On Diamond Harbour’s rise and journey to becoming Indian football’s fourth giant

Barely three years into its existence, Diamond Harbour FC seems to have achieved a lot. In a city that is generally preoccupied with the legacy of its big three clubs — Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting — Diamond Harbour FC is fast emerging as the fourth alternative in Kolkata’s rich footballing heritage. Recording its birth on the Bengali New Year’s Day on April 15, 2022, the club made a quick transition to the top division of the Calcutta Football League before turning its aspirations to achieving a national footprint.

That happened midway through April this year when it clinched the I-League 2 crown to secure a berth in next year’s I-League, a milestone that very few clubs have been able to achieve in such a short span of time. The club is already eyeing a spot in the country’s top league, the Indian Super League, which now remains just a step away. A title in the I-League will propel it to the constellation of the elites of Indian football (if the AIFF continues to follow the AFC roadmap).

That is currently the objective towards which the club is working. “Within a couple of years, we hope to qualify for the Premier A or B (of the Calcutta Football League). We are confident of reaching greater heights within four-five years. If needed, we will also make a foray into ISL,” is the message of its chief patron Abhishek Banerjee that greets the visitor venturing into the club’s website. Those words were spoken during the club’s inauguration by Abhishek, who is the national general secretary of Trinamool Congress and the ‘inspiration’ behind the club’s foundation.

“The Diamond Harbour MP Cup football tournament was started in 2017 by our Chief Patron, who is very fond of the game. It became an overnight success and brought all the people in Diamond Harbour together as one in support of the sport. After seeing this love and passion for football, Mr Banerjee had this vision of forming a football club for everyone of this region. Due to the pandemic this plan was delayed by a few years, but in 2022, once everything was normalised, our club came into existence to address the aspirations of the youth of Diamond Harbour, the constituency which has elected him as the Member of Parliament,” says Akash Banerjee, DHFC vice-president and the man responsible for the running of the club.

Gaining levels: Sustaining the momentum will be the biggest challenge for the club when it embarks on the more difficult job of excelling in the I-League.
| Photo Credit:
DHFC Media

There might be a political undertone in the club’s genesis owing to the involvement of a leading politician from the state, but the team is for everyone irrespective of regional, religious or political affiliations, insists the secretary of the club, Manas Bhattacharya. The former India international and Mohun Bagan midfield icon, Bhattacharya has been drafted in to provide the knowledge base that comes with his long association with football at the highest level. “The club was conceived with the idea of providing the right platform for excellence to the young players from within and outside the state. Everything was done with an open mind in order to facilitate the improvement of the infrastructure in the state. There was no scope for any narrowness that would bring political, religious or regional affiliations into consideration,” says Bhattacharya while explaining the ethos behind the club’s foundation.

The club’s rapid rise is the result of a professional approach in the management of its affairs. “Every aspect of the club management is in the hands of professionals. This can be gauged from the decision of having a highly successful Kibu Vicuna as the head coach. The Spanish coach has a good understanding of Indian football, as he had secured the I-League title for Mohun Bagan barely a couple of years ago,” Bhattacharya said.

“The team started performing quite well from the very start as we reached the top tier of the local league (CFL Premier Division) after finishing second in the First Division, where we started our journey. Next, we did well in the I-League 3 and took a step further in becoming the I-League 2 champion while remaining unbeaten in the whole tournament,” he added.

A football club requires a dedicated fan base to ensure its survival, and Diamond Harbour FC is already garnering a lot of support among the population in the port town on the southern fringes of the state from which the club draws its name. “The legacy clubs like East Bengal or Mohun Bagan have a huge support base due to their presence for over a century. We are working with around three hundred clubs in the Diamond Harbour region to build a lasting impact in the hearts of our fans at home. And now, by winning championships, we are hopeful of garnering support from all parts of West Bengal,” Akash says.

Winds of change: Head coach Kibu Vicuna has had a transformative impact on the team.
| Photo Credit:
DHFC Media

Sustaining the momentum will be the biggest challenge when it embarks on the more difficult job of excelling in the I-League. “This is our fourth season in football. In the past three seasons we have performed really well with a very high success rate. Now the competition gets really tough, as you have to play on different surfaces and in varying weather conditions against opponents who are quite capable. The challenge will be bigger but we are preparing for that,” says Vicuna while assessing his team’s prospects. “It is important for us now to prepare a proper game model by getting the right balance in the side between the foreign and Indian players,” he added.

Vicuna says the experience of helping Mohun Bagan to the I-League title will definitely count, but this is a new assignment offering new challenges. “We are a very exciting side and we will try to play the right version of football to get good results, much like the way we have done so far,” he said.

Climbing the success ladder means a rising level of investment in terms of money and resources. In a situation where the legacy clubs like East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting are struggling to draw enough funds to create a competitive side according to the demands of the ISL, how does DHFC plan to stand up to this challenge?

“Most of our sponsors have been supporting us since the formation of the club. We are thankful to each and every one of them. Also, the club’s success has brought in many more names who are ready to support us. We are currently focused on the current calendar year, but when the time comes, we are confident that our sponsors will support us in a bigger way once we are able to qualify for the Indian Super League,” Akash is hopeful about DHFC’s great future.