Football is one of the most famous and widespread sports of our time. However, few football fans are fond of, for example, the championship of India. All follow the leading championships of countries such as Spain, Germany, England and Italy - and, of course, for major tournaments such as the Champions League and the Europa League.
However, if you look closely at the Indian championship system, you can see many amazing and memorable things. One of them is the championship of a city like Calcutta. India has a standard championship system, but separately from it, this city holds its own tournament. And he is one of the oldest in the world. So you should definitely find out what is going on in the football world of a city like Calcutta.
India gave the world the club “Mohammedan” - modern football fans hardly heard about it, but it is also one of the oldest clubs, which at one time was one of the strongest in India and is still one of the most respected.
Famous club
Mohammedan Football Club (Calcutta, India) is one of the most famous and popular in the whole country, it is also familiar to many football fans in the world. The history of this club begins in the distant 1891, it is the oldest in the country, and it is this team that won the legendary Calcutta championship for the first time in history, which will be discussed in more detail below. As for this club itself, it became a trendsetter for football in the country and had a serious impact on its further development in India. However, unfortunately, today the former glory is left behind, and in terms of football, FC Mohammedan (Calcutta, India) is far from being in the best condition.
Success
What success has this club achieved in its incredibly long history? Given the fact that throughout the history of this sport in the country there were a wide variety of regional and national cups, almost every one of them “Mohammedan” won at least once. However, if we talk about the country's most prestigious trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the Indian Football Championship, he did not give in to the team. Moreover, “Mohammedan” could not even win in the Second League - the biggest achievement was access to the First League from second place.
But if you pay attention to the above-mentioned championship of Calcutta, then this team was a serious success. Unfortunately, “Mohammedan” could not become the champion in the number of trophies won, however, it was this club that won the tournament for the first time in history in 1934. Since then, he has won eleven victories, the last of which dates back to 1981.
Nine times the team stopped a step away from victory, and the last time was in 2016, that is, in the last draw of this tournament - then the victory was won by the worst opponent of Mohammedan, East Bengal. Just “East Bengal” is the record holder for victories in the Calcutta championship - he got the trophy 38 times. At the same time, the club plays in the Premier League of India, where last year took third place. Naturally, the most prestigious tournament is the championship of India - Calcutta League, rather, is a historic friendly tournament.
Recent Mohammedan Results
If we talk about how this club performed in the last decade, then we can safely say that all of India is no longer afraid of it. The Calcutta League even submitted to the players for the last time a very long time ago. In 2009, the club flew out of the top division, played four years in the second division. At the same time, in 2013, “Mohammedan” took third place, stopping a step away from entering the First League, and already in 2014 took second place and broke into the most prestigious national championship.
However, he did not last long there - in the first season the team took 13th place and returned to the Second League. The club spent the remaining two years there, until it received the opportunity to re-return to the highest level. As you already understood, the most important tournament for such a sport as football, the championship of India. The Calcutta League is not such an important tournament in terms of sports, but it is still worth talking about it separately. In general, it is worth talking about the Indian football system itself in more detail.
Indian Super League
This tournament is the youngest and most of all corresponds to the spirit of modern football, as it is completely commercial. It was created in 2013, when the rights to eight teams that were to participate in this tournament were sold at auction to American and other businessmen. Immediately after the purchase of the teams, strong players began to come to them, who were previously significant figures in European football. Given the small size of the tournament, only 14 rounds are played in the standard championship. After this, the playoff stage is played, in which the winner is determined. To date, only two championships have been played so far - in 2014, the Atlético club from Calcutta won, and in 2015, Chennai.
National Football League
However, the Indian Super League is not the country's leading tournament - it is criticized because its season is too short and it is not aimed at developing Indian football, but at raising finance. The main tournament is the I-League, that is, the championship of India. It was this tournament that became the leading one in the country where football before that was developed exclusively at the amateur level. This tournament has existed since 1996, but then it was called the National Football League, and, although it was founded by the local football federation, it still remained semi-professional.
Already in 1997, the second division was added, and in this format the tournament lasted for almost ten years. In 2006, a third division was added, but even then there were thoughts of a global reformation, and in 2007 the National Football League ceased to exist to give way to the first professional football tournament.
Championship of India
The first winner was the Dempo club, which ultimately won three trophies and is a record holder, as the Churchill Brothers, Bengaluru and Mohun Bagan clubs have won only twice so far. The format of the tournament does not remain stable for a single year - any element is constantly changing, from the smallest details to the number of teams in the championship. At the moment, 11 teams are playing among themselves without a playoff phase. The best teams go to the Asian Cup, and some get the chance to qualify for the Asian Champions League, but so far few clubs match the format of the tournament.
League Two
As for the second league, this is the tournament where the weakest teams of the Indian championship drop out - and where the strongest clubs of the second league come from in the Indian championship. It is there that the “Mohammedan” mentioned above is performing now.
Championship Calcutta
However, the most noteworthy tournament that India boasts is the Calcutta Championship. The standings in it look more than interesting, since more than a hundred clubs from such an Indian city as Calcutta take part in it. It is one of the oldest football tournaments since it has been held since 1989.
How does India play football? The Calcutta Championship, whose standings are pretty sophisticated, is a great example. In the current championship there are six divisions, with the first and last of them divided into two more subdivisions. Each of them plays 10 or more teams that first spend the first half of the season in the general table, which ultimately splits into two halves. The first half spends the second part of the season in the fight for the championship, and the second - trying not to fly to the lower division. An interesting fact is that in the top division since 1982, only two clubs have won - East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.