The CFL is divided into CFL Premier Division, CFL 1st Division, CFL 2nd Division, CFL 3rd Division, CFL 4th Division, CFL 5th Division A, and CFL 5th Division B with promotion and relegation between them.[4][5]CFL has more than 160 mostly Kolkata-based clubs and units. Started in 1898, this league is the oldest football league in Asia and one of the oldest football competitions in the world.[6][7] CFL currently consists of a seven-tier pyramid system,[6] with more than 8,500 directly registered players of IFA participating in CFL every year, making it one of the biggest leagues in the country.
History
Early years (1890s–1910s)
In 1898, IFA introduced a two-tiered football league in Calcutta on the lines of English Football League in England and Wales.[5] Until 1937, CFL was a major tournament with participation open to every team across the nation but after the establishment of AIFF, CFL became a regional competition.
The British Indian Armygarrison stationed at Fort William played an instrumental role in shaping the Calcutta Football League by putting forth numerous teams alongside other European settlers.[8] The Army teams won all but twelve of the titles until 1933. On eight of those twelve occasions the title was claimed by Calcutta and the rest by Dalhousie. Native teams were barred from participating for the first 15 seasons, and only clubs designated for civil servants, merchants, missionaries and other European nationalities made up the rest of the league, in a clearly designed exercise to exclude Indians of any religion.[9]
In 1914, IFA permitted only two native clubs, Mohun Bagan and Aryan, in the Second Division of CFL. Mohun Bagan had a successful campaign and earned promotion to the Premier Division in their debut season, whereas Aryan was promoted to the top division two years later. From 1917 to 1920, the Second Division was won by two other native clubs, namely Kumortuli Club (in 1917, 1918 and 1919) and Town Club (in 1920), but their promotions were denied due to the allowance of only two native clubs to play in each tier.[10][11]
Uprise of native dominance (1920s–1947)
1921 saw the rise of East Bengal who began their CFL journey in the Second Division in place of Tajhat Club who had withdrawn from the league. Three years later East Bengal finished the Second Division as the joint-winners with Cameroons B and since Cameroons A was in the Premier Division, East Bengal got the opportunity for promotion. As two native clubs were already playing in the Premier Division, East Bengal's promotion was to be rejected as well. At this, the club called for amendments and in the following General Meeting of IFA, the nine British teams conveyed their approval, while Mohun Bagan and Aryan opposed it. Eventually the rule regulating the promotion of native clubs was abolished by majority.[11]
Even though the native clubs got more opportunities yet the British dominance continued till 1933. In 1934, Mohammedan won the title in their debut season and became the first native club to win CFL.[12][13] The club went on to win the league six out of seven times from 1935 to 1941, with 1939 being the only exception when they did not participate and Mohun Bagan went away with their first league title that year.[10][14]
In the post-independence years, many other state leagues were introduced and various clubs from other states rose in glory, but CFL was still considered to be one of the top leagues in the nation and provided innumerable young talents. The league matches were mostly played in monsoon and matches involving the Big Three of Calcutta (Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan) regularly attracted more than 30,000 spectators.[10] From 1934 to 1981, Eastern Railway was the only club outside of the Big Three to win the title in 1958.[15][16]
The CFL had a long history of crowd trouble, and the burgeoning fanfare exacerbated it. The rapidly increasing off-the-field rivalry between the respective fans of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal saw one of the darkest days of Indian football when 16 fans lost their lives because of a stampede and rioting during a Kolkata Derby in CFL on 16 August 1980 in Eden Gardens. Since then the day is celebrated every year as the Football Lover's Day.[17][10]
Years of obscurity (1980s–2000s)
In the 80s and 90s, the league caught many eyes with the rivalry between the two of Indian football's finest tacticians— P.K. Banerjee and Amal Dutta, besides the decades old rivalry among the Big Three.[18][10]
Due to the rise in financial demands and steady modernisation of the sport, the league became dominated by the Big Three clubs as the smaller clubs struggled to keep up with their economy. The league saw the beginning of a major downfall with the introduction of NFL (now I-League). The importance of regional competitions decreased as all the top clubs in the state were racing for the national honours. From the later 20th century, Mohammedan eventually lost its stronghold and, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal became the only dominant teams in the league. In the new century, the IFA revamped the competition into a six-tier competition with the seventh tier, called the nursery league, reserved for sub-junior teams. The top tier, Premier Division, was also divided into two groups so as to include more teams.
Starting in 2010, East Bengal won a record eight consecutive titles until their arch-rivals Mohun Bagan broke the streak in 2018. In 2018, the league's popularity had a sudden upsurge and recorded more than 15,000 spectators even in matches involving small clubs. Most news reports in the local media reverberated the popular feeling— "The passion of the 70s is back." Small clubs like Peerless and George Telegraph introduced some of the foreign talents that later went on to become big names in the country.[10]
In 2019, Peerless clinched the honour and became the second team outside the Big Three after Eastern Railway to win the league since 1958.[19]
Since the independence of India, the CFL was never cancelled until 2020 when after a lengthy delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was decided to cancel the then CFL season.[20]
Structure
With the season starting from 2023, the clubs/units were redistributed among the first six divisions and the last division was reserved only for youth teams.[6]
Starting from 2023, 26 teams participate in the Premier Division, divided into two groups at the same pyramid level and compete in a single-leg round robin tournament.[21] The top three teams in each 13-team group will compete in a single-leg round robin tournament and the group leaders will be declared the champions. The top two teams, not already in the ISL or I-League are promoted to the I-League 3. The bottom three teams in each 13-team group also compete in a separate single-leg round robin tournament and the bottom four teams are relegated to the First Division.
Apart from the Premier Division A, most other divisions are competed by about 20 teams, and the format of the tournaments in the lower divisions isn't always the same. The top teams in respective divisions are promoted to the division higher to it and the bottom teams get relegated to the lower one.
The most successful clubs participating in the top-tier of the league includes East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan. However, since 1982, the league has been won by either East Bengal or Mohun Bagan until 2019 when Peerless made history by winning their maiden league title and becoming the first team outside the Kolkata's Big Three to win the league after a gap of 61 years since Eastern Railway had won.[22]
Format (2024): Twenty-six teams are divided into two groups in the first phase, where each plays twelve matches in round robin format. Top three teams from the two groups shall proceed to the championship round, where each play five more matches to determine the champion. The bottom two teams from both groups play the relegation round. Top two teams of Championship round are promoted into "CFL Premier Division", and last two teams of relegation round are relegated into "CFL 2nd Division".
Format (2024): Sixteen teams are playing single round robin league format. Top two teams are promoted into CFL 1st Division, and last two are relegated into CFL 3rd Division.
Format (2024): Thirty five teams are divided into four groups. Eight teams are promoted to CFL 4th Division and six teams are relegated to CFL 5th Division Group B.
Format (2024): Eighteen teams are divided in two groups of nine, with each team playing other in the group once. Top three teams of two groups proceed to the Super Six round. Top four teams are promoted in CFL 5th Division Group A.
^Andrew Flint (11 November 2015). "A Tale of One City: Kolkata". These Football Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
^"History by Decade". Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
^"Fare Hike and Urban Protest". Economic and Political Weekly: 7–8. 5 June 2015. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
