Indian football club Mohun Bagan on Wednesday became India’s first ever sports entity to feature on the NASDAQ billboards in New York’s Times Square.

Fans were delighted to see their club’s colours (Maroon and Green) on the billboards on Mohun Bagan Day, celebrated every year on July 29 to commemorate the team’s famous IFA Shield triumph in 1911 when it defeated East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 and became the first Indian club to end the British stranglehold on the tournament.

Although the 131-year-old Kolkata-based club has no dearth of supporters across the world, the American stock exchange paying it tribute by displaying its logo and colours on its billboard holds special significance.

Mohun Bagan’s top official Debashis Dutta told PTI, “It is a matter of great pride for all Mohun Bagan fans and supporters. It shows the kind of stature the club enjoys. No Indian sports club has ever featured on something like this, so it is significant, very different.” 

Founded in 1889, Mohun Bagan’s 1911 triumph was seen as a huge moment in India’s freedom struggle at the time as it gave hope to the people that the British could be defeated. The victory was not just for the 11 barefooted players but for the country as a whole.

Responding to the displays, the club tweeted, “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 !! #JoyMohunBagan #MohunBaganDay2020.” 

Mohun Bagan won the National Football League three times and the I-League twice, including the last season. They had managed to clinch the title just before the league was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Earlier this year, the club announced a merger with the Indian Super League (ISL) club Atletico de Kolkata (ATK), and will be renamed as ATK-Mohun Bagan.

The club will be part of the next season of the ISL, which is scheduled to be held behind closed doors from November this year to next March.