EB celebrates its 100 years

Kolkata: The iconic football club East Bengal will officially kick off its centenary celebrations on its foundation day on Thursday with a glittering ceremony at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here.
To mark this day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wished all present and former players, officials and supporters of East Bengal club.
As part of its centenary celebrations getting underway from Thursday, the club will be awarding India’s first cricket World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev its highest honour, ”Bharat Gaurav”. Kapil is no stranger to football as he had donned the club’s colours in an exhibition match against Mohun Bagan in 1992.Stalwarts like Manoranjan Bhattacharya and Bhaskar Ganguly will be honoured with lifetime achievement awards.
There will also be special awards for two other iconic names, Bhaichung Bhutia and P.K.Banerjee, who contributed to the club’s fame as a player and coach respectively. Meanwhile, renowned filmmaker Goutam Ghose will soon start working on a documentary on East Bengal Football Club as a part of the club’s historic centenary celebrations. The documentary will highlight all the significant events in East Bengal’s 100-year old history which includes the huge achievements of the legendary Pancha Pandavas (Appa Rao, Ahmed Khan, P Venkatesh, PB Saleh, and Dhanraj) and the historic Asean Cup win in 2003.East Bengal Football Club was formed on August 1, 1920 as a Sports and Cultural association of people who primarily hailed from the eastern provinces of Bengal before partition.
The Club became an ardent epicenter for millions of people who were constantly questioned of their identity. This spirit of club laid foundation of its glorious legacy, where the support extended by the club was much akin to the bonding of an extended family. From then, every milestone of East Bengal Club became the symbol of celebration of its supporters.
‘The Hand holding Flame Torch’ became the club’s symbol and identity.East Bengal Club takes immense pride in the supporter base of approximately 3 Crores across the nation and the overseas, which is an aggregate number only second to the Manchester United. The club’s maiden League triumph was achieved in 1942. The club came into limelight and ultimately got the first flavor of the Calcutta I.F.A. Shield by winning in the year 1943. (UNI)