Explained | All you need to know about Durand Cup 2025 surprise finalists Diamond Harbour FC

They began as a district team in 2020, backed West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee. Now they are 90 minutes away from Durand Cup glory.

Kolkata's youngest football story is not being written by East Bengal or Mohun Bagan, but by a three-year-old outfit that was barely a district side until recently.

Diamond Harbour FC, founded in 2020, backed by Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, knocked out East Bengal from the Durand Cup semifinal - a giant-killing act that has left them 90 minutes away from lifting the Durand Cup - India's oldest football tournament.

From district dreams to national stage

Cleared by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 2022 to play in the Calcutta Football League First Division, Diamond Harbour FC started as an ambitious local project with big plans. The club has wasted little time climbing the rungs.

They stormed through I-League 3, then I-League 2, and will soon feature in the I-League — the country’s second tier. For a team with just three seasons of competitive football behind them, the rise has been nothing short of meteoric.

Knocking out a giant

That momentum reached its peak on Wednesday (August 20), when they shocked East Bengal 2-1 in the Durand Cup semifinal. East Bengal had just beaten arch-rivals Mohun Bagan in the Kolkata Derby quarterfinal tie and entered the match as favourites. But the underdogs flipped the script.

Former East Bengal men Mirshad Michu and Joby Justin inflicted the damage, proving that in football, statistics mean little if you do not score. Compact and disciplined under Spanish coach Kibu Vicuna, the debutants showed a ruthless streak on the counter, sending shockwaves across Indian football.

A bigger dream in sight

Abhishek has already spoken about his dream of taking Diamond Harbour into the Indian Super League one day. Step one was to earn a spot in the CFL Premier A, and to measure up against Kolkata’s Big Three. They have ticked that box — and then some. Now, as the youngest finalists in recent memory, they face defending champions NorthEast United in the title clash on Saturday (August 23).

From district debutants to Durand Cup title contenders in just three years, Diamond Harbour FC have scripted an underdog tale that Indian football has not seen in years. One more win, and the fairytale becomes history.