Southern Samity

Southern Samity is an Indian professional multi-sports club from Kolkata.^[3][4][5] Founded in 1945,^[6] the club is also based in Siliguri, North Bengal. Apart from sports, they are also involved in numerous cultural activities. Its football section competes in the Calcutta Football League premiere division A,^[7][8][9] and previously participated in the I-League 2nd Division,^[10][11] then second tier of Indian football league system.^[12]

Southern Samity

Full name	Southern Samity Football Club[1][2]
Founded	1945; 80 years ago (1945)
Ground	Rabindra Sarobar Stadium
Capacity	22,000
President	Asraf Ali Shaikh
Head coach	Saheed Ramon
League	CFL Premier Division
Website	www.southernsamityfc.in
Home colours Away colours

History

Formation and journey

Southern Samity was founded in the city of Kolkata in 1945,^[13] during the British rule in India. During that time they were involved in various sporting and cultural activities. In 1959, the club got their affiliation from the Indian Football Association (IFA), but the club got their footsteps in Indian football long after their foundation.^[14] From 2007 to 2008 onwards, Frontlink International took charge of the club's football department, which boosted the growth highly.^[15]

Present years

In the year of 2008–09, they emerged as the champions of Calcutta Premier Division B and were promoted to the Calcutta Premier Division A.^[16][7] In 2011, Southern Samity created history as they became the first club after Behala Youth in 1975 to reach the prestigious IFA Shield semi-final on debut.^[17] In 2011–12 CFL season, the club was managed by Shabbir Ali.^[18][19] They also reached to the quarter-final of the 2012 IFA Shield.^[20] Southern Samity participated in the 2013 I-League 2nd Division^[21] and moved to the final round, where they achieved sixth position.^[22] In 2015, they played in the Calcutta Premier Division Group A.^[23]

In 2016, Southern Samity appointed Amit Sen as their new head coach and participated in the 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division,^[24][25][26] where they achieved success and qualified for the final round.^[27] They finished the season as runners-up with 17 points from 10 matches, behind champions NEROCA FC.^[28]

In 2020,^[29] Southern Samity reached the quarter-finals of the IFA Shield before losing 0–1 to I-League side Real Kashmir.^[30][31][32] Besides football, the club along with state football governing body IFA, and Kalighat MS have joined the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in West Bengal from May 2021 by providing free vaccinations to people.^[33][34][35]

On 1 July 2021, Southern Samity appointed Biswajit Bhattacharya as their new head coach.^[36][37] The club then roped in Ugandan trio Hamdan Nsubuga, Peter Mutebi and Habib Kavuma.^[38] They began their 2021–22 Calcutta Premier Division campaign with a 3–0 defeat against Mohammedan Sporting.^[39][40] On 23 August, Southern Samity was deducted six points by IFA and also handed two losses which includes their forfeited match against United Sports,^[41] and were relegated to the Premier Division B. In June 2023, the Indian Football Association (IFA) announced the merger of both Premier Division A and B of the Calcutta Football League, ahead of its 125th edition, in which Southern Samity was placed within Group-I.^[42][43][44]

Stadium

Rabindra Sarobar Stadium on a matchday before renovation

Southern Samity used Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Lake Gardens,^[45] Kolkata, as their home ground for matches of both the I-League 2nd Division and Calcutta Football League.^[46][47][48] Opened in 1961, the stadium is also known as Lake Stadium and has a capacity of 22,000 spectators.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
2021–present	Nike, Inc.[49]	Track-Only[50]

Players

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  IND Arnab Das — GK  IND Praveen Patel — DF  IND Shubham Ghosh — DF  IND Amarendu Chakraborty — DF  IND Sonam Zangpo Bhutia — DF  IND Pranit Lama Tamang — DF  IND Elminhao Kilong — DF  IND Tanmoy Saha — DF  IND Kunal Tamang — DF  IND Laitonjam Sanathoi Singh — DF  IND Moghlesur Rahman — MF  IND Surabuddin Mollick — MF  IND Laltu Hembram

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  IND Shahrukh Rahman — MF  IND Gunajit Potsangbam — MF  IND Sayan Dutta — MF  IND Imran Khan — MF  IND Subhankar Das — MF  IND Sujit Soren — MF  IND Ashis Pradhan — MF  IND Lalawmpuia Hnamte — FW  IND Peter Seiminthang Haokip — FW  IND Chandra deep Roy — FW  IND Sheen Sohktung — FW  IND Amarendu Chakraborty — FW  IND Waseem Rahaman

Team management

Position	Name
Chairperson	Jinia Roy Chowdhury
President	Asraf Ali Shaikh
Sr. Vice president	Dr. Pranab Mukhapadhyay
Vice presidents	Dr. Tirthankar Bagchi, Sanjay Bose Lalit Sharma
Head coach	Saheed Ramon
Team manager	Amit Sen
General secretary	Sourav Pal

Notable players

Past and present internationals

The foreign players below had youth/senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed, represented their countries before or after playing for Southern Samity.^[51][52]

• Echezona Anyichie (2011–2012)^{[citation needed][53]}
• Alfred Ndyenge (2011–2012)^[54]
• Matthew Mayora (2012)^[55]
• Sherwin Emmanuel (2012–2013)^[56][57]
• Teah Dennis Jr. (2017–2018)^[58][59]
• Victor Kamhuka (2017, 2021–)^[60][61]
• Mahmoud Al Amnah (2019–2020)^[62][63]
• Habib Kavuma (2022–)^[64][38]

Noted Indian player(s)

• Deepak Mondal (2017)^[65] – recipient of both the Arjuna Award and AIFF Player of the Year.^{[66][67][68][69][70]}

Honours

League

• I-League 2nd Division
  • Runners-up (1): 2016–17^[71]
• Calcutta Premier Division B
  • Champions (1): 2009^[72]
  • Runners-up (1): 2018–19^[73]
• CFL Second Division
  • Champions (1): 2007–08^[74]

Cup

• Kalinga Cup
  • Champions (1): 2013^[75]
• Jananayak Karpuri Thakur Cup
  • Champions (1): 2014^[76]
• Naihati Gold Cup
  • Champions (1): 2021^[77]
• Domjur Gold Cup
  • Champions (1): 2010^[78]
• Netaji–Subhash Trophy
  • Champions (1): 2010^[78]
• Darjeeling Gold Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2010^[78]
• ONGC Gold Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2010–11^[76]

Women

• Calcutta Women's Football League
  • Runners-up (1): 2021–22^[79]

Other departments

Southern Samity Women

The club has its women's football section, that competes in the Calcutta Women's Football League.^[80] In the 2021–22 league season, they achieved success with runner-up finish.^[81][79]

See also

• List of football clubs in Kolkata
• Football in Kolkata