Wari Club: Dhaka's oldest sporting club fights for survival
Wari Club has had a dominant presence in the sporting arena for most of its long history, but the last few years have not been kind to them. Today the once mighty club stands at the crossroads of history: Can they bring back the glory days or will they perish?
Which was Dhaka's first sporting club? The first names that come to our mind are Abahani, Mohammedan and maybe even Victoria. However, long before these clubs were founded, the first sporting club of Dhaka started its journey in old Dhaka's Wari.
Taking a stroll from Shapla Chattar to Motijheel Club Para, the first club to come into view is Mohammedan. If you walk a little further, you can see the main gate of 'Wari Club', which proclaims its year of establishment to be 1898, making the club 124 years old! This makes it not only the oldest club in town but one of the oldest in the Indian subcontinent.
In 1835, Ramdas Bhaduri, a progeny of the famous Bhaduri sporting family of Faridpur, founded a sports organisation in the Wari area of Dhaka named 'Wellington Club'. When the organisation ceased operations, a few sports organisers from Wari, with the help of the local zamindar Surendra Nath Roy, turned the club into 'Wari Sporting Club', Dhaka's first football club, in 1898.
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Ever since its inception, Wari Club has had a dominant presence in the sporting arena. But all that is now in the golden past. The once-great club is now in a state of disarray.
Now that there is a fresh breeze blowing in the country's sports arena, can the first sporting club of Dhaka regain its former glory?
Halcyon Days
Wari Sporting Club. Its colours are red and white, its slogan – 'Ek hridoy, ek mon' ( 'One Heart, One Soul').
During the British Raj, the club premises were the main meeting place of the local elite; their status was also associated with the club. So they used to spend money hand over fist to build the best team possible.
Wari Club's first big success in football came in 1910. That year the Wari club defeated the British Royal 'Prashad' ('Palace') team. Then, in 1917, the club caused a massive upset by defeating the then-league champion Lincoln Club.
In 1919 they beat Mohun Bagan! At that time, Mohun Bagan was one of the best clubs not only in Bengal but also in the Indian subcontinent.
In 1925, England's club 'Sherwood Forest' visited India. Wari lost 2-1. However, the Wari club managed to put the ball into Sherwood's net at least once, which no other team from the subcontinent managed to do.
The world-famous Corinthian football team was undefeated in the subcontinent until, in 1937, the Dhaka XI team defeated them. All but one of the players of that XI were from the Wari club.
Initially, Wari Club focused solely on football but eventually started participating in four other sports: hockey, volleyball, cricket, and table tennis.
In 1953, the Wari hockey team won the league title for the first time. Playing in Kolkata that very same year, they defeated the league-winning Mohun Bagan hockey team 3-1.
Like hockey, they won regular titles in table tennis. Khurshid Anwar and Anwar Samad of the club became champions in the East Pakistan League in 1953. This trend continues to this day.
Wari Club was called a volleyball player manufacturing factory. Their volleyball team was regular league winners in the '60s and '70s. In 1985, they finished runners-up in the International Volleyball Championship held in Sri Lanka.
The club's success in cricket is nothing to scoff at, either. They have a record of winning hat-trick National Leagues. Many players who went on to play in the Bangladesh national team have got their start in this club.
Here comes Wari!
There was a time when football was the obsession of the local youth and the rivalry between Abahani-Mohammedan was the stuff of legend. A third name, Wari Club, was also in the mix.
After independence, Wari was no longer the force they once were as they no longer had the funds they once did. But they were still known as 'Giant killer' because Wari club had a knack for defeating big clubs.
In 1978, 'Abahani Krira Chakra' lost to Wari Club in two consecutive legs. And that's when the supporters of the arch-rival Mohammedan came up with the legendary chant 'Wari Ailo' (Here comes Wari)!
Glory days are long gone
Traditionally, the DC of Dhaka is the Wari Club president. All other posts are elected. Mahidur Rahman Miraj, the current General Secretary of Wari Club, is a player from the golden days of the club. Even before the BFF introduced the electoral system in 1998, the Board of Directors of the Wari Club was formed through elections. That trend is still ongoing.
Wari club is not doing very well. The Wari Club cricket team dissolved in 2015. In football, they play in the second tier of the professional league, Bangladesh Championship League (BCL). The Wari Club hockey team has also been relegated to the first division.
Wari club had many international achievements in volleyball. Once the club played international tournaments in places like Thailand and Sri Lanka, now they finish 5th and 6th in the league regularly. Although the club has occasionally won titles in table tennis, it is not regular.
The infrastructure of the club is also underdeveloped. Young footballers of the North Bengal Sporting Club, who play under-16 football for Wari, have poor accommodation.
Reasons behind the current state
Jahangir Alam was a regular player in Wari Club's volleyball team. Along with volleyball, he also played professional football. From start to finish, his only club in volleyball was Wari. From 1981 to 1983, his club won three consecutive Premier League championships in volleyball.
Currently, he is the general secretary and coach of the volleyball team at Wari Club. According to him, the reason behind this current condition of the Wari club is 'lack of money'. Once upon a time, club football in Dhaka was immensely popular; those days are no more. Yet, even a few years ago, everything was going well with donations from various organisations and support from club members.
The Wari club's main income, however, was the money it received from Bingo called 'Hauzi' locally. But a few years ago, raids were carried out against casinos in clubs like Mohammedan Club, Arambagh Krira Sangha, Dilkusha Sporting Club etc, and even though they were not involved in the casino business, they had to stop hosting bingo at Wari Club. "The club's main source of income was bingo. We have no source of income. Nothing," said Jahangir.
Golam Quddus Chowdhury (Babu), former president of the Bangladesh Volleyball Federation, was a player of Wari club. In 1957, at the age of 17, he joined the club's volleyball team and played for them until 1984. Although primarily associated with volleyball, he was elected as the vice president of the Wari club for two terms. He also believes the main reason for the plight of the club is the financial crisis.
"The general secretary of the club during our time was MA Hashem bhai. He managed the club very well. But we did not have any big donors. There was some income from Bingo. Especially because of lack of money, the club could not bring in good players; it was difficult to train them as well. The club's current condition is a result of financial problems."
Apart from money, many people associated with the club believe that the internal conflict within the club is responsible for the club's current state as well. Mahmudur Rahman Momin and Sirajul Islam Bachchu were two skilled organisers of Wari Club. Although both are now deceased, the two factions that formed as a result of their conflict in the early 1990s survive to this day.
But Miraj disagrees. According to him, a bigger problem than grouping is the lack of money. " Earlier, a few lakh taka would have been enough to form a team; now, it takes one to one and a half crore taka to build a quality football team. Without a major sponsor, it's not possible to assemble a good team," he said.
Bringing back the glory
"We want to bring back the cricket team. But now, if we play, we have to start from the third division. We have contacted the cricket board," said Miraj.
Their club is taking some steps to overcome the financial crisis. "We will set up some shops adjacent to the Club, around ten. Even Bingo might restart," said Alam. According to him, Wari Club will survive no matter what, because it is a 'gentleman's' club.
"Our aim is to bring players from the grassroots level and give them the opportunity to play in the national league and, eventually, the national team. We have been doing it since independence; we will do it in the future too. Hopefully, we will succeed. Our team will regain its lost glory," added a hopeful Miraj.
