East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of the Indian football. It is one of the most successful football clubs in the country. Founded in August 1920, the club became affiliated with the Indian Football Association in 1922 and initially played in the Calcutta Football League Second Division before earning promotion to the First Division in 1924. East Bengal won its first First Division league title in 1942 and has since won it a record 39 times. The club was a founding member of the National Football League, the first nation-wide football league in India in 1996, which it has won three times since. They have also won eight Federation Cups, three Super Cups, a record 29 IFA Shield titles, and a record 16 Durand Cup titles, making the club one of the most decorated in Indian football. East Bengal is one of the most widely supported football clubs in Asia. The club is mainly supported by the Bangals, i.e., the immigrant population from the eastern region of Bengal, who were forced to leave their homes (modern-day Bangladesh) during the partition of 1947. For those people, East Bengal Club became a source of identity and hope. The huge influx of dispossessed into the state led to a socio-economic crisis. This led to rivalries among the immigrant and native population of West Bengal, popularly named as Bangal (বাঙাল) in every sphere of life, from jobs to schools and even on football pitches. As a result, East Bengal has a long-standing rivalry with its cross-town competitors Mohun Bagan, now known as ATK Mohun Bagan, which is mainly supported by the native population, named popularly as Ghoti (ঘটি), with whom it competes in the Kolkata derby, Asia's biggest football rivalry. East Bengal also shares a local rivalry with another Kolkata club, Mohammedan. The club dons the iconic red and golden yellow colours, which give it the nickname of Red and Gold Brigade and Laal Holud (লাল হলুদ). The both teams have separate nicknames for their adversaries, i.e. Macha (মাচা) for the Mohun Bagan fans and Lota (লোটা) for the East Bengal fans. In 2011, East Bengal was ranked second amongst all India teams and 554th internationally by the International