Kolkata : Diamond Harbour FC, barely after 3 years of it’s formation came into headlines winning I-League 2 in dominant fashion, earning their place in I-League premier Division. To add cherry on top, they also earned their maiden berth in Durand Cup 2025 and will be the 4th club from Bengal along with Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mohammedan to play in the tournament.
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. 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).
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 Banerjee (DHFC president) says.
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 Kibu 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.
Diamond Harbour, placed in same group as Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan, BSF will kick start their Durand Cup 2025 campaign on July 28, 2025 against Mohammedan.
