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The Calcutta Cricket & Football Club (CC&FC) (formally named as Calcutta Cricket Club) is a
multisports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
based in
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commerc ...
,
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
, India. Founded in 1792 as a
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
institution, the
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...
and rugby sections were added when it merged with Calcutta FC ( oldest association football club in Asia, founded in 1872) in 1965. Founded as one of the earliest European clubs in
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commerc ...
,
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, Calcutta FC introduced rugby in the country. They later started playing association football and have enjoyed rivalry with fully indigenous clubs, primarily
Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...
. Sports currently practised at the CC&FC include: cricket, football,
field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting c ...
, rugby,
cycle polo Cycle polo, bicycle polo, or bike polo (''polo-vélo'' in French; ''Radpolo'' in German) is a team sport, similar to traditional polo, except that bicycles are used instead of horses. There are two versions of the sport: grass and Hardcourt Bike ...
and
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
. The football team currently competes in the Premier Division B of the
Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is off ...
, conducted by the
Indian Football Association The Indian Football Association, abbreviated as IFA, is the organisation that administers association football in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the oldest Football Association in India and was founded in 1893. Among the founders was form ...
(IFA). The club's cricket and football teams participates in their respective divisions as "Calcutta Cricket Club" for cricket and "Calcutta Football Club" for football. Their hockey and rugby teams participates under the combined name of "Calcutta Cricket and Football Club", with the hockey team also known as ''CCFC Gremlins''.


History

The Club was founded as the "Calcutta Cricket Club Clippers" by
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
expatriates An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
who had come over with the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
. Have been in existence since 1792, it is the second oldest cricket club in the world after
Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influen ...
. On 23 February 1792, '' Madras Courier'' reported the schedule of match between Calcutta Cricket Club and a team from
Barrackpore Barrackpore (also known as Barrackpur) is a city and a municipality of urban Kolkata of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) ...
, and the news was later highlighted by Irwin Rosenwater on '' The London Times''. During its first years of existence, the Calcutta Cricket Club played its home games near river Hooghly but it was not until 1841 when the institution got land to establish its venue. In 1889–90, the club came into limelight when Marylebone Cricket Club came to play in Calcutta by responding to the club's invitation, which was the first visit of a foreign team to play cricket in India. It was later merged with the Calcutta Football Club (incorporated in 1872, where both footballs — rugby and
association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal * Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associati ...
were practised) and the Ballygunge Cricket Club over the years to become the "Calcutta Cricket and Football Club" in 1965. Run by the British, Calcutta Football Club was once one of the leading football teams and had a great rivalry specially with
Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...
. The team for the first time was defeated by Mohun Bagan in 1923 in the return leg of CFL, but managed to clinch both the league and
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield tou ...
titles in that season. Other rivals of the club were Mohammedan Sporting,
Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
and Dalhousie. Calcutta FC won the prestigious
Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is off ...
(CFL) eight times,List of champions of the Calcutta Football League 1898–2007
''www.indianfootball.de''. Retrieved 10 March 2021
and the
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield tou ...
nine times before merging to the Calcutta Cricket Club.


Home ground

There was absence of permanent venue for the club. They used grounds in
Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...
, parallel with the river Hooghly, between Fort William and Government House. In 1825, 'Sketch of the Maidan' was done by the club, and in 1841, they were allowed to enclose the ground. The club later used Auckland Circus Gardens. The club later played its home games at the Calcutta FC ground in Kolkata Maidan, now known as Mohun Bagan Ground. It was used as venue of the
1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
edition of Quadrangular Series.


Notable members

A large number of notable athletes are associated with the club, including: * Football:
Chuni Goswami Subimal "Chuni" Goswami (15 January 1938 – 30 April 2020) was an Indian professional footballer and first-class cricketer. As footballer, he played as a striker or winger, captained both the Mohun Bagan club and the Indian national te ...
, Subhas Bhowmick, S. Bhattacharjee, Pradip Choudhury, P. Ganguly, Santo Mitra, Shyam Thapa, Kiyan Nassiri. * Hockey: Keshav Chandra Datt, Gurbux Singh, Dr. Vece Paes, Anand Mandapaka. * Cricket: Punya B. Datta, Ashok Gandotra Devang Gandhi,
Sourav Ganguly Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (; natively spelled as Gangopadhyay; born 8 July 1972), affectionately known as Dada (meaning ''"elder brother"'' in Bengali), is an Indian cricket administrator, commentator and former national cricket team captain ...
, Saba Karim,
Arun Lal Arun Lal (; born 1 August 1955) is a retired Indian cricketer, and a cricket commentator. He played for India, as a right-handed batsman, between 1982 and 1989 was a gritty player though it didn't reflect in his batting average of 26.03. His ...
, Pranab Roy, Biswajit Bhowmick. * Tennis: Chiradip Mukerjea, Enrico Piperno,
Leander Paes Leander Adrian Paes ( ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian former professional tennis player. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players ever. He holds the record for the most doubles wins in the Davis Cup. Paes won eight men' ...
.


Honours


Football


As Calcutta FC

*
Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is off ...
**Champions (8): 1899, 1907, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1925 *
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield tou ...
**Champions (9): 1896, 1900, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1915, 1922, 1923, 1924 **Runners-up (8): 1905, 1907, 1910, 1914, 1916, 1919, 1921, 1936 *
Trades Cup The Trades Cup (also known as the Trades Challenge Cup or IFA Trades Challenge Cup) is an Indian football tournament held in Kolkata and organised by Indian Football Association. Incorporated in 1889, it is the second oldest football tournament i ...
**Champions (1): 2004 * Minto Fort Cup **Runners-up (1): 1906


Hockey


''As Calcutta FC''

*
Beighton Cup Beighton Cup is a field hockey tournament organized by Hockey Bengal (formerly the Bengal Hockey Association). Instituted in 1895, it is one of the oldest field hockey tournaments in the world and is held every year at Kolkata. History Aristocr ...
**Champions (1): 1924 **Runners-up (1): 1919


See also

* History of Cricket in India * Football in Kolkata * History of Indian football * List of football clubs in India


Notes


Further reading

* * * *Dutta, P. L., ''Memoir of 'Father of Indian Football' Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary'' (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1944) (hereafter Memoir) * * *Ghosh, Saurindra Kumar. ''Krira Samrat Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary 1869–1940'' (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1963) (hereafter Krira Samrat). *Roselli, John. ''Self Image of Effeteness: Physical Education and Nationalism in Nineteenth Century Bengal''.
Past & Present (journal) ''Past & Present'' is a British historical academic journal, which has been a leading force in the development of social history. Founded in 1952, the journal is published four times a year by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Past and Pres ...
. 86 (February 1980). p. 121–48. *Sinha, Mrinalini. ''Colonial Masculinity, The Manly Englishman and the Effeminate Bengali in the Late Nineteenth Century'' (
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
:
Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with t ...
, 1995). *Chatterjee, Partha. ''The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Post-colonial Histories'' (Calcutta:
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1995). *Mason, ''Football on the Maidan'', p. 144; Dimeo, ''Football and Politics in Bengal'', p. 62. * * * *
''From recreation to competition: Early history of Indian football''
. pp. 124–141. Published online: 6 Aug 2006. ''www.tandfonline.com''. Retrieved 30 June 2021. * * * *


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control Cricket in Kolkata Indian club cricket teams Sports clubs established in the 1790s Rugby union in India Football clubs in Kolkata Sports clubs in India Multi-sport clubs in India Indian field hockey clubs Indian rugby union teams Defunct cricket grounds in India 1792 establishments in India