East Bengal FC

East Bengal Football Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (Bengali pronunciation: [ˈi:st ˌbenˈɡɔːl]), is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of the Indian football league system. It is one of the most successful football clubs in the country. It is the men's football division of East Bengal Club. The club has other departments for women's football, men's and women's cricket, field hockey, athletics and eSports.

Founded in August 1920, the club became affiliated with the Indian Football Association in 1922 and initially played in the Calcutta Football League Second Division before earning promotion to the First Division in 1924. East Bengal won its first First Division league title in 1942 and has since won it a record 39 times with generous help from different quarters. The club was a founding member of the National Football League, the first nation-wide football league in India in 1996, which it has won three times since. They have also won eight Federation Cups, three Super Cups, a record 29 IFA Shield, the Kuladakanta Shield and MLA Cup titles, and 16 Durand Cup titles, making the club one of the most decorated in Indian football. On 28 January 2024, they defeated the defending champions Odisha 3–2 in the Kalinga Super Cup final to win their first title in 12 years. As the winners, East Bengal qualified for the 2024–25 AFC Champions League 2 preliminary stage.

East Bengal is one of the most widely supported football clubs in the world. The club is mainly supported by the immigrant population from the eastern region of Bengal in British India, who were forced to leave their homes (modern-day Bangladesh) amid violent riots during the partition of 1947. For those people, East Bengal became a source of identity and hope. The huge influx of dispossessed into the state led to a socio-economic crisis. This led to rivalries among the immigrant and native population of West Bengal, popularly named as Bangal in every sphere of life, from jobs to schools and even on football pitches. As a result, East Bengal has a long-standing rivalry with its cross-town competitors Mohun Bagan , which is mainly supported by the native population, popularly known as Ghoti, against whom it competes in the Kolkata derby, Asia's biggest football rivalry. East Bengal also shares a local rivalry with another Kolkata club, Mohammedan SC. The club dons the iconic red and golden yellow colors.