On Friday, Mohun Bagan officially became ATK Mohun Bagan. After the merger ATK, the club have decided to update the logo to include ATK. Other than that, the iconic logo will include the words ATK.
While today’s youngsters are weaned on Premier League or European clubs, Mohun Bagan has an important place in Kolkata and Bengal’s history.
Seen as the club of Ghotis (West Bengalis), as opposed to East Bengal, the club of Bangaals, it has had celebrity fans including Hemendra Kumar Ray, Manna Dey, Jyoti Basu, RD Burman, Sourav Ganguly, Amitabh Bachchan, Uttam Kumar and Mithun Chakravorty.
Founded in 1889 as the Mohun Bagan Football Club, it even had its moment in the sun as part of India’s freedom struggle when they beat the East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 on 29 July, 1911 to become the first all-Indian side to beat a British side. Legend has it that they played barefoot, against the fully equipped British.
They are also the only Indian club who are part of the Club of Pioneers. The Club of Pioneers is a super-exclusive club of the oldest football clubs of each country.
Awarded by Sheffield Football Club Foundation awards, a club must meet the following criteria:
· Still play football in amateur or professional football competition today.
· Have constantly existed as a sports organisation since their date of foundation. (exceptions for periods of inactivity due to external reasons, for example war.)
· Are by definition the oldest existing football club of their country, referring to the foundation date of a football team as part of a multi-sport club or as a proper football club, playing to association football rules.
Live and support the values of the game and amateur football: Integrity, Respect, Community
Full list
Sheffield FC 1857, 24 October
Wrexham AFC 1864, 4 October
Queen's Park FC 1867, 9 July
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub 1878, 24 October
FC St. Gallen 1879, 19 April
Koninklijke HFC 1879, 15 September
Cliftonville FC 1879, 20 September
Royal Antwerp FC 1880
Savages FC Pietermaritzburg 1882, 26 August
Gezira SC 1882
Hong Kong F.C. 1886, 12 February
Yokohama C&AC 1886, 26 December
Associação Académica de Coimbra 1887, 3 November
North Shore Utd 1887
BFC Germania 1888 1888, 15 April
Mohun Bagan AC 1889, 15 August
Real Club Recreativo de Huelva 1889, 23 December
St. George's FC 1890
Albion Football Club 1891, 1 June
Santiago Wanderers 1892, 15 August
Genoa CFC 1893, 7 September
Odds Ballklubb 1894, March 31
CDJ Oran 1894, April 14
First Vienna FC 1894, 22 August
CS Fola Esch 1906, 9 December
ES Tunis 1919, January 15
FK Ljuboten 1919, 28 March
FK Sveikata 1919, 8 June
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