Football in Kalimpong

Introduction

Kalimpong is a town which is located in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. It’s a beautiful hill station perched at an altitude of about 4500 feet above msl. Its population comprises of predominantly Indian Nepali or the Gorkha community along with sizeable Marwari, Bengali, Bhutia and the Tibetian community.

History of football in Kalimpong

Football as a game was introduced to the locals by the Britishers in the latter part of the 18^th century. The missionaries were the first to play an organized form of football in Kalimpong according to some of the senior citizens.Satal Singh Trophy which was started in the year 1939 is said to be the oldest tournament of the town. Then in the 1947 after India gained its freedom, an Independence Shield was started. The league football named after Kaluram Mintri ( A well known and respected businessman of that time) was started in the 40’s.One more tournament called Sudama Shield was also played during this period..Then in 1954-55 Governor's Cup was started where only two teams Sikkim and the host Kalimpong participated and the latter emerged victories. The inaugural edition was more like and exhibition match. From the following year a proper tournament was played. Raja S.T. Dorjee Gold Cup was another tournament which was started in the late 60’s along with Kumar Jigme Dorjee Shield. But all this tournaments came to an abrupt halt during the Gorkhaland agitation of the 80’s.Post Agitation only one tournament was revived, the Independence Shield which attracts capacity crowds to the Mela Ground (The main football stadium of Kalimpong).Teams from the neighboring countries of Bhutan and Nepal along with other good teams from within the country come and participate in this tournament.Shahid Cup is another tournament which came into existence after the Gorkhaland agitation. This tournament is held annually during the month of July. As the name indicates the tournament is held to honor the martyrs who sacrified their lives for the sake of Gorkhaland during the agitation. To sum up Kalimpong has 3 main tournaments in the present time- The Independence,Shahid Cup and the Kalimpong League.

Kalimpong League

Till last year there was only one division in the league but from this year its has been divided into three divisions. The Super Divison,1^st Division and the Mini Division.

Super Division

Six teams play in this divison.In a round robin format.2 teams gets relegated to 1^st divison and and 2 teams are promoted.

1^st Division

This divison comprises of 17 teams. Mostly school teams along with some club sides.

Mini Division

In this division only the schools students who are currently studying in class VIII and below are allowed to participate. There are some more interesting criteria for players to qualify in this category. The outfield  players should be 95 points and below and the goalkeeper has to be 104 points and below (one kg equals to 1 point, 1 cm = 1 point)

All the tournaments in Kalimpong is organized by the Kalimpong Sports Association (Estd, 1947).The Association believes that by having this 3 tier system, young footballers will get introduced to competitive game at an early age and will help them in the long run as they will be playing against some established players in the league.The Association also runs a non-residential football Academy called the Kalimpong Football Academy.

International players from Kalimpong

-Jerry Basi

-Lt Pem Dorji- captained India

-L.B. Basnet (Services)

-Lt Ravilal Lama (Gorkha Regiment)

-R.B. Gurung (Gorkha Regiment)

-Bikash and Vijay (Services)

Major teams during the 1930’s were

-Young man Christian Club

-St Andrews Colonial Homes (Dr Graham’s Homes)

-Industrial School

-Scottish University Mission Institution (S.U.M.I)

Major teams in the 40’s and 50’s

-Reat Raft

-Ex Army

-S.U.M.I.

-Motor Sporting Merchant

-Friends Union Club

-D.N.S.K.H.S

-Himalayan Sporting Industrial

School Football in Kalimpong

All the schools of the town have very decent teams and have brought back lots of laurels to Kalimpong.One school namely the Scottish University Mission Institution has a rich tradition with regards to football. This schools impact is such that, if you see a good footballer in Kalimpong you can bet you life that 9 out of 10 times the player is sure to be a student of S.U.M.I.The school has represented the town in the D.C. Memorial Cup and won it 3 times. In 1967 S.U.M.I reached the Quarter finals of the prestigious Subroto Mukherjee Tournament in Delhi. The following Year they once again became Bengal Champions and represented the state in the Subrato Cup. This time they reached the semi-finals.Last year S.U.M.I again became the State Champions after 40 years and went to Delhi and participated in the Subrato Cup but they bowed out of the tournament in the league stage.

Main Clubs of Kalimpong (Present day)

-Apex Club

-Kalimpong Football Club

-Kalimpong Football Academy

-Gorkha Youth Club

-Himal-Shree Athletic Club ( A very well known club which has unfortunately ceased to exist)

Problem faced by the football administrators and players in Kalimpong

Although the passion for football which the town has can be compared to Kolkata or any other major football centres of the country. There are many problems faced by the people associated with the game.

Financial Problems

As the town of Kalimpong or for that matter the entire Darjeeling district doesn’t have big industries its very difficult to arrange for finances. There is an acute lack of sponsors which is hampering the progress of football in Kalimpong.The tournaments are run from the donations and the tickets sale money. The clubs also face this problem as they also can’t attract any sponsors. The club officials shell out money from their own money and run the clubs. Its only the passion of the people which has kept the game alive in Kalimpong.

Infrastructure

The Kalimpong town has only one public football stadium, The Mela Ground which lacks even the basic facilities and the surface is sandy where the chance of players getting injured is very high. This is also the reason why the teams from Kalimpong find it hard to match their opponents in the plains as they have to adjust to the grassy field where the movement of the ball is completely different from the sandy surface.

Lack of opportunities for the players

There are no proper facilities for training in Kalimpong.There is also no Academy and good clubs who can compete at the State level, so many talented players don’t have the platform to show thier talent and attract big clubs towards them. Many players who have it in them to play at the highest level, play around the town and the district and vanish which is sad.

Photo Courtesy- Akhilesh Raj Gurung

Information Courtesy- Gyaltshen Dorjee Moktan

(This article was originally written for indianfootball.com in June,2009) 

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