East Bengal Ultras

East Bengal Ultras (Bengali pronunciation: [ˈi:st ˌbenˈɡɔːl ˈʌltrəz]) is the vocal supporters' group for Indian football club, East Bengal F.C., which competes in I-League, one among the two co-existing premier football leagues in India. The group is also often referred to as the Bangal Brigade owing to much of its fanbase hailing from the East Bengal region. Founded in 2013, it was the first Ultras group in Indian football and revolutionised the Indian football fan movement. They were the first supporters' group in India to organise a pyro-show on-field and first in South Asia to organise a live chant show, named Tunes of Colony, in 2019. They have around 25 chants and slogans.

East Bengal Ultras
NicknameBangal Brigade
AbbreviationEBU
Established2013
TypeSupporters' group, Ultras group
ClubEast Bengal F.C.
LocationKolkata, West Bengal
StadiumEast Bengal Ground
Salt Lake Stadium
Barasat Stadium
Kanchenjunga Stadium
ColoursRed and Gold
Websitehttps://ebultras.wordpress.com/

East Bengal Ultras are known for making some of the largest unique tifos. In the 2019–20 I-League season, they set a record for the biggest tifo—10,000 sq ft (930 m2)—in Indian football history, breaking the previous record of 7,200 sq ft (670 m2) which the group had also set.

Supported club
Main article: East Bengal F.C.

East Bengal was founded in 1920 and is regarded as one of India's oldest and most successful football clubs. The team has won multiple national and international trophies in its history. In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha swept over India and affected football. Indian clubs boycotted the ongoing Calcutta Football League (CFL) midway through the season because of this. In the midst of the disruption, Royal Regiment was declared first division winners. However, East Bengal were not promoted to the First Division despite having won the Second Division. Thousands of East Bengal fans and officials decided to hold a protest march at the East Bengal Ground. It was at this march that flaming torches were carried by the protesters. Thus, the hand holding flame torch became the club emblem, which has remained to this day.[1][2][3]

Initial years: 2013–2016
East Bengal Ultras in 2013

In 2013, East Bengal Ultras made their first appearance in an away game against Bengaluru FC in Bengaluru.[4] They introduced smoke shows in the 2015 Calcutta Football League Kolkata Derby, which East Bengal won by a score of 4–0. They unveiled their first large Tifo in the 2016 Kolkata Derby at the Salt Lake Stadium in Bidhannagar. The tifo was a large East Bengal jersey which had the number 12 printed on the back, indicating the fans were the club's 'twelfth man'. It was unique and was the first time something like this had been seen in Indian Football. This tifo became very popular.[5][6]

In the 2015–16 I-League East Bengal Ultras presented colourful mosaic shows at matches against Bengaluru FC and Salgaocar FC in the Barasat Stadium. These were firsts in India's fan culture.[7] In the 2016 CFL opening match at the Kalyani Stadium, East Bengal Ultras displayed South Asia’s first ever 3D tifo which had an East Bengal player holding the CFL Trophy with the backdrop of the Kolkata Skyline and a written slogan— Kolkata Amader (In English, Kolkata is ours)[8]

Growth of ultras culture: 2017–present
Viking Clap in East Bengal Ground

East Bengal Ultras introduced pole flags and a scarf show in 2016–17 I-League match against Aizawl FC. The first big tifo of 2017 was another 3D tifo against Bengaluru FC. These attracted coverage by foreign sports media such as Copa90,[9][10] Ultras-tifo,[7] Football Fans Asia,[11] 11 Freunde,[12] Exhale Sports and ultras groups of various football clubs[13][14] as they created a never-before-seen atmosphere in Indian Football. The entire stadium was filled with red and yellow smoke.[15] East Bengal Ultras have also backed the youth team of the club. The ultras activities performed youth derbies also prompted a lot of discussion on fan forums.[5] The ultras group started with around 10 people and by 2019, they expanded to thousands, along with 100 to 150 core members.[8][16]

Pyro show

At an 18 August 2018 CFL game played between East Bengal and Aryan F.C. scores of pyros were lit at the end of the game. Chants and pyro show displays caught the attention of the rival fans and players. A powerful corteo (procession) to the venue was accompanied by a smoke show at the start of the game. It was the first and largest pyro-show in Indian football.[4][9][17][18]

Tunes of Colony
Tunes of Colony by East Bengal Ultras

To celebrate the club's centenary year in 2019, the Ultras organised an event called 'Tunes of Colony' on 31 July.[8] It was held at the Sovabazar Natmandir temple, and was the first-ever chant-based musical show in Indian and South Asian Football. The event was a hit among the East Bengal fans.[16][17]

Tifos
"Then, Now, Forever" tifo

In the 2018–19 season, East Bengal FC won both Kolkata Derbies in the I-League. On 16 December 2018, in the Home Derby, the Bangal Brigade unfurled a gigantic tifo depicting a classic jibe between the fans, "Aha bujhlen kotta, aar koite hoibo?" (in English, do you understand sir? do I need to say more?) with images of tea, sugar and milk. This tifo was covered by the BBC.[19][20]

On 27 January 2019, in the return Derby, East Bengal Ultras put on display the 2nd largest tifo in Indian football. This was covered by sports media like Ultras-tifo.[21] Around 7,200 sq ft (670 m2) in size, it depicted the struggles their ancestors faced during the Partition of India showing how the East Bengal Club became an inspiration for their daily struggle in life. The fans also put on a smoke show before the match.[22][23]

India vs Bangladesh FIFA World Cup Qualifier tifo

East Bengal Ultras unveiled a huge banner at the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification match against Bangladesh. It portrayed the front page of The Times of India after India won the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The banner displayed the message—"Dream Comes True!". Apart from that they supported the Indian team for whole 90 minutes with continuous chanting and viking clap even after the match finished in a draw.[24][25]

History book tifo

On 4 December 2019, in the match against Real Kashmir, the first game of 2019–20 I-League campaign at the Kalyani Stadium, East Bengal Ultras presented a 10,000 sq ft (930 m2) tifo—the largest in Indian Football so far. It was presented in the form of a book showing five major achievements in the history of East Bengal. In December 2019, the USA-based media outlet The18 featured the East Bengal Ultras and showcased their "History Book" tifo.[22][26]

Controversy
Tifo on display with slogans on NRC during Kolkata Derby

The East Bengal Ultras caused a controversy in January 2020, when during the 2019–20 I-League first leg Kolkata Derby match, they unfurled a tifo which had statements against the National Register of Citizens (NRC).[27][28] There was a banner written in Bengali that said, "We bought the land with our Blood, not with Papers". The official statement from the Ultras group was that the tifo was an answer to the racist jibes and cyber-bullying from their arch-rival fans.[29] However, the incident led to groups, both for and against NRC, making an issue of the situation and stirred up controversy.[30][31][32]

Chants and slogans
লড়েছি অনেক যুদ্ধ, মিলিয়ে কাঁধে কাঁধ
জাকার্তা থেকে জম্মু,করেছি বাজিমাৎ
দুচোখে ভরা স্বপ্ন,বুকেতে দাবানল
লড়াইয়ের রূপকথা,ও আমার ইস্টবেঙ্গল
(In English: We fought many battles, shoulder to shoulder, from Jakarta to Jammu, we did checkmate. Eyes filled with dreams, bursting in my heart, fairytale of battle, O my East Bengal)[33][34]

— Adopted from "Un giorno all'improvviso"

East Bengal Ultras have always been very vocal since its inception. One thing that the East Bengal Ultras have brought to Indian Football is football chanting. The infamous abusive Kolkata football crowd needed to be eradicated so as to bring positiveness from the stands and the sense of belonging to the players and team throughout the 90 minutes.[4][16][18]

Amra Korbo Sringojoy and Haat e Moshal, Buk e Barood; Amra Holam, Lal Holud (in English: We will do it and Torch in hand, gunpowder in the heart, we are red and gold respectively) was one of the initial chants of the Ultras. Since then, a number of chants and slogans have been adopted, modified and re-structured based on the highs and lows of the East Bengal FC. As of 2020, there are around 25 chants and slogans. The East Bengal Ultras come up with new tunes and chants every year, adapting tunes from Ultras in Europe and South America. "Dale Cavese" was one of the most famous tunes that became popular with the East Bengal Ultras. "Allez Allez Allez" sung by Liverpool F.C. fans, which was itself adapted from "Un giorno all'improvviso" (originally "L'estate sta finendo") sung by the S.S.C. Napoli fans, was adopted into Bengali and became an instant hit among the Red and Gold Brigade.[35][36]

See also

References
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