Post by Carl LaFong on Dec 22, 2018 23:37:45 GMT
Most people would assume an Indian sporting fixture that regularly attracts more than 100,000 people could only be one thing: a game of cricket.
But tell that to the people of Kolkata, who on Sunday gathered at the city's Salt Lake Stadium for the latest instalment of the 'Boro Derby', as East Bengal took on Mohun Bagan in what might well be the most well-attended, fiercely competitive and historically significant derby you've never heard of.
This was the 366th meeting of the sides - it has been played 134 more times than the Merseyside derby - and consumes the city, which is regarded as the game's spiritual home in a country of 1.3bn people.
Here, we take you inside a match steeped in tradition, watched by 'ultras' and regarded as a battleground for identity in India's third-biggest city.
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46591260
Didn't realise the got such huge crowds for football.
But tell that to the people of Kolkata, who on Sunday gathered at the city's Salt Lake Stadium for the latest instalment of the 'Boro Derby', as East Bengal took on Mohun Bagan in what might well be the most well-attended, fiercely competitive and historically significant derby you've never heard of.
This was the 366th meeting of the sides - it has been played 134 more times than the Merseyside derby - and consumes the city, which is regarded as the game's spiritual home in a country of 1.3bn people.
Here, we take you inside a match steeped in tradition, watched by 'ultras' and regarded as a battleground for identity in India's third-biggest city.
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46591260
Didn't realise the got such huge crowds for football.
