on fan forums.

Pyro show

At an 18 August 2018 CFL game played between East Bengal and Aryan F.C. scores of pyros were lit at the end of the game. Fans sang in their loudest voices and caught the attention of the rival fans and players. A powerful corteo (procession) to the venue was accompanied by a smoke show at the start of the game. It was the first and largest pyro-show in Indian football.[3][9][10]

Derby Double – 2018
"Then, Now, Forever" tifo

The 2018–19 saw East Bengal FC defeat their arch rivals winning both Kolkata Derbies in the I-League. The East Bengal Ultras won the fan battles. On 16 December 2018, in the Home Derby, the Bangal Brigade unfurled a gigantic tifo depicting a classic jibe between the fans with slogans 'Aha Bujhlen Kotta' and images of Tea, Sugar and Milk. This tifo became an instant hit among the fans and was even covered by BBC.[11]

On 27 January 2019, in the return Derby, East Bengal Ultras put on display the 2nd largest tifo in Indian football. Around 7,200 sq ft (670 m2) in size, it depicted the struggles their ancestors faced during the Partition of India showing how the East Bengal Club became an inspiration for their daily struggle in life. The fans also put on a smoke show before the match.[12][13]

Tunes of Colony by East Bengal Ultras

Tunes of Colony – 2019

To celebrate the club's centenary year, the Ultras came up with an event called 'Tunes of Colony' on 31 July 2019.[8] It was organised at the Sovabazar Natmandir temple, and was the first-ever chant-based musical show in Indian and South Asian Football. With a full house, the event was a hit among the East Bengal fans.[14][15][10]

India in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
India vs Bangladesh FIFA World Cup Qualifier tifo

East Bengal Ultras unveiled a huge banner at the FIFA world cup Qualifiers match against Bangladesh. It portrayed the front page of The Times of India after India won the 2011 ICC World Cup. The banner displayed the message—"Dream Comes True!". Apart from that they supported the Indian team for whole 90 minutes with continuous chanting and Viking Claps even after the match finished in a draw. They also provided pre-match corteos and pyros.[16]

History Book Tifo
History book tifo

On 4 December 2019, in the match against Real Kashmir, the first game of 2019-20 I-League campaign at the Kalyani Stadium, East Bengal Ultras presented a 10,000 sq ft (930 m2) tifo—the largest in Indian Football so far. It was presented in the form of a book showing five major achievements in the history of East Bengal. In December 2019, the USA-based media outlet The18 featured the East Bengal Ultras and showcased their "History Book" tifo.[12][17]

Controversy
Tifo on display with slogans on NRC during Kolkata Derby

The East Bengal Ultras caused a controversy in January 2020, when during the 2019-20 I-League first leg Kolkata Derby match, they unfurled a tifo which had statements regarding the National Register of Citizens (NRC).[18] There was a banner written in Bengali that said, "We bought the land with our Blood, and not with Papers". The official statement from the Ultras group was that the tifo was an answer to the racist jibes from their arch-rival fans. However, the incident led to political groups making an issue of the situation and stirred up in controversy within the Ultras group.[19][20][21]

Chants and slogans
লড়েছি অনেক যুদ্ধ, মিলিয়ে কাঁধে কাঁধ
জাকার্তা থেকে জম্মু,করেছি বাজিমাৎ
দুচোখে ভরা স্বপ্ন,বুকেতে দাবানল
লড়াইয়ের রূপকথা,ও আমার ইস্টবেঙ্গল
(In English: We fought many battles, shoulder to shoulder, from Jakarta to Jammu, we did checkmate. Eyes filled with dreams, bursting in my heart, fairytale of battle, O my East Bengal)[22][23]

— Adopted from "Un giorno all'improvviso"

The Bangal Brigade has always been very vocal since its inception. One thing that the East Bengal Ultras have brought to Indian Football is Football Chanting. The infamous abusive Indian football crowd needed to be eradicated so as to bring positiveness from the stands and the sense of belonging to the players and team throughout the 90 minutes.

Amra Korbo Sringojoy and Haat e Moshal, Buk e Barood; Amra Holam, Lal Holud (in English: We will do it and Torch in hand, gunpowder in the heart, we are red and gold respectively) was one of the initial chants that echoed through the stands. Since then, a number of chants and slogans have been adopted, modified and re-structured based on the highs and lows of the East Bengal FC. These are sung by everyone on match days. The East Bengal Ultras come up with new tunes and chants every year, adapting tunes from Ultras in Europe and South America. "Dale Cavese" was one of the most famous tunes that became popular with the East Bengal Ultras. "Allez Allez Allez" sung by Liverpool FC fans, which was itself adapted from "Un giorno all'improvviso" (originally "L'estate sta finendo") sung by the S.S.C. Napoli fans, was adopted into Bengali and became an instant hit among the Red and Gold Brigade.[24]

See also

References
  1. "1970S TO 1990S". East Bengal Football Club. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  2. "East Bengal Club". Archived from the original on 5 September 2019.
  3. "Corteo and Pyros : When East Bengal Ultras did a Legia Warsaw – Sportskeeda". sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  4. "A Fans Revolution : East Bengal Ultras – Goalbold.com". goalbold.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  5. "I-League 2017: Brace yourself for the East Bengal Ultras – Sportskeeda". sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  6. "East Bengal - Salgaocar 21.02.2016 – ultras-tifo.net". ultras-tifo.net. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018.
  7. Hrisav (12 September 2016). "Where Hrisav Blogs!: East Bengal 2016-17 : SQUAD & FULL SEASON RESULTS". Where Hrisav Blogs!. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  8. "An ode to innovations: Effect of East Bengal Ultras on Indian football's fan culture – The Bridge". thebridge.in. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  9. "twitter.com". Twitter. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  10. C, Sabyasachi (27 December 2019). "5 Times East Bengal Ultras Shocked the Indian football fans this decade!". BADGEB. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  11. "Kolkata derby: Inside the East Bengal v Mohun Bagan rivalry". BBC Sport. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  12. "Record-Setting Tifo Presented In Unique Book Form". The18.com. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  13. C, Sabyasachi (27 January 2020). "Throwback: One year of the "historic" Tifo by East Bengal Ultras". BADGEB. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  14. "East Bengal এর শতবর্ষের আগের রাতে Tunes of Colony দিয়ে মাতিয়ে দিল East Bengal Ultras". Sports Live. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  15. "Emergence and Evolution of Ultras in Indian football fans culture". Khel Now. 3 October 2019. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  16. "ToI-inspired tifo welcomes Chhetri & Co". Times of India. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  17. "Fancy, a fandom". telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  18. "I-League Derby: East Bengal, Mohun Bagan Fans Protest CAA-NRC". The Quint. Archived from the original on 20 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  19. "'Land Bought in Blood': Why Anti-CAA Protests at the Kolkata Derby Hold Meaning". The Wire. Archived from the original on 10 March 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  20. "Barbed Wire Scars: East Bengal Fans Reveal Anti-NRC Banner's Story". The Quint. 21 January 2020. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  21. "I-League 2019-20: East Bengal Fans Hold Anti-CAA, NRC Protest During Kolkata Derby". News 18. Archived from the original on 20 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  22. "Effect of East Bengal Ultras on Indian football's fan culture". The Bridge. 1 July 2019. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  23. Lorechi Onek Juddho, retrieved 4 June 2020
  24. says, Jeff Debnath (8 February 2014). "Chants". East Bengal Ultras. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
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