Diamond Harbour FC

{{Short description|Association football club in West Bengal, India}}

{{Infobox football club

| clubname = Diamond Harbour FC

| image = Diamond Harbour FC.svg

| upright = 0.7

| fullname = Diamond Harbour Football Club

| short name = DHFC

| founded = 2020

| nickname = Dumdaar Harbaar

| owntitle = Owners

| owner = Diamond Harbour Sports Pvt. Ltd.

| manager = Kibu Vicuña

| capacity = 10,000

| league = I-league

| season = 2025

| position =

| current =

| pattern_la1 = _fortaleza89

| pattern_b1 = _red_white_bluestripes

| pattern_ra1 = _fortaleza89

| pattern_sh1 = _adidasred

| pattern_so1 = _3_stripes_blue

| leftarm1 = FE1927

| body1 = FE1927

| rightarm1 = FE1927

| shorts1 = 1952DD

| socks1 = FE1927

| pattern_la2 = _swansea1920t

| pattern_b2 = _swansea1920t

| pattern_ra2 = _swansea1920t

| pattern_sh2 = _swansea1920t

| pattern_so2 = _blacktop

| leftarm2 = FFD900

| body2 = FFD900

| rightarm2 = FFD900

| shorts2 = FFD900

| socks2 = FFD900

| pattern_la3 = _grayborder

| pattern_b3 = _collarblack

| pattern_ra3 = _grayborder

| pattern_sh3 = _adidasblack

| pattern_so3 =

| leftarm3 = 000000

| body3 = B6AFA9

| rightarm3 = 000000

| shorts3 = 000000

| socks3 = 000000

| website = {{URL|https://diamondharbourfc.com/}}

| stadium = Naihati Stadium

}}

Diamond Harbour Football Club ({{langx|bn|ডায়মন্ড হারবার ফুটবল ক্লাব}}) is a professional association football club based in Diamond Harbour, West Bengal. Founded in 2020, it is currently the fourth most popular professional association football team in West Bengal, trailing only Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, and Mohammedan. The club will compete in the I-league, the second tier of the Indian football league system in the 2025–26 season following three promotions in the past three seasons.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-16 |title=Trinamool Congress' Abhishek Banerjee Launches Diamond Harbour Football Club |url=https://www.news18.com/news/football/trinamool-congress-abhishek-banerjee-launches-diamond-harbour-football-club-4993189.html |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=News18 |language=en |archive-date=2022-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417110531/https://www.news18.com/news/football/trinamool-congress-abhishek-banerjee-launches-diamond-harbour-football-club-4993189.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=PTI |date=2022-04-15 |title=Abhishek Banerjee launches football club, to make CFL Ist division debut |url=https://thebridge.in/football/abhishek-banerjee-launches-football-club-cfl-ist-division-debut-30709 |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=thebridge.in |language=en |archive-date=2022-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415155004/https://thebridge.in/football/abhishek-banerjee-launches-football-club-cfl-ist-division-debut-30709 |url-status=live }}

The club plays its home matches at the Naihati Stadium, which has a seating capacity of around 10,000 spectators. Diamond Harbour FC aims to develop local football talent and establish itself as a prominent club within the Indian football system. The team's colours are primarily navy blue, red and white, reflecting the maritime heritage of Diamond Harbour. The club is managed by Kibu Vicuña, under the ownership of Diamond Harbour Sports Pvt. Ltd.

Diamond Harbour FC participates actively in local tournaments and the Calcutta Football League, seeking promotion and broader recognition on the national stage.

History

Diamond Harbour Football Club was established in 2020 and approved by the Indian Football Association (IFA) in 2022 to participate in the Calcutta Football League (CFL) First Division, the third tier of the state league structure. Spanish coach Kibu Vicuña, previously associated with Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters, was appointed as the club’s first head coach.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-10 |title=Techno Sports |url=https://technosports.co.in/2022/05/10/kibu-vicuna-dhfc/ |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=technosports.co.in |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516002835/https://technosports.co.in/2022/05/10/kibu-vicuna-dhfc/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://thebridge.in/football/kibu-vicuna-head-coach-mohammedan-sc-38037|title=I-League: Kibu Vicuna to take charge as head coach of Mohammedan SC; will arrive on Monday|website=thebridge.in|publisher=The Bridge|date=16 December 2022|access-date=16 January 2023|archive-date=21 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221072648/https://thebridge.in/football/kibu-vicuna-head-coach-mohammedan-sc-38037|first=Swapnomoy|last=Chakraborty|location=Kolkata}}

In 2023, the Indian Football Association introduced a new format by merging the CFL Premier Divisions A and B into a single competition. DHFC was placed in Group I and qualified for the Super Six stage of the tournament.{{cite web|url=https://thefangarage.com/articles/19091-calcutta-football-league-cfl-goes-bigger-than-ever-for-its-historic-125th-season|title=Calcutta Football League (CFL) goes bigger than ever for its historic 125th season|website=thefangarage.com|publisher=The Fan Garage|location=Kolkata|date=5 June 2023|access-date=6 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606060715/https://thefangarage.com/articles/19091-calcutta-football-league-cfl-goes-bigger-than-ever-for-its-historic-125th-season|archive-date=6 June 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.indianfootballnews.in/2023/09/calcutta-football-league-super-six-cfl-2023-fixtures.html|title=Calcutta Football League 2023: Confirmed Super Six Phase Teams|publisher=Indian Football News|date=20 September 2023|access-date=21 September 2023|location=Kolkata|website=indianfootballnews.in|archive-date=21 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921134805/https://www.indianfootballnews.in/2023/09/calcutta-football-league-super-six-cfl-2023-fixtures.html}}

Later in the year, the club was nominated by the IFA to represent West Bengal in the inaugural season of the I-Indian league division three, the new fourth tier in the Indian football league system established by the All Indian Football Federation (AIFF).{{Cite web |date=2023-08-22 |title=Major AIFF Decisions: 15 Clubs Nominated In 3rd Division; Youth Quota In I League Teams |url=https://thefangarage.com/articles/19829-major-aiff-decisions-15-clubs-nominated-in-3rd-division-youth-quota-in-i-league-teams |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=thefangarage.com |archive-date=18 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918105857/https://thefangarage.com/articles/19829-major-aiff-decisions-15-clubs-nominated-in-3rd-division-youth-quota-in-i-league-teams }}{{Cite web |date=2023-08-22 |title=AIFF League Committee: Youth quota for I-League, State FAs nominate 3rd Division League clubs |url=https://theawayend.co/2023/08/22/aiff-league-committee-youth-quota-i-league-state-fas-nominate-3rd-division-league-clubs/ |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=The Away End |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108050756/https://theawayend.co/2023/08/22/aiff-league-committee-youth-quota-i-league-state-fas-nominate-3rd-division-league-clubs/ }}

In 2024, Diamond Harbour FC took part in the Sikkim Gold Cup held in Gangtok, reflecting its growing participation in national-level competitions{{Cite web |title=All India Governor's Gold Cup football tournament to be held in Gangtok from November 8–12 |url=https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/sports/2024/10/28/spd8-spo-foot-governors-sikkim.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Week}}. The Club won the Indian League second division and was promoted to the Indian league first divison in the same year.

Players

=Firstad=

{{Fs player|other=Vice Captain|no=25|nat=IND|pos=DF|name=Bikramjit Singh}}

{{Fs player|other=Captain|no=31|nat=IND|pos=GK|name=Subrata Santra}}

Technical staff

class="wikitable"

!Title

!Name

Owner

|{{flagicon|IND}} Abhishek Banerjee

Head coach

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Kibu Vicuña

Assistant coach

|{{flagicon|IND}} Dipankur Sharma

Assistant coach

|{{flagicon|IND}} Nitesh Singh

Coach/Supporting

Staff

|{{flagicon|IND}} Kartick Biswas

Coach/Supporting

Staff

|{{flagicon|IND}} Chiranjit Malakar

Coach/Supporting

staff

|{{flagicon|IND}} Sandeep Nandy

Honours

I-League 2
Champions (1): 2024–25
I-League 3
Champions (1): 2024–25

Diamond Harbour FC

History

Players

=Firstad=

Technical staff

Honours

See also

References

Further reading