The entire Bengali diaspora in and around London seems to have buzzed at Arbour Park, Home Slough Town Football Club. The reason is the IFA Shield U.K. for Men, Women and Kids segments.
After a well fought tournament Mohammedan Sporting Fans, playing for the first time , emerged as the winner of the SNU IFA Shield U.K. for Men beating a fancied Indian High Commission team which had former India international Jules Alberto playing for them, 2-0. The women’s section saw a very exciting round of penalty shoot out where Mohun Bagan won the IIHM IFA Shield U.K. for Women. The kids’ shield was won by East Bengal.
All the players of the tournament signed a congratulatory card for the SAFF Cup winning India Team to the Indian Deputy High Commissioner. The event was attended by representatives of the British Royal Army and Royal Air Force, who handed over the winning trophies along with the Indian Deputy High Commissioner Mr Sujit Ghosh. and representatives of the lead sponsor GBS.
There was a festive atmosphere throughout the day with several food stalls selling Bengali delicacies and sweets. The event sponsors Tushar Fas Ghosh of ETOS in London, Surajit Nandi of Floral from Kolkata and Deepak Pramanik of Aidias based in U.K. and India, all expressed similar feelings of happiness at the way the event was delivered engaging the diaspora over the last few months. The director of Heritage Bengal Global, who organised this. Anirban Mukhopadhyay, thanked everyone for their participation and announced their plans to organise a diaspora cricket event on 20th August, called the London Sixes for the Independence Day Cup.