107-year-old city club keeps date with football World Cup

GUWAHATI: The 107-year-old Maharana Athletic Club, with a glorious history of producing footballers for the Santosh Trophy and Bordoloi Trophy, is all set to raise a toast to the spirit of the FIFA World Cup. It has put up a 72X48 inch screen to beam the matches.
"Football fever is at its peak and what could be more exciting than watching the matches on a big screen," said Amiya Kalita, secretary of the club.Some pubs and a cinema hall in the city are also making arrangements for soccer lovers to relish the footworks on the field on a giant screen.
Football frenzy kicked off on Tuesday when Bollywood heartthrob John Abraham arrived in the city to unveil the Northeast United Football Club, a Guwahati franchisee entry in the proposed Indian Super League.
"This is a great opportunity for the city and the northeast as a whole to be a part of the game on a bigger platform. It could help local players economically and professionally," said Kalita.
Initially known as the Oriental Club, the Maharana Athletic Club was rechristened in 1939. Formed in 1907 by Jogesh Sen, Uttam Chandra Das, Kartabya Gupta, Shyam Gupta and others, the club was a result of the never-say-die attitude of these men in the times of the British Raj. The idea behind the club was to create a niche for local sportsmen and competitors. Now even in its 107th year, the club is still infusing the same spirit among its members.
The club is also credited with being the first to play a tournament outside the state in 1937. It has topped the Guwahati Football League 15 times from 1946 to 1975. Moreover, the club has won each and every football tournament in the northeast.