NEW YORK: On the occasion of Mohun Bagan Day 2020, the storied Kolkata football club was featured on the NASDAQ billboards in New York’s Times Square on Wednesday.
“The pictures from NASDAQ is a testimony to the fact that Mohun Bagan belongs to a different league. Huge day for all the Mariners!! Happy Mohun Bagan Day Mariners,” Mohun Bagan tweeted on its official Twitter handle.
Earlier, the club management declared that due to the global pandemic situation, Mohun Bagan Day celebrations would be a virtual event broadcast live on the official social media handles of Mohun Bagan.
The events kickstarted in the early hours Wednesday and continued through the day. There were various talk shows featuring club legends, celebrities and club management and also various other events covering all award winners of Mohun Bagan Day 2020.
Commenting on the same Mohun Bagan general secretary Srinjoy Bose said: “The current pandemic situation remains challenging to organize the Mohun Bagan Day in club premises and also there is a lockdown announced on 29th July, so we have decided to host all our programs online this year so that fans can get the feel of Mohun Bagan Day from their home comfort.”
Finance secretary Debashis Dutta added: “Organizing full scale event during this pandemic is not safe for our fans and colleagues. So we intend to leverage the digital platform of Mohun Bagan Athletic club to host multiple events throughout the day and I am confident that fans will like them.”
Mohun Bagan Day has been celebrated on 29 July each year since 2001, to commemorate their historic victory over East Yorkshire Regiment in the IFA Shield Final on this day in 1911.
The victory was seen as a huge moment in India’s freedom struggle at the time, giving hope to the people that the British could be defeated.
The club also awards the Mohun Bagan Ratna to former players who made significant contributions to the team, as well as other major sporting personalities.
This year, the Mohun Bagan Ratna will be awarded to hockey great Gurbux Singh and former Bengal cricketer Palash Nandy.
The iconic club was founded in 1889 and has won the National Football League three times and the I-League twice, including in 2020. They had managed to clinch the title just before the league was ended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The club, earlier this year, announced a merger with the Indian Super League (ISL) franchise ATK FC, and is being rechristened ATK-Mohun Bagan.
