118th edition of Calcutta Football League kicks off in July, Kolkata Derby moved to Siliguri again

THE 118TH SEASON of the Calcutta Football League, the oldest football league in Asia and one of the oldest running leagues in the world, is going to kick off pretty soon, launching with it the 2016-17 domestic season in Indian football. 

The league, which features more than 150 clubs every season spread across seven tiers, is mostly in in the news due to its top tier (Premier Division A) which features all the major clubs based in Kolkata, including East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting.

The matches in the Premier Division A will begin in the third week of July, a statement from Indian Football Association (the football governing body in West Bengal) said. The three major clubs mentioned here will play most of their matches in their own grounds, while the Kolkata Derby match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan will be played in Siliguri, since the Salt Lake Stadium is still closed for renovation.

Most of the matches in the Premier Division A will be televised live on the Star Jalsha Movies channel. The league will be played in a single-leg round involving 11 or 12 clubs, and the bottom 4 will be relegated to Premier Division B. There were talks of an introduction of a 'Super Four Round' at the end with the top 4 teams playing each other for a second time to determine the leaue champion but that has been scrapped because of time constraints: the CFL has to wrap up by early September so that the major players can leave to take part in the private tournament ISL.

East Bengal have won the last 6 seasons of this league, and have equalled their record of double hat-trick during 1970-1975. Now, aiming for a seventh straight title, they are on the verge of creating history again. This would be their 38th CFL title if they come through with it.

The biggest hurdle in their path is set to be their arch rivals Mohun Bagan, who have won the CFL 29 times themselves. 

With both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan looking to focus on their I-League season and sending players out to play in ISL, the squads fielded in CFL are likely to be more experimental, featuring more local players and a lot more youth. The teams are allowed to play only 3 foreigners, so the Indian players are also likely to play a much heavier role in the teams.