Azad Sporting Club

Azad Sporting Club (Bengali: আজাদ স্পোর্টিং ক্লাব), also referred as Azad SC, is an association football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club was considered to be one of the pioneers of Bengali football in East Pakistan.

Azad Sporting Club
আজাদ স্পোর্টিং ক্লাব
Full nameAzad Sporting Club
Nickname(s)Red and Yellows
Founded1949 (1949)
GroundAzad Sporting Club Ground, Arambagh
PresidentEnayet Hossain
V. PresidentMA Mannan

History

Azad Sporting Club 1953

Azad Sporting Club was formed in 1949 by Bengali writers and cultural organizers. Renowned artist Quamrul Hassan chose the colour and designed the club's kit. MA Kayum and Anwar Hossain were appointed as the club's president and General Secretary, respectively. They entered the Dhaka Second Division League and were promoted to the Dhaka League within two years after winning the Second Division, becoming joint champions with Fire Service SC in 1950.[1]

In 1951, the club entered the First Division, the Dhaka League, and were captained by Tofazzel Hossain. They finished runners-up in the top-tier in 1952, 1953 and 1954. The club was almost entirely made up of Bengali players, which was unlike most top-tier teams at the time who favoured Punjabi and Makrani players.

The club transformed with the appointment of General Secretary Saifuddin Ahmed as they won their first and only Dhaka League title in 1958.[2][3] With the club tied on points with Central Station & Printing Press after the initial league phase, Tajul Islam Manna scored a brace as Azad won the play-off game 3–2 to claim their maiden league title triumph. Manna was the league's top scorer that year with 25 goals. Alongside him, the other notable players in the team were captain Ranjit Das and winger Mari Chowdhury.[4]

Their title triumph saw them participate in the first edition of the Aga Khan Gold Cup in 1958.[note 1] The club were tagged as Giant Killers after the Independence of Bangladesh, nonetheless, were relegated to the Second Division in 1985. In 1998, their football department stopped functioning due to financial restraints.[5][6]

Notable players

The most notable player to have represented the club is their all-time top scorer Tajul Islam Manna, who played for them from 1954 to 1963, scoring 77 league goals including 10 hat-tricks in the process.[7] The East Pakistani striker also represented the Pakistan national team in 1955, scoring the only goal of the game against India in a Non-FIFA Friendly.[8]

Other notable players include: Tarapda Roy, Ranjit Das, SA Jumman Mukta, Monwar Hossain Nannu, Shahidur Rahman Shantoo,[9] Anjam Hossain, Ehtesham, Salam Murshedy, Mari Chowdhury,[10] Elias Hossain[11] and Anwar Hossain.[12] Sheikh Monsur Ali Lalu who later played for the Shadhin Bangla Football Team also began his First Division career with the club.

Club members

President

No. Name From To
1 MA Kayum 1949 1950
2 Alhaj Moti Sardar 1951 1952
3 AA Siddique 1953 1960
4 SR Karim 1961 1962
5 Kofiluddin Mahmud 1963 1971
6 Mohazzem Hossain 1972 1976
7 Mir Shawkat Ali 1977 1980
8 Salam Talukdar 1981 1983
9 Azhar Ali 1984 1987
10 MA Hamid 1988 1989
11 Sayeed Mohammed Anwar Hossain 1992 1993
12 Mosharaf Hossain Shajahan 1994 1998
13 Enayet Hossain 2009 present

General Scretary

No. Name From To
1 Anwar Hossain 1949 1951
2 AA Siddique 1952 1957
3 Saifuddin Ahmed 1958 1989
4 Kazi Anisur Rahman 1994 1995
5 M. A. Rashid 1996 1999
6 Reza Ali Bulu 1996 2001
7 Unknown 2009 present

Head coach

Name From To
Ranjit Das 1975
Abdul Sadek 1978 1979
Ehtesham 1980 1982
Mozzamel Hossain 1983 1983

Records and statistics

Season by season

Record as Dhaka Football League member
Season Division League Federation Cup Independence Cup Asian club competition Top league scorer(s)
P W D L GF GA Pts Position Player Goals
1973 Dhaka League 28 7 8 13 38 44 22 9th DNQ
1974 Dhaka League 15 5 5 5 19 18 16 10th DNQ
1975 Dhaka League 30 7 7 16 24 40 21 14th DNQ
1976 Dhaka League 15 3 4 8 14 29 10 15th DNQ
1977 Dhaka League 15 3 8 4 7 12 14 10th DNQ
1978 Dhaka League 24 6 11 7 17 20 20 8th DNQ
1979 Dhaka League 16 3 6 7 9 14 12 13th DNQ
1980 Dhaka League 22 5 9 8 14 20 19 7th First round DNQ
1981 Dhaka League 16 3 4 9 7 11 10 17th First round DNQ
1982 Dhaka League 16 4 7 5 13 13 15 10th Second round DNQ
1983 Dhaka League 16 2 9 5 14 21 13 11th First round DNQ
1984 Dhaka League 19 3 11 5 10 18 20 14th Quarter-final DNQ
1985 Dhaka League 18 2 8 7 12 19 14 17th DNP DNQ

Note: Azad Sporting Club competed in the Dhaka Second Division League from 1949 to 1950 and entered the Dhaka League in 1951, however, only records after the Independence of Bangladesh are available.

Honours

Other departments

Volleyball

The club's volleyball team participates in the Premier Division Volleyball league under the Bangladesh Volleyball Federation. They were runners-up to WAPDA SC in the league during the 1975–76 season, which remains there best finish to date.[6][13]

Field hockey

The clubs field hockey team currently plays in the First Division Hockey League. They are yet to win the league title although the club's hockey team has been a regular participant in the league since the independence of Bangladesh.[14]

Cricket

The club's cricket team last participated in the 2015 Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League. They have had national cricket team captains Akram Khan and Shakib Al Hasan represent them in the domestic competitions.[15]

Kabaddi

Azad Sporting Club has both men's and women's Kabaddi teams playing in the First Division Kabaddi League. In 2015, they became champions in the first open Women's Beach Kabaddi Competition, defeating Judain Janata Club by 53-51 points in the final held in Cox's Bazar.[16]

See also

Notes

  1. The competition is widely regarded as the predecessor of AFC Champions League (held for the first time in 1967), since it was the first organized international competition that involved club teams around Asia, organized by the football authorities of East Pakistan, in collaboration with Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

References

  1. Alam, Dhrubo (July 16, 2018). "Kick, Score, Scream! The History of Football in Dhaka". Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  2. "সাইফুদ্দিন সাহেব: আজাদ স্পোর্টিং ক্লাবের টানা ৩১ সেক্রেটারি" [Saifuddin Shaheb: Secretary of Azad Sporting Club for 31 consecutive years]. www.facebook.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  3. প্রতিবেদক, নিজস্ব (September 28, 2016). "রণজিৎ দাসের বাড়িতে এক বেলা". Prothomalo. Archived from the original on May 20, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  4. Alam, Masud (April 1, 2022). "How is Sylhet's 'Telegram age' goalkeeper Ranjit Das doing". Prothomalo. Archived from the original on May 20, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  5. রিপোর্টার, স্পোর্টস. "লিমিটেড কোম্পানী হচ্ছে আজাদ স্পোর্টিং ক্লাব". DailyInqilabOnline. Archived from the original on 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  6. "চিরনিদ্রায় মান্না ঘুমিয়ে গেছেন" [Manna has gone to eternal sleep]. www.facebook.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  7. "Asian Quadrangular Tournament (Colombo Cup) 1952-1955". www.rsssf.org. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  8. Zubaear, Arafat. "'১:১ বেশি উপভোগ করতাম'". dhakapost.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-06. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  9. "চিহ্লা মং মারী: এক ফুটবল যোদ্ধা". Archived from the original on 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  10. প্রতিবেদক, নিজস্ব. "তবু স্বপ্ন দেখেন ইলিয়াস". Prothomalo.
  11. "ফুটবল আনোয়ার কে অনেক কিছু দিয়েছে" [Football has given a lot to Anwar]. www.facebook.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  12. "বঙ্গবন্ধু প্রিমিয়ার ভলিবল লিগ". www.jugantor.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-22. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  13. নিউজ, সময়. "প্রথম জয় পেয়েছে আজাদ, সজীবের হ্যাট্রিক". Somoy News. Archived from the original on 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  14. "Azad Sporting Club Team | Azad | Match, Live Score, News". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  15. "মহিলা বীচ কাবাডি চ্যাম্পিয়ন আজাদ স্পোর্টিং ক্লাব". The Daily Sangram. Archived from the original on 2023-05-22. Retrieved 2023-06-07.

Further reading

  • Dulal, Mahmud (2014). পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় (transl.Bengali players in the Pakistan national team) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon.
  • Dulal, Mahmud (2020). খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (transl.Liberation war in the playground) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.
  • Golam, Sarwar Tipu (13 February 2006). "Organisers wake up". thedailystar.net. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  • Arif, Mahbub (17 November 2015). "বাঙালির ফুটবল-সাফল্য এখন কেবলই স্মৃতি". u71news.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  • Alam, Masud (2017). ফুটবলের গল্প ফুটবলারদের গল্প (transl.The story of football the story of footballers) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 9789849134688.
  • Desk, Blitz (29 April 2021). "Looking back into Bangladesh football in the 80s". weeklyblitz.net. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  • Mahmud, Noman (2018). ফুটবল পায়ে মুক্তির যুদ্ধ (transl.Liberation war fought by football) (in Bengali). Agamee Prakashani. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.
  • Hossain, Dr.Akhtar (18 February 2019). "Dhaka Football League: Days of Glory". daily-sun.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
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