Wikipedia - Bhawanipore FC

Bhawanipore Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Bhowanipore, Kolkata, West Bengal. The club was established in 1910, and competed in the I-League 2nd Division, then second tier of Indian football league system. Bhawanipore currently competes in the Calcutta Premier Division. It is also nominated for the newly established I-League 3, 4th division national league in India.

History

Main entrance of the Bhawanipore Football Club tent in Kolkata Maidan, West Bengal.

Bhawanipore Football Club was founded in 1910 by Nani Mitra in Bhowanipore, Kolkata. After the independence of India, Robi Das became the first ever footballer from Bhawanipore who represented India in men's tournament at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. The club in 1948, reached the final of IFA Shield and finished as runner-up after a 2–1 defeat to Mohun Bagan. In January 2012, they were officially certified by the All India Football Federation to participate in the I-League 2nd Division, the second tier of football in India. After playing 6 games during the season Bhawanipore ended in 6th place out of 7 in Group C and thus failed to move to the Final half. They have also participated in domestic tournaments such as IFA Shield, and Durand Cup. In the 1960s, Bhawanipore have gone through rivalries with two of India's most successful clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in CFL. Notable Bengali footballers Asim Moulick and Parimal Dey appeared with the club in 1971.

In 2013, Bhawanipore clinched the Bordoloi Trophy, defeating Aizawl 1–0. They achieved third place in the 2013 I-League 2nd Division. In next season, the club participated in 2014 I-League 2nd Division and moved to the final round of I-League qualifiers, and achieved second place with 17 points in 8 matches. In May 2018, they officially announced that legendary defender Subrata Bhattacharya was appointed as new head coach.

Ahan Patra in Bhawanipore kit in 2020

In the 2019–20 I-League 2nd Division, Bhawanipore participated and made it to the final round of I-League qualifiers. Sankarlal Chakraborty was appointed as head coach and they signed who foreign players; Liberian Ansumana Kromah and Ghanaian Philip Adjah. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India, usual final round format was scrapped off. It was decided that the final round of the league will be rescheduled into a new format and all the non-reserve teams from the preliminary stage will automatically progress to this round. It was officially named as I-League Qualifiers. The teams from the preliminary round were scheduled to play in a round-robin format in two venues, at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata and Kalyani Stadium in Kalyani, near Kolkata to advance to the 2020–21 I-League. Bhawanipore finished on the second position of the league table at the end of I-League qualifiers, with 9 points in 4 matches. In 2022 Calcutta Premier Division, Bhawanipore as group champion, qualified to "super six" round and finished as runner-up, behind Mohammedan Sporting. In June 2023, the Indian Football Association made an announcement that the merger of both Premier Division A and B of the Calcutta Football League have done ahead of its 125th edition, in which Bhawanipore was allowed to compete in Group II. The club later qualified for CFL "Super Six" round. They gained I-League 3 spot in August 2023, to compete in the inaugural edition.

바와니포르 FC(Bhawanipore FC)는 인도 콜카타에 위치한 프로 축구 클럽으로, 현재 인도 내 2부 리그에 속해 있습니다. 바와니포르 FC는 1990년에 설립되었으며, 1998년부터 인도 내 1부 리그에 참가하기 시작했습니다. 바와니포르 FC는 2003년에 인도 내 1부 리그에서 우승했으며, 2008년에는 인도 내 컵 대회에서 우승했습니다. 바와니포르 FC는 AFC 챔피언스리그에 두 번 출전했으며, 2004년과 2009년에 조별 리그에서 탈락했습니다. 바와니포르 FC는 인도에서 가장 인기 있는 축구 클럽 중 하나이며, 많은 팬을 보유하고 있습니다.

바와니포르 FC의 홈 구장은 콜카타에 위치한 솔트레이크 스타디움입니다. 솔트레이크 스타디움은 1984년에 개장했으며, 120,000명을 수용할 수 있습니다. 솔트레이크 스타디움은 인도에서 가장 큰 축구 경기장이며, 많은 국제 축구 경기가 열렸습니다.

바와니포르 FC의 주요 라이벌은 모훈 바간 AC와 이스트 벵골 FC입니다. 모훈 바간 AC와 이스트 벵골 FC는 인도에서 가장 오래된 축구 클럽이며, 많은 팬을 보유하고 있습니다. 바와니포르 FC, 모훈 바간 AC, 이스트 벵골 FC는 콜카타 축구의 빅3로 불리며, 치열한 라이벌 관계를 유지하고 있습니다.