Wikipedia

Wari AC

Wari Athletic Club (Bengali: ওয়ারী অ্যাথলেটিক ক্লাব) is a professional multi-sports club based in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal.[2][3] It currently competes in the Premier division of the Calcutta Football League.[4]

Wari
Full nameWari Athletic Club
Founded1898; 126 years ago (1898)
(as Wari Club)
1949; 75 years ago (1949)
(as Wari Athletic Club)[1]
GroundVarious
ChairmanIndranath Paul
LeagueCFL Premier Division

Wari formerly competed in the CFL First Division, second tier of the Calcutta Football League system.[5][6]

The club was established in 1898 as Wari Club in Dacca, East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh).[7] Following the partition of India, Calcutta-based members of the club shifted a branch in the city,[1][8] and it continues to participate in state tournaments conducted by the Indian Football Association.

History

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Formation and journey in Dacca

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When the Wellington Club was discontinued, a few of its sports-loving members in 1898 went on to form the Wari Club at Dacca and thus was established the oldest club in Dhaka.[9][7] Zamindar Rai Bahadur Surendranath Roy played a key role in the formation of the club.[10][7] The first success came in 1910 at Cooch Behar, when Wari defeated the British Kings' House club at a tournament.[7] After gaining popularity, the club in 1930, found their playing field at Paltan ground in Dacca. They also had moderate success in the prestigious IFA Shield tournament until 1945.[7]

From 1931, Wari also expanded to other sports like cricket, hockey, tennis, volleyball, table tennis and indoor games.

Later years after partition in Calcutta

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Wari AC co-founder and then DSA captain Pakhi Sen (on right) and Islington Corinthas captain P Clark shake hand just before the match in 1937

Following the partition of India, while the main Wari club remained in Dacca, a branch of the club shifted its operations as Wari Athletic Club in Calcutta by 1949.[11] The founders of the club, Bhupendra Mohan Sengupta, also known as Pakhi Sen,[12] (played for East Bengal in 1939 and Dacca XI in 1937), Tejes Bagha Shome and Dinesh Dutta were all members of the Dacca Wari Club before the Partition. Through the initiative of the AIFF official Pankaj Gupta, they were inducted into Calcutta Football League third division by 1949. By 1952, they got promoted to First Division[13] and even reached the semi-finals of 1953 IFA Shield. The next year in 1954, Wari AC finished as runners up in the Calcutta Football League.[1] The club achieved fame when they defeated East Bengal 1–0 in the CFL in 1978, which prevented the "red and gold brigade" from retaining the title it won seven times between 1970 and 1977.[14] 1984 season was disastrous for the club as they finished in bottom of the league table consisting of twenty seven teams,[15] and was relegated to third division.[16] In 2003, Wari appointed legendary Iranian-Indian footballer Jamshid Nassiri as its technical director.[17]

After getting promotion from the CFL First Division (third tier) in 2019, the club on 28 July 2022, unveiled their new jerseys and announced new sponsors Maco Chicken and Hotel Royal Bengal, ahead of the CFL Premier Division B kickoff.[18] Wari got relegated to the third tier again in 2022 Premier B season with sixteen points in fourteen matches.[19]

In June 2023, the IFA announced that they have merged both Premier Division A and B of the Calcutta Football League ahead of its 125th edition, in which Wari was included in Group II.[20][21][22][23]

Other departments

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Field hockey

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Wari AC has its field hockey division, which is active since its foundation.[24] Affiliated with the Bengal Hockey Association (BHA),[25] the team previously competed in Beighton Cup, which is one of world's oldest field hockey tournaments.[26][27][28][29]

Men's cricket

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Wari AC has a men's cricket section.[30][31] It is affiliated with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), which is the governing body of cricket in West Bengal.[32][33] Based at Tent Maidan, in Mayo Road of Kolkata,[34][32] the club primarily participates in tournaments conducted by CAB, including First Division League, J.C. Mukherjee T-20 Trophy, A. N. Ghosh Memorial Trophy, CAB One Day League and P. Sen Trophy.[35][36]

Women's cricket

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Wari operates women's cricket teams, and takes part in CAB Women's Club T20 League annually.[37]

Club overview

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Club tent

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Wari AC's club tent is situated on Mayo road in West-Coast Paper Maidan in Kolkata Maidan area near Esplanade. In the morning on 1 April 2019, the club tent went up in flame after a fire broke out due to short circuit.[38][39] Four fire engines rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control when damage was done. In April 2022, new club tent was unveiled after a three-year long restoration works.[40][41]

Jersey

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Wari AC is among the few clubs playing in CFL whose club name on their official jersey is written in Bengali, compared to most clubs whose name is usually written in English.[42]

Notable players

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The club is known for bringing up talents in Kolkata football. Players like Tushar Rakshit, Ashim Shome, Tapas Shome, Nimai Goswami, Santo Mitra began their playing career in Wari.[14] Legendary goalkeeper Pradyut Barman started his playing career with the club in 1957.[43] Bhabani Ray was one of the earliest known stars of the club who later went on to represent India at the 1970 Asian Games.[39][44] Parimal Dey played for Wari from 1961 to 1963, when Bhaga Som was coach.[45][46] Samaresh Chowdhury appeared from 1967 to 1969.[43][47] Pritam Kotal, who represented India at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, played for Wari until 2010.[48]

Honours

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Association football

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League
Cup

Cricket

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  • CAB Women's T-20 League
    • Champions (1): 2023–24[52]

See also

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References

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Cited sources

  1. ^ a b c d Ghosh, Dwaipayan (2 April 2019). "A slice of sporting history goes up in flames at Maidan". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Kolkata: The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  2. ^ Morrison, Neil (26 January 2022). "India 1959 – List of Champions: Calcutta League". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022.
  3. ^ "India — Wari Athletic Club — Results, fixtures, squad, statistics, photos, videos". int.soccerway.com. Soccerway. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  4. ^ "উত্তম, রিকির হ‍্যাটট্রিক, সিএফসির ৮ গোল, জিতল কালীঘাট, পাঠচক্র" [Hat-trick done by Uttam and Ricky, CCFC scored 8 goals, wins for both Kalighat and Pathachakra]. insidesports.in (in Bengali). Kolkata: ইনসাইড স্পোর্টস. 14 August 2022. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
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  7. ^ a b c d e Report, TBS (30 September 2019). "Wari Club's glorious history tarnished by gambling". tbsnews.net. Kolkata: The Business Standard. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Kolkata's Wari Athletic club gutted in early morning fire". Daily Sun. 1 April 2019. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
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  10. ^ Kapadia, Novy (27 September 2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. pp. 77, 78. ISBN 9780143426417. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
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  24. ^ সংবাদ প্রতিদিন ডিজিটাল ডেস্ক (1 April 2019). "ভয়াবহ আগুনে পুড়ে ছাই ময়দানের শতাব্দী প্রাচীন ক্লাব" [Century-old club of Maidan burnt into ashes in a terrible fire]. sangbadpratidin.in (in Bengali). Kolkata: Sangbad Pratidin. Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  25. ^ Mills, Megan S. (2001). "A most remarkable community: Anglo-Indian contributions to sport in India". Contemporary South Asia. 10 (2). Routledge: 223–236. doi:10.1080/09584930120083828. S2CID 145742265. (Published online: "Routledge Contemporary South Asia"; 1 July 2010).
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  30. ^ "CRICKET ASSOCIATION OF BENGAL: WARI ATHLETIC CLUB — MEMBER — MATCHES — STATS". cricheroes.in. Cricheroes. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  31. ^ "IN THE CITY 06-01-2011 — Shreevats slams 201 Cricket meet Chirag win Horse show". telegraphindia.com. Kolkata: The Telegraph India. 6 January 2011. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
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  40. ^ "Wari Club: প্রাণ ফিরল 'ভস্মীভূত উয়াড়ি'র, অতীত ক্ষত ঢেকে পয়লার নতুন ভোর ঐতিহ্যবাহী ক্লাবের" [Life returned to the 'burnt-out Wari', the new dawn of the traditional club covering the wounds of the past]. www.thewall.in (in Bengali). Kolkata: The Wall Bureau. 15 April 2022. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  41. ^ "Wari Club : নববর্ষে পুনর্জন্ম উয়াড়ি অ্যাথলেটিক ক্লাবের" [Wari Club: Rebirth of Wari Athletic Club in New Year]. www.etvbharat.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: ETV Bharat Bengali. 16 April 2022. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  42. ^ "Calcutta Football League Premier B side Wari AC — Interview of Football Secretary Indranath Paul". kolkatafootball news. 3 July 2022. Event occurs at 01:45. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022 – via YouTube.
  43. ^ a b Das, G. C. (14 September 2008). "Indian Legendary Football Players Profile: GOALKEEPER PRADYUT BARMAN — PARIMAL DEY – SAMARESH CHOWDHURY". www.kolkatafootball.com. Kolkata Football. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
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  45. ^ "পরিমল দে প্রয়াত! চলে গেলেন ইস্টবেঙ্গলের শিল্ড ফাইনালের নায়ক, মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর শোকবার্তা" [Parimal Dey died! East Bengal's Shield Final hero passes away, Chief Minister's condolence message]. anandabazar.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Anandabazar Patrika. 1 February 2023. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  46. ^ "প্রাক্তন ফুটবলার কিংবদন্তী পরিমল দে প্রয়াত হলেন, ময়দানে শোকের ছায়া" [Former football legend Parimal Dey passed away, mourning from the ground]. bangla.aajtak.in (in Bengali). Kolkata: Aaj Tak Bangla. 1 February 2023. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  47. ^ Chaudhuri, Samareh (2 August 2020). "'ভয় পামু ক্যান, চল গোল দিয়া আসি'" ["Can't we be afraid, let's come with goals"]. anandabazar.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Anandabazar Patrika. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  48. ^ "Indian football: Pritam Kotal — Versatility is very important for a defender". Goal.com. Goal. 3 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  49. ^ Morrison, Neil (2 March 2017). "India 1949 – List of Champions: Calcutta League". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022.
  50. ^ Schöggl, Hans (2014). "India — List of Trades Cup Winners". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  51. ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava (2005). ""Khadims" Traders Cup 2005: from 1. upto 18. July 2005 across West Bengal". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  52. ^ Scroll down to read the news about Wari AC, when the page opens: "চ্যাম্পিয়ন উয়াড়ি" [Wari emerge champions]. anandabazar.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Anandabazar Patrika. 21 May 2024. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.

Bibliography

Further reading

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