With heritage dying a certain death, Mohun Bagan loses its 131-year-old logo after ATK merger

Kolkata: A true-blue Mohun Bagan fan will have some sleepless nights to bear.

The historic club is parting ways with its 131-year-old logo after the ATK-Mohun Bagan Private Limited came into existence on June 1.

Though the club gate will open on June 15 and sale of championship merchandise will resume from June 16, the decision to change the log has hurt the sentiments of lakhs of fans across the world.

Mohun Bagan, the club that was founded in 1889, is a part of national history. It was the first Indian football club to defeat East Yorkshire Regiment and lifted the IFA Shield on July 29, 1911.

Winner of the Durand Cup 16 times, IFA Shield 22 times, Calcutta Football League 30 times, it is time for the fans to find new slogans.

In 1947 after Independence, Bagan had lifted the IFA Shield. From 1933 to 1939, Mohun Bagan had triumphed over its arch-rival East Bengal 12 times, including one walkover win while 10 matches ended goalless. Bagan lost only one match. Altogether, 23 matches were played between the two clubs during this period. Bagan had played a friendly against North American Soccer League club New York Cosmos and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

Founded on August 15, 1889, at Mohun Bagan Villa, the first president of the club was Bhupendra Nath Basu. The logo which carries a boat signifies the innumerable rivers of Bengal. Many football fans start their day after offering prayers to the club's iconic maroon- green jersey with the logo embossed on it.

"How can the club authorities change the logo? It is part of India's history. I cannot think of the club's jersey without the logo," said Siddhartha Bose, a fan from Boston.

For octogenarian Somnath Mukherjee, a die-hard Bagan fan, "It will be good if I die before the logo of the club is changed. I saw Mannada (Sailen Manna) and Chuni (Goswami) playing. We used to sit at the sprawling club lawn where legendary Sudhir Chatterjee, one of the members of the 1911 squad, Gosto Pal and Balai Chatterjee used to come and have an interaction every evening. It is not a football club but an institution."

The club has a long list of fans that included Uttam Kumar, Kamal Basu, Somnath Chatterjee, Siddhartha Roy among thousands of others.