){kind=logo} | |
| Organising body | Indian Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1898 |
| Country |  India |
| Divisions | 7 |
| Number of teams | 14 (Premier Division A) 160 (Clubs and Units) |
| Promotion to | ){kind=icon} I-League 2nd Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | IFA Shield All Airlines Gold Cup |
| Current champions | Peerless SC (1st title) (2019–20) |
| Most championships | East Bengal (39 titles) |
| TV partners | Sadhna News (live matches) Addatimes (online streaming) |
| Current: 2019–20 Calcutta Premier Division | |
The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a men's professional football league in West Bengal, India. For sponsorship reasons, the league is officially known as the Officer's Choice Blue Calcutta Premier League, which is the top football league in the state alongside the oldest football league in Asia. It has a league system where several football clubs of the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) participate. It currently consists of a seven-tier pyramid system.[1]
Indian Football Association (IFA) conducts the CFL with 157 mostly Kolkata based clubs and units. Started in 1898, this league is the oldest football league in Asia and regarded as one of the oldest football competitions in the world.[1] There are about 8,500 directly registered players of IFA who participate in CFL.
Division structure
With the season starting 2015, the clubs were redistributed in to these six divisions:[1]
- Premier Division
- Premier Division A
- Premier Division B
- First Division
- Second Division
- Third Division
- Fourth Division
- Fifth Division:
- Fifth Division Group A
- Fifth Division Group B (Age Group: 13+ to U-16)
Usually in each division, the 10-team league plays a single leg, in which all teams played against each other. Then in the second leg, the league is divided into a top and bottom half. The top 5 teams played for the title while the bottom 5 played against each other to avoid relegation to a lower division. The most successful clubs participating in the top-tier of the league includes East Bengal Club, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting Club. However, since 1982, the league has been won by either East Bengal or Mohun Bagan until 2019 when Peerless SC made history by winning their maiden league title and becoming the first team outside the Kolkata's Big Three to win the league after a gap of 61 years. [2]
Prize Money
As updated on 28 July 2019.
| Purse | |
|---|---|
| Champions | ₹ 10 Lakh |
| 1st Runners-up | ₹ 5 Lakh |
| 2nd Runner-up | ₹ 25 Thousand |
| Matchday Subsidy | ₹ 5 Thousand |
| Match winner | ₹ 5 Thousand |
| Man of the Match | ₹ 5 Thousand |
Sponsorship
League Title Sponsor
| Period | Sponsor | Industry | Tournament Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1898–2004 | No Sponsor | Calcutta Football League | |
| 2005–2014 | Sahara.jpg')){kind=logo} | Conglomerate | Sahara Calcutta Premier League |
| 2015–Present | Officer's Choice Blue | Beverage | Officer's Choice Blue Calcutta Premier League |
Other sponsors
Shyam Steel - Referee jersey sponsor- Khadim India - Prize money sponsor
- Cosco - Ball Sponsor
- Vicky transform - Kits Sponsor
Media Coverage
| Period | TV Channel |
|---|---|
| 1898–2004 | No Telecast |
| 2005 | |
| 2006 | |
| 2007 | |
| 2008 | ABP Ananda |
| 2009-11 | News Time |
| 2012 | |
| 2013-15 | Jalsha Movies |
| 2016 | ){kind=logo} News18 Bangla |
| 2017 | |
| 2018–present | Sadhna News |
List of winners
The list only contains the names of the teams that have won the highest division of the league system.[3]
| Club | Titles | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| East Bengal | 39 | 1942, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1961, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Mohun Bagan | 30 | 1939, 1943, 1944, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2018 |
| Mohammedan SC | 11 | 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1948, 1957, 1967, 1981 |
| Calcutta F.C. | 8 | 1899, 1907, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1925 |
| Dalhousie A.C. | 4 | 1910, 1921, 1928, 1929 |
| Durham Light Infantry | 3 | 1931, 1932, 1933 |
| Black Watch | 2 | 1912, 1913 |
| Gordon Light Infantry FC | 1908, 1909 | |
| King's Regiment | 1904, 1905 | |
| N Staffordshire Regiment | 1926, 1927 | |
| Royal Irish Rifles | 1900, 1901 | |
| Peerless SC | 1 | 2019 |
| Scottish Borderers | 1902 | |
| Eastern Railway F.C. | 1958 | |
| 10th Middlesex Regiment | 1915 | |
| 12th Special Service Battalion | 1919 | |
| 70th Company RGA | 1911 | |
| 91st Highlanders | 1914 | |
| 93rd Highlanders | 1903 | |
| Cameron Highlanders | 1924 | |
| Gloucestershire Regiment | 1898 | |
| Highlander Light Infantry | 1906 | |
| Lincolnshire Regiment | 1917 |
See also
- Kerala Premier League
- Mizoram Premier League
- Goa Professional League
- Bangalore Super Division
- DSA Senior Division
References
- ^ a b c "Calcutta Football League". IFA. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ "ifawb.com". www.ifawb.com.
- ^ "List of Calcutta Football League Champions". IFA. Retrieved 8 February 2021.