East Pakistan Gymkhana FC

EP Gymkhana FC
Full nameEast Pakistan Gymkhana FC
Founded1948
Dissolvedc. 1960

East Pakistan Gymkhana football team (Bengali: পূর্ব পাকিস্তান জিমখানা ফুটবল দল), also referred as EP Gymkhana, was an association football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh (previosuly East Pakistan). The club most notably won the Dhaka First Division League in 1949.[1] The football team was part of the larger multi-sports East Pakistan Gymkhana Club (later Bangladesh Gymkhana Club), which included a cricket team[2] that operated even after the Independence of Bangladesh.

History

East Pakistan Gymkhana was founded after the partition of India, with former Kolkata Mohammedan footballers Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury and Rashid Ahmed serving as its president and general secretary, respectively. It was one of the few Dhaka-based clubs to own its own practice ground, located in the Motijheel area of Dhaka, near the later constructed Dhaka Stadium.[3] In 1948, the club won the inaugural Second Division Football League held in Dhaka after partition.[4]

In 1949, the club played their inaugural First Division Football League match against reigning champions, Victoria SC on 25 May, and lost 0–8.[5] Nevertheless, the Gymkhana team captained by Ikramul Amin Asad lost only one more game the entire season, and clinched the league title on 30 July, following a 2–0 victory against Mahuttuli Club.[6] The club's attacker Wahed scored both goals in the game. On 2 August, Gymkhana ended the season with a 1–0 victory against New East Bengal Club, with their striker, Aminur Rahman Dhonu scoring the lone goal.[7] They finished with 26 points from 16 league games, with 12 victories, 2 draws and 2 defeats.[8]

Notable players from the team during its title winning season include Alauddin Khan, Kodrot Ullah, Amanullah, Khan Mojlish, Fazlur Rahman Arzu, Khalek, Monsur, and Samad.[9][10][11] In 1950, the club finished runners-up in the First Division, behind Dhaka Wanderers Club. In 1951, the team was trained by former Kolkata Mohammedan center-forward, Hafiz Rashid.[12] Nevertheless, the club soon lost its early form and spent the next decade near the bottom of the league table. In 1955, they fought relegation alongside Dhaka Mohammedan but escaped after the league was abandoned with a few games remaining. Eventually, in 1957, the team was relegated from the First Division and soon discontinued its football operations.

Honours

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bangladesh - List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  2. ^ "Pakistan Observer 1967.01.02 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  3. ^ Alam, Dhrubo (16 July 2018). "Kick, Score, Scream! The History of Football in Dhaka". Ice Today. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Pakistan Observer 1969.08.01 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  5. ^ "প্রথম দিনের খেলা লিগ চ্যাম্পিয়ন ভিক্টোরিয়া দলের সাফল্য" [First day's play saw success for league champion Victoria team] (in Bengali). The Azad. 26 May 1949. p. 6.
  6. ^ "ইস্ট পাকিস্তান জিমখানা দলের লীগ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ লাভ" [East Pakistan Gymkhana team wins league championship] (in Bengali). The Azad. 31 July 1949. p. 6.
  7. ^ "জিমখানা দলের জয়লাভ" [Gymkhana team wins] (in Bengali). The Azad. 3 August 1949. p. 6.
  8. ^ "প্রথম বিভাগ লীগের ফাইনাল তালিকা" [First Division League Final List] (in Bengali). The Azad. 6 August 1949. p. 6.
  9. ^ "Pakistan Observer 1969.07.03 — South Asian Newspapers". gpa.eastview.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  10. ^ "চলে গেলেন বাংলাদেশ ফুটবলের কিংবদন্তি আরজু" [Bangladesh football legend Arzu passes away]. m.u71news.com (in Bengali). 22 March 2016. Archived from the original on 19 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  11. ^ Dulal, Mahmud (2014). পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় (transl. Bengali players in the Pakistan national team) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. pp. 58–59.
  12. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Monday 28 May 1951". p. 6. Retrieved 7 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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