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<\/p>\nEast Bengal Football Club (founded on August 1, 1920), is forming a women\u2019s football team in its centenary year. The Indian Football Association (IFA) \u2013 the body that administers the sports in the state \u2013 wants some good, strong teams in women\u2019s football and had thus asked three major clubs in West Bengal to prepare their own women\u2019s teams.<\/p>\n
The first to have responded has been East Bengal \u2013 with renowned footballer Kuntala Ghosh Dastidar appointed as coach. She has been captain of the Indian national women\u2019s football team and represented the country in international competitions.<\/p>\n
The trial and selection procedure was conducted over the past few days \u2013 with over 150 women participating. On Wednesday, 25 are scheduled to be finalised. The women have come to Kolkata from some of the remotest areas of the state.<\/p>\n
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And all this is to prepare for the Calcutta Women\u2019s League \u2013 a state-level women\u2019s football league \u2013 that will take place in the third week of December every year with about 25 teams participating every year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very encouraging for women footballers if the big clubs come forward to have their own women\u2019s teams. I hope in future, more and more women will be interested in playing football too,\u201d said Kuntala Ghosh Dastidar.<\/p>\n
According to East Bengal secretary Raja Guha, \u201cEarlier too, we had a women\u2019s football team that had participated in the league. After a gap of several years, we are putting together a team again. I hope things will be even better in future.\u201d<\/p>\n
But even as East Bengal has been forming its women\u2019s football team, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting Club have not shown enthusiasm so far. Officials of both teams say that lack of funds is the main issue, as there are no \u201cbig sponsors\u201d for either of the two clubs. Thus, neither Mohun Bagan, nor Mohammedan SC has any plan to launch women\u2019s football teams as of now.<\/p>\n
However, the IFA authorities \u2013 that are the organisers of the Calcutta Women\u2019s League \u2013 are still hopeful that both big clubs that are big names in men\u2019s football and among the oldest in the country might change their position on this and participate in the Calcutta Women\u2019s League that starts from the third week of December.<\/p>\n
As of now, the participants are Dipti Sangha, Sribhumi Sporting Club, Kolkata Police, West Bengal Police, SSB Battalion, Chandni Sporting, Maitri Samsad, Manik Football Coaching, among others. It is to be seen whether the enthusiasm around women\u2019s football league increases due to the participation of the big clubs \u2013 at least one major club, East Bengal, for now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
East Bengal will be among 25 teams to participate in the Calcutta Women\u2019s League.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":6988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,21],"tags":[],"adace-sponsor":[],"class_list":["post-6987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-bengal","category-gender"],"yoast_head":"\n