The FIFA World Cup 2026 is underway and football fans are already glued to their television sets. But much closer home, a quieter footballing journey has reached a significant milestone.
The team run by the Bidhannagar Municipal Sports Academy has qualified for the Premier Division of the Calcutta Football League. When this season’s league kicks off on June 25, the boys carrying the Bidhannagar name on their jerseys will line up against Maidan giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, among others.
“We are the only football team backed by a municipality or municipal corporation anywhere in Bengal to have reached this level. South Dum Dum and Kalyani municipalities also field football teams, but the former will not participate this year while the latter competes at a much lower level,” said a civic official.
Local MLA and health minister Sharadwat Mukherjee, who only recently learnt of the team’s existence and achievements, is effusive in his praise.
“Four years ago they were playing in the third division. They have made steady progress since then. Not just that, they are training players in every age group, right from under-five. It is true that the players are not local boys. They come from far away. But if we can passionately support the city team (Kolkata Knight Riders) in the IPL, which too has no local players, why can’t we take pride in a team that plays in our backyard and represents Bidhannagar?” he argued, seeking support for them.
The set-up is overseen by technical director Basudeb Mondal, Mohun Bagan’s central midfielder at the turn of the century and a former India captain. Two coaches look after the senior team. Sukanta Bose, an Asian Football Confederation B Diploma-certified coach, has been with the academy since its inception. Alongside him is Baisakhi Mondal, an AFC Level-2 goalkeeping coach.
“Both rose through our academy. Tokhon sikhto, ekhon sekhay,” smiled a civic official.
After training players in the morning, Bose heads to Poura Bhavan, where he works in a clerical role.
Ten more coaches look after over 200 children at the grassroots level, divided into under-six, under-eight, under-10 and under-12 groups. There are also under-13, under-14, under-16 and under-18 teams, guided by another half-dozen coaching staff.
“Earlier, all the young players came by bus. Now some of the smaller children arrive in private cars,” said one coach, pointing to growing interest in football among affluent families in the neighbourhood.
On any given morning, around 35 senior players can be seen training on the ground beside the academy. The sun beats down relentlessly, but water breaks are allowed only in batches.
“Did you know Mohun Bagan captain Subhasish Bose started playing at this academy?” asked Bose, wiping sweat from his forehead.
Indeed, nearly a dozen players have graduated from the academy to represent marquee clubs. Among them are Sankar Roy, first-choice goalkeeper in Mohun Bagan’s 2019-20 I-League title-winning squad, and Sandeep Malik, who captained Mohun Bagan’s reserve CFL team last year.
Health minister and local MLA Sharadwat Mukherjee hands over prizes for the Blue Cubs League to tots who play in a grassroots team
Aim to groom
“Back then, this place was a kaash bon beside Central Park. We started on December 19, 1999. The municipality operated from Mayukh Bhavan then. The vision from the beginning was to groom talent,” recalled an official.
A worn out plaque outside the academy bears testimony to former municipal chairman Dilip Gupta laying the foundation stone of the multi-utility building on April 14, 2002.
With former East Bengal captain Shyamal Ghosh as head coach, the academy was administered by Prabir Das, an irrigation department official deputed to the municipality.
“In 2018, we received two-star accreditation from the All India Football Federation. Around the same time, we decided to field our own under-13, under-15 and under-17 teams in the AIFF Youth League,” the official recalled.
By then, the swimming complex had come up next door. An adjoining vacant plot was developed into a second practice ground and an additional floor was added to the academy building. Though the premises were rented out for social functions through an outside agency from 2007, a court order in 2010 restored it to its original sporting purpose.
“We started cricket activities around 2003-04 in FC Block and even played CAB under-13 and under-15 tournaments before the pandemic. But football always was, and remains, our primary focus,” an official said.
At one point, the football academy was a residential one, with the legendary Amal Dutta as coach.
The senior team came into being after the IFA allowed academy teams to participate in its league structure in 2022. “We started in the third division, earned promotion immediately, reached the first division within two years and are now set to play in the Premier Division,” said Bose.
Last year, the team also featured in the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) for the first time.
The main ground measures 105x68 metres, dimensions adequate for hosting Premier Division matches. Until recently, it served as the home ground of Diamond Harbour FC, which won the I-League in 2025-26 under Spanish coach Kibu Vicuna and earned promotion to the Indian Super League.
But the change of guard in the Assembly election resulted in the politically backed club being ousted, with the ground reverting to its original users. The academy’s name now is prominently displayed along the approach road.
Players take a breather during a water break. The broken seats need to be replaced.
Up against Goliaths
The players are excited at the prospect of testing themselves against the Maidan heavyweights.
“Will they allow us to play any matches here?” is a recurring topic as they munch on bananas supplied by the academy after training.
“This is our home ground. We should get at least four of our 12 matches here,” reasoned one player.
“Diamond Harbour FC hardly played their Premier Division matches anywhere else apart from here and Kalyani,” another chimed in.
But a third pointed out that a gallery was mandatory for a venue to host Premier Division fixtures.
Yet there is little doubt about their determination. “We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If we perform well, opportunities will open up,” said Kuntal Mondal, 22, who has trained here since he was 14. To attend practice, he catches an express train from Katwa at around 2.30am.
Daily miles
Many of the players travel extraordinary distances. Sai Prakash leaves Tribeni before dawn, reaches Kalyani, takes a train to Sealdah and then another to Bidhannagar Road station. Mohon Bairagi commutes daily from Canning.
It is easier to identify who lives closest to the ground.
“That would be me,” laughed Surojit Marjit, whose family lives in a garage in FD Block.
Like him, 22-year-old Sumit Majumdar is a home-grown product, having joined the academy at the age of six.
Only Nishan Toppo lives closer. The reticent 19-year-old from Jalpaiguri, scouted during the RFDL, has been staying in the academy building since he joined a month ago.
Asked what separates them from the legacy clubs, Mohon Bairagi points not to infrastructure but to “players’ mentality”. He should know, having been selected for Mohun Bagan’s reserve side two years ago.
“We have to fight,” added Pritam Biswas, his expression betraying quiet resolve.
Most of the boys come from modest backgrounds and are no strangers to hardship. Samaresh Barman’s father works as a driver, while the youngster himself runs a chowmein stall in Uttarpara from 6pm to 11.30pm to supplement the family income. It is often past midnight before the 20-year-old gets to bed.
“Yet he has never been late for practice. This is the kind of dedication we look for,” said Bose.
The coaches take particular pride in nurturing players from the grassroots. “We believe in making heroes out of zeroes, not the other way around.”
With the World Cup around the corner, training sessions are expected to feature plenty of tournament discussions. Although some matches will be played in the morning, there is no television in the academy office. The coaches instead plan to share YouTube clips of key moments through their WhatsApp group.
Mention minister Mukherjee’s promise of support and the wish list quickly emerges. “An astroturf field would mean we don’t lose practice time during the monsoon,” said Bose. “And better food. Most of these boys come from impoverished backgrounds,” added Mondal.
There is hope of a gym coming up on the upper floor, with the MLA promising assistance in procuring equipment.
But the coaches are not sitting back in wait. “There is no end to what we can ask for. The challenge is to perform despite our limitations,” they said.
Yet there is one thing everyone wants above all else. “It would be wonderful to have people cheering for us when we play in Salt Lake,” said Sai Prakash. Other players and coaches around him nodded in agreement.
Write to saltlake@abp.in
