Wikipedia - West Bengal football team
The West Bengal football team (Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ ফুটবল দল), also known as IFA Bengal football team or earlier the Bengal football team, is an Indian football team representing West Bengal in Indian state football competitions including the Santosh Trophy. They were the second Indian team to participate in the continental top tier tournament – Asian Champion Club Tournament, by playing in the 1970 edition following Mysore in 1969.
History
Bengal made its debut in the national competitions at the 1941–42 Santosh Trophy. West Bengal have appeared in the Santosh Trophy finals 45 times, having won 32 titles, the most by any team. Managed by Balaidas Chatterjee, the team won six Santosh Trophy titles between 1949 and 1959. In 1962, former Indian captain Samar Banerjee guided Bengal winning the trophy.
Prior to 2003, the team competed as "Bengal football team". On 16 August 2021, West Bengal played a friendly match against India national team at the Salt Lake Stadium and it was won by India by 1–0. In October 2022, West Bengal managed by Biswajit Bhattacharya clinched gold at the 36th National Games of India, defeating Kerala 5–0 in final.