It is usually said that the Sreebhumi Sporting Club and the Calcutta’s Durga Puja are made for each other. However, the club’s identity is not bound by the festivities. A footballing institution has inconspicuously grown up. Even during the depreciated days of Bengal football, Sreebhumi is playing a very sensational role in the advancement of socially backward women, bringing them from different fringes of West Bengal for the proliferation of women football. Since the last two years, the girls’ prowess has astonishingly been delineated in the podium of Indian football. In this year, the Red and Gold Brigade (women team of Emami East Bengal FC) was washed up in front of them and the Sreebhumi FC became the champions of Kanyashree Premier Division.
In the Indian Women’s League 2 (IWL 2), the girls like Anita Tudu, Nitu Majumdar, Rupali Barui were those key players, who had to devote themselves to becoming the group champions. The teams from Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Pune were compelled to head down in front of the footballing style, sense and strategies of the Sreebhumi girls. Their sudden arrival in the national football ambience will have to be compared with the Fenix bird. Being headed by the honourable Fire Brigade Minister of WB, Mr. Sujit Basu, the patronization of Rakesh Jha (one of the most popular football loving personalities in Calcutta Maidan) significantly laid the foundation of a football academy within the club premises. Their crucial stepping out to contribute into the making of playing infrastructure led the Sreebhumi to climb up such a level.
In the last few years, his name as a responsible entrepreneur started shining in the Indian football circuit. Then he promoted himself as the owner of Taltala Dipti Sangha. Later, its name was changed and turned out as Sreebhumi Football Club. Unfortunately, the reverence and attachment of the Sreebhumi young talents had fallen into depress against East Bengal in the first final of the Kanyashree Cup. But, in the second year of this tournament, the girls’ indomitable spirit helped them to reach their dreams. Now, the club has managed the HB Block ground of Salt Lake as the place of practice sessions for the Sreebhumi footballers. The much needed playing infrastructures (like: a canteen and a dressing room) have desperately been provided by the club officials. In this regard, Mr. Rahul Jha has wished to raise Sreebhumi as a supply hub of women footballers at the national level. He said that ‘a proper age based academy of the boys and the girls will help us to achieve national pride. The Sreebhumi will have to sit on the seat of the accelerator’.
He also remarked “The girls from the impoverished families have sufficient talents. But, they don’t get any platform to give their best. Even their parents could not feed them satisfactorily. The club has mainly stressed upon the footballers’ scientific diet. During the time of the tournaments, the girls are paid and keep some good memories with them”. Simultaneously, we have taken the initiatives to provide them the jobs on the season based performances”.
The point should be noted that the footballers like Atasi Pal and Rimp Malik are recently appointed as civic police of West Bengal. So, it can be stated that the club officials have set out an exceptional instance to promote the socio-economic status of the girls. The players from the rigid areas are given a magnificent opportunity to give a new shape of their respective lifestyles. Although, the boys team have not been able to prove themselves onto the field yet. For the benefit of the future, the officials are very much optimistic to form a well-planned Under-12, Under 15 and Under 17 teams. They also targeted to launch the academy in mid-November.
