History

The soccer history of India is replete with the tales of “The Big Three” Clubs of Calcutta, or rather of India. These three Clubs are Mohun Bagan AC, Mohammedan Sporting Club and East Bengal. Of these three Clubs, Mohun Bagan earned the distinction of being the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield by defeating an English football team, the East York Regiment by 2-1 in 1911. No doubt, a very laudable achievement and at least this victory provided the Indian people something to cheer about.But the joy proved to be ephemeral. The cheer died down very soon and the Indian nationalists relapsed into slumber. After about two decades, a new specter arose and began to haunt the British in the sports arena and haunted them continuously for about eight years from 1934 to 1941 (if we take into accounts the B.F.A League Championship of Mohammedan Sporting in 1939). That specter was that of Mohammedan Sporting Club which created a history by becoming the First Indian Club to win the Calcutta Football League continuously for 5 yrs from 1934 to 1938.

Then again the team won in 1940 and 1941 with the IFA Shield Championship. It was also the first to smash the monopoly of the British regimental football teams in 1941 in the Durand Cup, the oldest football tournament in India. The club became the only Second Indian Football team after Bangalore Muslim Club to win the Rover’s Cup (Bombay) in 1940. It became the first Indian team to win the Du Mont Morency Cup (Lahore) in 1939.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Mohammedan Sporting Club, founded in 1892, is one of the leading football clubs of Kolkata, along with East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan AC. They play currently in the second division in National Football League (India). Their home ground in NFL is The Salt Lake Stadium. They play Calcutta Super Division on their own ground - Mohammedan Sporting Ground, Kolkata which has a capacity to seat 15,000 persons. They are one of the most favorite football club in India. Recently they have faced a dearth of quality players and lack of money, which combined to affect their performance in domestic tournaments. In the elite division of the national league last year, the club was the top team till mid-way, but lost way and barely survived relegation.

Mohammedan Sporting has Reebok supplying the players' kit. The club has bagged a sponsorship deal with Anil Ambani's Reliance group. This deal is a big achievement for the club as it will allow them to get better foreign players and also provide other players with better facilities. Mohammedan SC are also known to their fans as The Black Panthers and in Hindi as “Kaale Tenduye “. Some fans also call them "Men in Black" based on the Indian Cricket team nicknamed "Men in Blue". They usually use the formation 4-4-2.

The Coach Mr. Shabbir Ali, is Ex-India Captain and also Ex-Technical Director, Indian Football Team.

Full name :	Mohammedan Sporting Club
Nickname(s) :	Black Panthers (Kaale Tenduye), MIB
Founded :	1891
Ground :	Mohammedan Sporting Ground Capacity 15,000)
Chairman :	M.J. Akbar
Coach :	Shabbir Ali
League :	NFL India

Honours