Football Lovers' Day celebrated with due dignity, huge response to blood donation on the initiative of IFA.
Photo by Bibhash Lodh / BS News Agency.
Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency Kolkata: Football Lovers' Day is being celebrated with due dignity on this day. The 16 football lovers who lost their lives while watching the East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan match in 1980 are being remembered. During the match, tension spread in the gallery of the then Ranji Stadium or Eden Gardens. As a result, a terrible accident occurred.
Since the year after that incident, today is celebrated as Football Lovers' Day on the joint initiative of IFA and the Association of Voluntary Blood Donors Association.
Today, on the 45th Football Lovers' Day, as usual, tributes were paid at Gate No. 5 of Eden and a blood donation camp was organized at Khudiram Training Center. Apart from the IFA leaders, Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Arup Biswas, Mayor Firhad Hakim, Councilor and Sports Administrator Bishwaroop Dey and former footballers were present.
The blood donation started at 9 am. It is scheduled to continue till 6 pm. Apart from this, this blood donation camp was held at 11 other centers in the state. These centers are Ujjivan Voluntary Blood Donors Society, Hindustan Cables, Chittaranjan Selfless Service Society, Siliguri Welfare Organization, Ghatal Voluntary Blood Donors Association, Taki Arian Club, Kulti Town Social Welfare Committee, Jiban Sathi Voluntary Blood Donors Association, Dakshin Dinajpur Voluntary Blood Donors Association, Jhargram District Voluntary Blood Donors Association and Purulia Town. Former national goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee signed the blood donor certificates this year. This year, IFA also felicitated all the blood donors who have been donating blood at this camp for 15 to 25 consecutive years.