WB board to introduce Mohun Bagan-East Bengal in syllabus

Other historic Kolkata clubs like Mohammedan SC and Dalhousie FC will also be included.

The history of Kolkata football will now be taught in the West Bengal High Secondary Board’s syllabus going forward. A decision has been undertaken by the Sports Ministry to make the younger children more aware of the past contributions of the Indian Football Association (IFA) and also the legacy clubs in Kolkata.

Indeed, it has been decided that the history of Kolkata football’s biggest entities will be put into the syllabus of the West Bengal High Secondary board. This means that students above Class 10 will be able to learn about this in the Health and Physical Training education subject.

As part of this new addition, the history and contributions of the IFA will be highlighted. The West Bengal Football Federation is an iconic figurehead in Indian Football and is responsible for organizing tournaments like the IFA Shield and the Calcutta Football League since the post-Independence period.

On top of this, the history of clubs like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will also be taught as part of the new syllabus. Both the two legacy clubs have been dominating Indian football for over a century. A lot about these clubs, including their achievements, legendary players and contribution to local people is likely to be highlighted in the new syllabus.

Not just this, but it has also been decided that other historic Kolkata clubs like Mohammedan Sporting and Dalhousie FC will also be included for the High Secondary students to learn. There is a feeling that many of the new-age football fans are not aware of the historical impact of football in Kolkata or that deeply about the major clubs either. This is why a decision has been undertaken to change this by tweaking the Health and Physical Training subject’s syllabus.

The brother of the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Amit Banerjee, has played a driving role in bringing these changes. He spoke about his efforts to bring this change for quite a long time and how at least the history of the IFA and the CAB (Cricket Association of Bengal) should be taught in schools around the state. Moreover, he also claimed that it’d be better if the three major Kolkata clubs’ histories are also taught to the students.

For now, it remains to be seen how quickly these changes could be implemented. It normally takes a bit of time to change the syllabus of a subject, but there seems to be eagerness all over to ensure that the Higher Secondary children of the West Bengal board are taught about these football clubs and the history of West Bengal football as soon as possible.

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