From zero to hero in six years: Diamond Harbor throws open the ISL door with back-to-back promotions

The football narrative in West Bengal has been largely dominated by the Big Three: East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting. And rightly so. But now the state has another name to talk about: Diamond Harbor Football Club.

The club, which was founded only six years ago, has taken step by step, but will finally have earned its status as a top club in 2026.

Diamond Harbor started as a project like hundreds of clubs in the state, and two years later became affiliated with the Indian Football Association (IFA). But the vision was clear: rapid promotion, and that too on the basis of merit.

It turned to Kibu Vicuna, a coach well versed in Indian football. He won the I-League – India’s top flight at the time – with Mohun Bagan in his first season in the country, and also coached Kerala Blasters and Mohammedan Sporting.

«The difficulties were very great because winning one championship is very difficult, but winning three consecutive titles was a seriously difficult task. But we were all in it. We believed in it from the beginning, and so did the management,» says Vicuna. Sports stars.

The initial rise

The Indian men’s football pyramid consists of five steps: State Leagues —> I-League 3 —> I-League 2 —> Indian Football League (I-League) —> Indian Super League. The club ended up in the I-League 3 through nomination.

«In these four years, we started from scratch and tried some players we knew. We started scouting from everywhere, from the Calcutta Football League, the I-League, and every season we scouted better players,» Vicuna added.

Signing local striker Naro Hari Shrestha worked wonders – the striker who had won the gold at the National Games with West Bengal in 2022. He finished as the tournament’s highest goalscorer – with ten goals in eleven games – and scored a further five in I-League 2.

Between September 2024 and April 2025, Vicuna and its departments won double promotion by winning both I-League 3 and I-League 2, making the club’s vision clearer.

The I-League grind

Diamond Harbor was just a step away from playing in the ISL.

But the Indian Football League was a very different story: more teams, a longer season and physically aggressive matches – a division where old clubs like Aizawl, Shillong Lajong, Gokulam Kerala and Dempo have battled for promotion.

It was here that Vicuna’s experience in India proved crucial.

“The knowledge from here definitely helped because every country has its own football culture, especially Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters – it was important,” he says, underscoring how he looked for players with experience somewhere around the ISL.

In came Luka Majcen, Mirshad K. Michu, Melroy Assisi, Bryce Miranda and Halicharan Narzary (on loan), all of whom had both I-League and ISL experience. Notably, Narzary had taken the winning penalty to guide Hyderabad FC to their first and only ISL title.

Five more foreigners joined the club: Kevin Aladesanmi, Hugo Díaz, Antonio Moyano, Mikel Kortazar and Sunday Afolab. Suddenly the club no longer adapted to the second division; it looked to win the title in its first season in the IFL.

Never say never

«We tried to win every match, no matter what the tournament was. So we reached the final of the Durand Cup by beating three ISL teams,» says Vicuna.

On the pitch, Vicuna adhered to one of the game’s simplest yet most effective philosophies: accurate set pieces. Of the 31 goals Diamond Harbor has scored in IFL this season, 20 have come from set-pieces.

Former East Bengal regular Joby Justin and Narzary became the most powerful carriers down the two flanks, while Antonio Moyano played as a False 9. The triumvirate directly contributed to 21 of the club’s 31 goals in the IFL.

But what separated the club from the rest was beyond strategy; it was resilience. In nine of the thirteen IFL matches this season, Diamond Harbor made comebacks from losing positions to earn 17 of the 29 points.

In the last match of the season, Diamond Harbor even trailed 0-1 against Dempo SC before Hugo Diaz equalized in first-half stoppage time to secure the title for the West Bengal club.

What is the secret of the comebacks?

«No secrets,» Vicuna clarifies, «it’s about our values: we are an attacking team. We always want to score more goals than the opponent, and when they score, we try to respond back based on our capabilities. This is something we have only developed this season. We have nurtured this during training, with ambition, confidence and humility,» says Vicuna.

Diamond Harbour’s journey to become a potential fourth ‘Big Gun’ in West Bengal football could have written the first chapter.

However, clubs from Vicuna and West Bengal who entered ISL after winning the I-League have both never fared this badly before. Mohammedan Sporting, the 2023-24 I-League champions, were relegated from ISL this season, while Vicuna were shown the door by Kerala Blasters after the club managed just three wins in 18 matches.

But Diamond Harbor’s journey has been like never before, and the coach will be hoping that he and the club are lucky enough for a second time to complete the cinematic climb to the top of the Indian Super League podium very soon.

Published on May 20, 2026