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East Bengal FC Reserves and Academy
Reserve team and youth system of East Bengal FC From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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East Bengal Football Club Reserves and Academy, commonly referred to as East Bengal, is the reserve team and youth system of the Indian Super League side East Bengal FC. Reserves generally consist of younger players, but at times senior players also play, if recuperating from injury or not getting first team game time. Apart from the I-League 2 (formerly), the reserve side plays in the Calcutta Football League, currently under the sponsorship name Emami East Bengal Club.
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History
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East Bengal FC Reserves and Academy are the under-21, under-17, under-15 and under-13 teams of East Bengal. The under-21 team is often the last stage before the promotion into the first team.[2] The youth teams participate in the Elite league of various age groups. The East Bengal Academy was re-instated on 20 June 2016 with the motive to establish a strong footprint in Indian football by producing quality professional players. The main objective of this project has been to supply professional quality players to the East Bengal senior team & Indian national team.[2]
The East Bengal Academy was founded in the early part of the 21st century and had a major success initially as the U-19 East Bengal team won the first two U-19 National Football leagues held in 2001-02 and 2002-03[3] and then the club's Under-15 team qualified for the Manchester United Premier Cup after being champions of India defeating Mahindra United 1–0 in the final,[4] and becoming South–East Asian regional runners up in 2007.[5] The Junior team faced the youth teams of Manchester United, A.S. Roma and Shandong Luneng and FK Austria Wien in the final round held in Manchester, however, they lost all the games in the group stages.[6] In the 17–20th place play-off semi-finals, the team defeated Bukit Jalil of Malaysia by 3-1, but lost to Central United of New Zealand in the 17th place play-offs by 5-3 via tiebreakers, after the game ended goalless. The U-15 team finished 18th[7] among the 20 teams who had reached the world final stage and is to date the best finish by any Indian club in the Nike Premier Cup.[8] The East Bengal U-19 team was the primary youth team before the Elite League started in 2010. Players like Israil Gurung, Saikat Saha Roy etc. were part of the East Bengal youth setup in the mid 2000s. In 2006, former East Bengal legend and National League winning coach Monoranjan Bhattacharya was appointed as the head coach of the East Bengal U-19 team.[9]
The East Bengal Academy started with new endeavours in 2016 as they brought in Ranjan Chowdhury as head of the project with an aim to produce Indian talents and build up the supply line for the main team of East Bengal.[10] The team finished runners-up in the 2016–17 I-League U18, losing 2-1 to AIFF Elite Academy in the final. The team also reached the semi-final in 2017–18.[11] The team was disbanded after the 2019–20 Indian Elite League was called off due to COVID-19 pandemic in India. In 2022, after the new investors Emami Group joined the club, the youth teams have been revived
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Reserve team
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East Bengal officially did not have a reserve team prior to 2020. However, the club formed a reserve team composed of academy players and few senior team members to participate in minor tournaments like Bordoloi Trophy. In 2018, the East Bengal Reserves team coached by Ranjan Chowdhury won the Darjeeling Gold Cup, defeating another Kolkata giant Mohammedan Sporting in the final.[12]
The reserve team was formed in 2020 and intended to play in the I-League 2, along with the Calcutta Football League from the 2020–21 season.[13] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the team was scrapped and after new investors Emami group tied up with the club, the reserve team was once again launched in 2022. Former Kerala football team coach Bino George was appointed as the head coach of the reserve team.[14][15] The club also recruited former captain Sangram Mukherjee as the goalkeeper coach for the team.[16] The club also bolstered the squad by making some top signings from the Santosh Trophy teams, including five players from Kerala, the champions of the 2021–22 edition.[17][18] The reserve participated in the 2022 Calcutta Premier Division and finished fourth in the Super Six.[19] The reserve team also participated in the 2022–23 I-League 2 along with the reserve teams of other Indian Super League sides – Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC , FC Goa, Hyderabad FC and Mumbai City FC. The club also roped in AFC A license holder Archisman Biswas as the assistant coach for the reserve side.[20] In the first season, East Bengal reserves side finished third in the group behind United and Shillong Lajong.[21]
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Reserve squad
- The below list contains the names and details of the reserve team squad for East Bengal. Some of the players are also part of the first team squad.
- As of 8 August 2025[22]
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Coaching staff
Under-21
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The East Bengal U-21 team participates in the Reliance Foundation Development League, the national U-21 tournament from 2023.[23][24][25] The reserve team head coach Bino George has been in charge of the U-21 squad.[26] On 14 March 2024, in the first RFDL game, East Bengal defeated United SC.[27] On 21 April 2023, East Bengal defeated arch-rivals Mohun Bagan U-21 2–0 to become the East zone champions and qualify for the national group stage in their very first season in the RFDL.[28][29] East Bengal finished second in the national group stage and ended their maiden campaign.[30] In 2024, East Bengal once again became the East Zone champions,[31] and finished runner-up in the 2024 RFDL losing 3–2 in the final against Punjab.[32] East Bengal U-21 qualified for the 2024 Next Gen Cup to be held in Birmingham, United Kingdom along with Punjab and Muthoot FA from India.[33]
Squad
East Bengal squad for the Reliance Foundation Development League 2024.
- As of 14 April 2024[34]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Performance record
- As of till the end of 2025 season.
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Under-17
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The under-17 team participates in the U17 Youth Cup. The team is coached by former East Bengal captain Tarun Dey.[37]
The National Football League U-19 was launched in 2001 and the East Bengal U-19 team won the inaugural edition defeating India sub-juniors 3–2 in the final.[38] The U-19 team defended the title the following year as they defeated JCT Football Academy 1–0 in the final.[39] The team also finished runners-up in the 2003–04 edition as they lost to their rivals Mohun Bagan U-19 3–1 in the penalty shoot-out after the final ended 0–0 in regulation time.[3] After the tournament was restarted as the I-League U19 in 2008 and later renamed to Elite League, the East Bengal team became runners-up four times, failing to win to the title. In 2022, the tournament was redesigned as a U-17 category, after not being held for two seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[40] In 2024, the team clinched Kolkata leg of the Dream Sports Championship title defeating United SC in final.[41]
Squad
The East Bengal Under-17 squad for 2023-24 season[42]
- As of 10 December 2023
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Coaching Staff
As of 18 December 2023
Performance record
- As of 15 January 2024
- League called-off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[54]
- East Bengal was disqualified after fielding an overaged player in the league.[56]
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Under-15
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The under-15 team participates in the Elite Youth League. The team is coached by Chandan Kumar Ray.[58]
Squad
The East Bengal Academy Under-15 squad for 2019–20 season
- As of 26 July 2019
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Performance record
Matches at the 2007 Nike Premier Cup
Win Draw Loss
| 1 August 2007 Group stage | Manchester United U15 | 5–0[62] | East Bengal U15 | Manchester |
| 09:30 BST | Nicholas Jackson  11'David Mellor 17', 28', 38'Rory Gorman 20' |
Report | Stadium: Carrington |
| 1 August 2007 Group stage | Shandong Luneng U15 | 3–0[63] | East Bengal U15 | Manchester |
| 14:30 BST | ?? |
Report | Stadium: Carrington |
| 2 August 2007 Group stage | FK Austria Wien U15 | 2–0[64] | East Bengal U15 | Manchester |
| 09:30 BST | David 11' Christoph 15' |
Report | Stadium: Carrington |
| 2 August 2007 Group stage | AS Roma U15 | 2–0[65] | East Bengal U15 | Manchester |
| 15:30 BST | Mattia Montini 2', 42' |
Report | Stadium: Carrington |
| 3 August 2007 17-20th Semi Final | East Bengal U15 | 3–1[66] | Bukit Jalil U15 | Manchester |
| 09:30 BST | Suprovan Dhar 4' Ajoy Ray 7', 20' |
Report | Fouzan 30' |
Stadium: Carrington |
| 3 August 2007 17-20th Final | East Bengal U15 | 0–0[7] (3–5 p) | Central United U15 | Manchester |
| 11:30 BST | Report | Stadium: Carrington | ||
| Penalties | ||||
|
||||
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Under–13
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The under–13 team participates in the Elite Youth League. The team is coached by Suraj Singh Bisht.[67]
Squad
The East Bengal Under–13 squad for the 2023–24 season
- As of 20 April 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Performance record
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Noted graduates
Those who made it at the club
East Bengal's youth system has been successful over the last few years; many players who have come through it have gone on to feature in the first-team. The following players have risen up the ranks from the under age teams and gone on to play over ten competitive matches for the first team.
- Players who have represented the National team are in Bold.
|
2000s |
2010s |
2020s 
|
Those who made it elsewhere
East Bengal FC academy graduates who didn't make it at the club but made it somewhere else and even went on to play for the national team:
- Players who have represented the National team are in Bold.
|
2000s |
2010s |
2020s
|
Honours
Reserves
- Darjeeling Gold Cup (1):
2018[12] - Madhyamgram MLA Cup (1): 2023[69]
- Kulodakanta Memorial Shield (1): 2023[70]
- Chief Minister's Cup (1):
2024[71] - Dream Sports Championship runners-up: 2024[72]
Academy U18
- National Football League U-19 (2): 2001, 2002–03[75]
- Zee Bangla Football League (U-19) (1): 2019(Joint Winners)
- SRMB Cup (U-18) (1): 2019[78]
- All Bengal Knockout Tournament (U-19) (1): 2019[citation needed]
Academy U-16
- Gothia Cup: 1996[79]
Academy U-15
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References
External links
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