SC East Bengal reveal official home, away and third kits for new season; fans ecstatic

SC East Bengal have unveiled their new home, away and third kits ahead of the 2020-21 Indan Super League (ISL) season. The team's three kits have been designed by Bengal-based fashion designer Meghna Nayak and are inspired by the symbols relating to East Bengal club and the state of West Bengal.

While the club received numerous submissions, it chose Meghna Nayak's designs. Nayak’s concepts for SC East Bengal, inspired by the Flame, the ‘Ilish’ or Hilsa fish, and the Royal Bengal Tiger of the Sunderbans instantly appealed to the club, SC East Bengal said in a press release.

East Bengal head coach Robbie Fowler was amazed by the jersey and said at its unveiling, “The jerseys look amazing. The bright red and gold home kit has traditionally been synonymous with the club and with the flaming torch adding to the firepower. Our away and third kits also have a lot of tradition ingrained in them which makes it even more special." 

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The home kit is a stylised version of the flame in the club logo. The rendition in red and yellow continues to “signal the dynamism and firepower” of the team while adapting it to new design sensibilities “It had to be simple, iconic, and distinctly recognizable from afar,” said Nayak.

The away kit in blue and white is a cheeky nod to the Ilish or Hilsa fish that is inextricably associated with families that famously feast on Hilsa after an East Bengal win. "The design can be interpreted as fish scales, armour or water to depict the waters that flow between and forever connect East and West Bengal, and provide life and livelihood to its people," said Nayak. 

Speaking about the third kit that was designed, the designer said that the third kit had to be something different, and the inspiration that she chose was the Bengal Tiger. “What better symbol to invoke than the fierceness of the beast indistinguishably associated with Bengal,” Nayak said. The pride, energy and power that the tiger invokes, the uniqueness of its home – the Sunderbans, which protect our region from all sorts of environmental impacts and provide livelihoods to millions of people, was the perfect symbol for our third jersey."

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Former Republic of Ireland international and a player seen as key to SC East Bengal's debut ISL season, Anthony Pilkington said, regarding the kit, "I am in love with the home kit already. I think it has positive energy to it and looks good too. I can’t wait to don the shirt and take the field." 

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Fans ecstatic with SC East Bengal jerseys

The new season of the ISL will kick off on November 20, with East Bengal FC playing arch-rivals ATK Mohun Bagan on November 27 to kick off their ISL campaign. 

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Image credits: SC East Bengal Twitter