THE MARINERS ARE ALL SET TO TAKE ON THE RFDL NATIONAL CHALLENGE | READ MORE

byProbudhya Guchait -

Since the inception of Reliance Foundation Development League, it's been a breath of fresh air for all the Youth Footballers of this country, who has huge potentials but struggling for regular game times in the Main Team setup. With a number of great talents in the ranks, Mohun Bagan is no exception.

The Youth League started in 2022, but, Mohun Bagan took part for the first time in the last edition, where we lost in penalty shootout against the eventual champions Bengaluru FC in the Semi Finals.

But, this time, RFDL has comeback with a bigger and better format, where teams across the country are battling for Glory and a spot in the International Next Gen Cup, where Mohun Bagan had the honour of drawing against English Premier League giants West Ham United last season.

This season, again like last year, Mohun Bagan has finished second in the Zonal League table, behind Emami East Bengal, whom they beat 5-1 in a group stage game.

In the Regional Qualifiers, Mohun Bagan was battling with the likes of East Bengal, Jamshedpur FC, United SC, Odisha FC, Mohammedan SC to qualify for the National round.

The East Zone Qualifier was divided in two parts, where first all the 8 sides will play once against each other, and after the regular league season ends, and then the top 4 of the group will play against each other again in the regional championship stage, and after the conclusion of 10 games, the top 3 will qualify to the next round.

Bastab Roy, this time created a balanced squad where many players from last season stayed and few new faces along with few promotions were made from the U17 camp to the RFDL team.

Mohun Bagan started the campaign against local side Kalighat MS, where a young gun Serto Worneilen Kom scored the brace, and Mohun Bagan started the campaign convincingly.

In the second match day, it was a mini derby against the local rivals Mohammedan SC, where Mohun Bagan drew the game 2-2. Tongsin scored a brace for the Bagan brigade, and a Goalkeeping masterclass from Syed Zahid ensured Mohun Bagan leaves field with a point atleast.

The third game was against Adamas United Sports Academy, where Ranjan Bhattacharya's boys stunned Mohun Bagan and won 2-1. Mohun Bagan's consolation goal came from Fardin in the dying seconds of the game.

With this loss, Mohun Bagan were on a little pressure, when they faced Jamshedpur FC, a team filled with the talents from Tata Football Academy. 

Mohun Bagan played the worst game of the tournament so far, where JFC schooled the Bagan boys and won 3-0.

After dropping points in back to back 3 games, the last 3 games of the group became very crucial for Mariners , where they had to earn atleast 7 points to qualify for the next Championship Round. The route was tougher as they had to face ISL title challengers Odisha's youth squad, followed by Super Cup champions East Bengal's Youths and one of the best youth sides in Indian Football circuit in United SC.

As the old saying says, Tough times don't last, but, tough men do. Bastab Roy's boys proved that on the field.

In the 5th game, Mohun Bagan faced Odisha FC. Mohun Bagan had to win, and they won, but how? By beating Odisha 7-0! Fardin scored twice, along with Suhail, Serto, Taison, Engson and Tapan. Youngster Tapan scored his first goal for the club, and Bastab Roy put a statement with this scoreline.

Next came the Derby, which was again a must win. After beating Odisha 7-0, Mohun Bagan Boys were flying high, and they continued the momentum, where they scored 5 past the arch rivals. Sibajit, Taison and Dippendu all scored one each and the poster boy of Bagan, Suhail Ahmad Bhat scored a brace to secure vital +3 points for the Mariners.

In the last game of the first round, Mohun Bagan needed atleast a draw against United SC. Mohun Bagan secured vital +1 point after a 2-2 scoreline, where Suhail and Dippendu continued the goal scoring form.

This +1 point made sure Mohun Bagan finishes 2nd in the league table and qualifies for the Championship Round.

In the regional championship round, Mohun Bagan had to face East Bengal, Jamshedpur and Adamas again. The points were carried forward from the last round, which meant Mohun Bagan realistically required 6 points to qualify on their own, but Mohun Bagan made it tricky.

In the 8th game, they faced East Bengal again, but , this time, East Bengal came out on top, where they beat Mohun Bagan 2-0.

The next two games were virtually a knockout, and Mohun Bagan couldn't afford to drop any more points. In Rabindra Sarovar, in a unplayable ground, they faced Jamshedpur FC. Jamshedpur took an early lead and defended with their lives, but, Clutch Fardin scored an Injury time equaliser to get atleast a point from the game.

In the 10th and last game, Mohun Bagan had to win, as any other result apart from winning means Adamas and JFC will qualify and Mohun Bagan will be knocked out.

Bastab Roy's boys understood the assignment well, and Mohun Bagan emerged victorious 2-0 over Adamas, Courtesy of goals from Tongsin and Clutch Fardin.

This victory ensured Mohun Bagan finishes 2nd in the table and qualified for the National Group stage as the runners from the East Zone.


Now it's time for the Reliance Foundation Development league's National Stage. The draw has taken place and Mohun Bagan has been placed in the Group-D. The Group is as Follows:

A. Mohun Bagan SG; B. Shillong Lajong; C. Punjab FC; D. Home missions FC; E. Pax of Nagoa SC

The Group D matches will take place at the Dular Football Stadium, Mapusa of Goa and Our team will reach Goa on 12th April. The boys will have a training session on 13th before they face Shillong Lajong on 14th April, in the eve of Bengali New Year.

Following this game, a two days training is planned, and, on 17th they will face Pax of Nagoa SC. Following that, a game against Home Mission FC is scheduled on 20th April and we will end our group stage campaign on 23rd April against Punjab FC.

This time, 20 teams are divided into 4 groups, and, The Top team of each group will advance to the Semi Finals of the RFDL 2024, and they will also qualify for the Next Gen Cup, where teams from English Premier League and South African Premier Division will take part.

Mohun Bagan team will fly back to Kolkata on 24th April. If qualified for the knockouts, the team will play against the Group A winner on 12th May, most likely to take place in Mumbai. The final will take place on 17th May against the winner of the other semi finals.

The full Schedule for the knockout is as followed:

12th May :

SF 1 : Grp A winner vs Grp D winner

16th May : 

3rd/4th Place Playoff

SF1 Loser vs SF2 Loser

17th May :

National Championship Final

After finishing 3rd last season, Mohun Bagan are again one of the favourites to win this competition. Serto scored 14 goals last time across the competition for Classic FA, and this time he is on 3 goals. Along with Taison and Suhail, he will be the main man for Bastab Roy's team. Midfielder Sibajit is in excellent touch this time, and, Defensive Duo of Dippendu and Raj should be available for the reminder of the competition too. While the seniors are competing for the shield, the junior Mariners will have a point to prove, and, what better way to do that than winning the RFDL Championship! 


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