₹18.59 crore Money spent by TMC government (2011-'22) to develop football infrastructure
20,000 Estimated number of unregistered football tournaments organised across the state
Bengal's all-consuming and undiluted love for football has an early milestone. In 1911, Mohun Bagan became the first Indian side to win the IFA Shield after defeating the East Yorkshire regiment. Footballing success thereafter generated fierce nationalistic pride, serving as a sporting adjunct of the freedom movement. In recent decades, the passion for football has come in useful for political purposes, too. Khela Hobe (the game's on) became Mamata's rallying cry in the 2021 assembly election, as broken foot and all, she led the Trinamool Congress to a magnificent win. She was certainly not the first to realise the demotic pull of the beautiful game, especially among the youth. Veteran leaders Jatin Chakraborty and Kshiti Goswami of the Revolutionary Socialist Party have had long associations with the three major football clubs of the Kolkata maidan-Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting. Under the Trinamool Congress, however, patronage of the game and exploitation of its mass appeal have reached another proportion.
MAMATA'S GOALPOSTS
この記事は India Today の December 11, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は India Today の December 11, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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