ARA FC

ARA

Full name	Ahmedabad Racquet Academy Football Club [1]
Nickname(s)	The Alphas, Ahmedabad Alphas
Short name	ARA
Founded	2016;8 years ago (2016)
Ground	EKA Arena
Capacity	20,000
Owner	Vikram Patel
Head coach	Salim Pathan
League	I-League 3 Gujarat SFA Club Championship
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Departments of ARA FC
Football (Men's)	Football (Women's)	Football (Reserves)

ARA Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. ^{[2] [3] [4]} Founded in 2016, the club is nicknamed "Ahmedabad Alphas", ^[5] and previously competed in I-League 2nd Division. ^{[6] [7] [8]} ARA FC is the first professional team from Gujarat to compete in the nationwide league. ^{[9] [10]} The club also competes in Gujarat SFA Club Championship.

Their reserve and youth teams play in both Hero Sub-Junior League and Hero Elite League, while women team is member of Indian Women's League. ^[11]

History

Academy and early years

Ahmedabad Racquet Academy (ARA) started its journey as a professional multi-sports academy in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which mainly consists of racquet sports and has been running since 2011 and began participating in Ahmedabad Junior league. ^{[12] [13]} The football club was among the newest projects established by the academy in recent times as an initiative by owner Vikram Patel. ^{[14] [15]}

Formation of club

The existing academy owned by Patel emerged as ARA FC in 2016 to ensure development of football in the Indian state of Gujarat. ^[15] On 19 July 2018, their academy were accredited and given two stars based on eligibility criteria, which allowed them to play in Youth League U18. ^[16] ARA as a club became affiliated with Gujarat State Football Association (GSFA) in 2017, ^[17] and began competing in the ADFA Premier Division League. ^{[18] [19]}

2018–present

On 20 November 2018, AIFF nominated ARA for proposed inclusion in the 2018–19 2nd Division League. ^{[20] [21]} On 7 December, it was announced that ARA FC would be one of nine clubs to play that season. ^[22] Thus the Ahmedabad-based club became the only team from the state competing in a domestic tier league. ^[23]

In their maiden I-League 2nd Division in the 2018–19 season, ^[24] ARA finished on fourth place in Group A with 11 points in 8 matches as Lonestar Kashmir progressed to the final round. ^{[25] [26]}

They were nominated for participating in the 2021 I-League Qualifiers, since emerging victorious in Gandhinagar Premier League. ^[27] They began their journey with a 1–1 draw against Corbett FC on 5 October at the Bangalore Football Stadium ^[28] but did not advanced to the final round. ^[29] In February–March 2023, the club participated in Stafford Challenge Cup in Bangalore. ^{[30] [31]} In August 2023, ARA gained I-League 3 spot to compete in the inaugural edition. ^{[32] [33] [34]}

Home stadium

EKA Arena by TransStadia, home ground of ARA

ARA FC plays its home matches at the EKA Arena, which has a capacity of 20,000 spectators. ^[35] The stadium is located in Kankaria Lake, Ahmedabad, and has additional 10,000 temporary seats on the pitch area. ^[36]

Panoramic view of the stadium

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
2018–2021	SEVEN [37]	Amul [38]
2021–present	Decathlon Sports

Current squad

As of 13 March 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   IND sangramjith Roy 2 DF   IND Daniel 3 DF   IND Surajit Seal 5 FW   IND Vivekananda Sagayaraj 6 MF   IND Hijam Lenin Singh 7 FW   IND Manvir Singh 8 MF   IND Rutig Ahirrao 9 FW   IND Fredsan Marshall 10 FW   IND 11 DF   IND Jacob John 12 DF   IND Shanid Valan 13 DF   IND Parnenda Singh Thakur 14 MF   IND D Sheltohn Paul 15 MF   IND Lalthankuma

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF   IND Pratik Swami 17 MF   IND Aditya Prathap 18 MF   IND Vedant Kharkrwal 19 MF   IND Prabin Tigga 20 FW   IND Lalruatmawia 21 GK   IND Vishal Rajkumar Dube 23 MF   IND Khaidem Vicky Meitei 24 DF   IND Rakesh Oram 25 FW   IND Jay Kanani 27 DF   IND Palash Barber 28 MF   IND Bikramjit Singh 30 DF   IND Jenishsinh Rana 31 GK   IND Ankit Bhuyan 33 MF   IND Yami Longvah

Current technical staff

As of 12 November 2019

Position	Name
Team manager	Marmik Pandya
Head coach	Vivek Nagul
Assistant coach	Salim Pathan
Physio	Falgun Bhatt

Honours

League

• Gujarat SFA Club Championship ^{[39] [40] [41]}
  • Champions (1): 2022
• ADFA Ahmedabad District League 2nd Division
  • Champions (1): 2017 ^[42]
• ADFA Ahmedabad District League 1st Division
  • Champions (2): 2018, ^[42] 2021–22
• Gandhinagar Premier League
  • Champions (1): 2020–21

Cup

• Heritage Cup Jaipur
  • Champions (1): 2020

Records

Season	Div.	Tms.	Pos.	Attendance/G	Federation Cup / Super Cup	AFC Champions League	AFC Cup
2018–19	IL2	16	G4th	650	DNP	DNP	DNP
2019–20	IL2	18	Final round 4th	–	DNP	DNP	DNP

Key

• Tms. = Number of teams
• Pos. = Position in league
• Attendance/G = Average league attendance

Managerial record

updated on 25 October 2020

Name	Nationality	From	To	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Win%
Vivek Nagul [43]	India	2018	2021	19	7	4	8	28	29	036.84
Manuel Retamero Fraile	Spain	2021		0	0	0	0	0	0	!—

Notable players

For current and former notable ARA FC players with a Wikipedia article, see: ARA FC players .

Other departments

Women's team

ARA FC has its women's football team that competes in the Indian Women's League, the highest division of Indian women's football. ^[44] Before the kick-off of 2021–22 Indian Women's League season, four teams including ARA Women from four states played each other once in April 2022, in the qualifying round at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi and they qualified for the final round after topping the group. ^[45]

Honours

• Gujarat State Women's League
  • Champions (1): 2021–22 ^[46]
  • Third place (1): 2022–23

Youth men's

Youth men's team of ARA competes in the Ahmedabad Elite Youth Cup Ahmedabad. ^[47] Club's U17 team participated in "regional group stages" of 2022–23 U-17 Youth Cup. ^[48]

See also

• List of football clubs in India

References

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4. Joshi, Rutvij (8 September 2019). "Exclusive: Slovakian third division side MFK Lokomotiva Zvolen sign Indian youngster Vinay Singh". www.khelnow.com. Khel Now. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
5. Chowdhury, Aritra (3 October 2020). "ARA FC coach Nagul and captain Shoaib optimistic ahead of I-League qualifiers". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Kolkata: The Times of India. TNN. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
6. "2nd Division League: Matchday 13 (30/03-06/04)". The Away End. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
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8. "Eighteen teams, including 7 reserve sides of ISL clubs to contest in revamped 2017-18 Second Division league". First Post. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
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16. "AIFF Academy accreditation for India results for 2018/19 season announced!". arunfoot.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
17. "Dhanraj Nathwani unanimously elected president of GSFA". 7 August 2017. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
18. ADFA 1st Division League: AFC On The Move Archived 4 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine Ahmedabad Mirror. Retrieved 4 October 2021
19. Ahmedabad District Senior Football League Gets Underway The Times of India. Retrieved 4 October 2021
20. Scroll Staff. "Football: State associations nominate 23 teams for second division of I-League". scroll.in. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
21. "ARA vs Hindustan". i-league.org. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
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43. "HEARTBROKEN BUT UPBEAT: ARA FC HEAD COACH VIVEK NAGUL". Ahmadabad Mirror. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
44. "Indian Women's League: ARA FC aim to be organised against dominant Sethu FC". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Bhubaneswar: The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
45. "ARA FC defeat YWC 4-3, qualify for Indian Women's League 2022". thebridge.in. The Bridge. Press Trust of India. 5 April 2022. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
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48. "49 teams to participate in AIFF Elite Youth League 2022–23". the-aiff.com. New Delhi: All India Football Federation. 7 December 2022. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2023.

Further reading

• "Match report: ARA vs Hindustan". i-league.org. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
• "ARA 5–0 Mumbai City Reserves". All India Football Federation . Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
• "I-League Qualifiers: Bhawanipore FC Sign Off with Comfortable 2–0 Win over ARA FC". Kolkata: News18. 19 October 2020. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.

External links

• ARA Football Club at the-aiff.com
• Team info at spotik.in
• Team info at Global Sports Archive
• ARA FC archives at ANI News