The Dacca football team was an Indian domestic football team that represented the city of

Dacca Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

and the eastern region of

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

in Indian state football competitions including the

Santosh Trophy The Santosh Trophy, officially known as Hero Senior Men's National Football Championship due to sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp, is a state-level football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under ...

. The team played in the

from 1944–45 season until 1945–46 season in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, before the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

History

Origins of Dacca football

The Dacca Sporting Association (DSA) was formed in 1895 as an apex body for the control of sports in

, and also played an important role in the spread of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

in eastern Bengal.IJCRT
7 July 2022 The players from eastern Bengal played for the

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

-based clubs that participated in the Calcutta Football League and the

-based clubs such as

Wari Club Wari Club Dhaka ( bn, ওয়ারী ক্লাব ঢাকা) is an association football club from Dhaka, Bangladesh. It currently competes in the Bangladesh Championship League (BCL). Wari Club is the oldest football club of Banglades ...

, which participated in the

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Act ...

tournaments such as IFA Shield,

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 ...

etc. The players also represented the Bengal football team or IFA XI representative sides which was administered by the IFA for

. DSA representative sides also played friendly matches against other Indian and British sides. One such notable moment came in 1937, when DSA secured a victory against a visiting British side in 1937. They defeated

Islington Corinthians The Islington Corinthians Football Club is a defunct English association football club. History Islington Corinthians was founded in 1932 by Tom Smith, to raise money for local charities. The club was part of the London Professional Mid Week ...

1–0, on 22 November 1937, with the goal scored by Pakhi Sen.

Provincial representation

The

AIFF Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices. The format was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic Arts' Interchange File ...

which was formed in 1937, then instituted the national football championship for inter-state football competition, which came to be known as the

. Dacca became the provincial member under Dacca Sporting Association in 1940. The team was slated to participate in the inaugural

in the 1941–42 season against Bengal football team, but withdrew. Bengal received a walkover as Dacca withdrew drew to communal riots, while the match was scheduled to be held in Dacca on 13 July.Dacca withdraws due to riots
Amrita Bazar Patrika, 7 July 1941 Dacca made its national debut in the Santosh Trophy in the 1944–45 season, when it played its first match but lost 2–0 against

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

.Bengal beat Dacca
Indian Express, 28 August 1944 In the 1945–46 season, it played against

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, but lost 3–0 in their last appearance at the national championships.

Successor

Following the independence and partition of India, the Dacca team became defunct as they could no longer participate in the national championships, as the region became a part of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

as the province of

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

(later

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

). The domestic league continued as Dhaka League from 1948. Eventually, players from Dacca would represent teams from

in the Pakistan National Football Championship. In 1961, after the National Championship was made division-based, Dacca Division would win the tournament in both 1961–62 and 1962. Eventually in 1971, Bangladesh became independent and the

Bangladesh national football team The Bangladesh national football team ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ফুটবল দল) is the national recognised football team of Bangladesh and is controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). It is a membe ...

played its first international match in 1973. In the same year, the Dhaka District football team would win the Bangladesh National Football Championship.

Squads

The Dacca squad for the

1945–46 Santosh Trophy The 1945–46 Santosh Trophy was the 3rd edition of the Santosh Trophy, the main State competition for football in India. It was held in Bombay. Bengal defeated Bombay 2-0 in the final.Football in Dhaka Santosh Trophy teams 1941 establishments in British India 1947 disestablishments in India