Full name | Hindustan Football Club | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | Hindustan | ||
Short name | HFC | ||
Founded | 1948 | ||
Ground | Various | ||
Head coach | Abhijoy Basu | ||
League | Delhi Premier League | ||
2021–22 | Delhi Premier League, runners-up | ||
Website | Club website | ||
Hindustan Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in New Delhi. [1] [2] Affiliated with Football Delhi (FD), the club last participated in Delhi Premier League. [3] [4] [5]
Founded in 1948, Hindustan predominantly participated in I-League 2nd Division, [6] [7] [8] which was then second tier of Indian football league system. [9] [10] They use Ambedkar Stadium as home ground, in addition to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for selected matches.
Hindustan FC was founded in 1948 in New Delhi. [11] [12] [13] Thus it, owned and run by Bengalis, became one of the oldest football clubs in the capital city of India. [14] The club has been affiliated with Delhi Soccer Association (DSA), [15] which is now known as Football Delhi, [16] and participate in the DSA Senior Division league (now named Delhi Premier League). [17] They for the first time lifted the regional league title in 2001–02 season, [18] while club's goalkeeper Salim Ansari was presented the player of the year award. [19]
In November 2002, Hindustan participated in the inaugural edition of Delhi Lt. Governor's Cup and reached to the semi-finals. [20] The club later competed in the National Football League Second Division continuously in 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, but were not granted the permission of joining the newly formed I-League II (then second-tier) for not fulfilling the AFC club licensing criteria. [21] In 2007, Hindustan FC roped in their first foreign coach, Bernard Operanozie from Nigeria. [22] Hindustan clinched their second DSA Senior Division title in 2009 season as co-winners with Indian National FC. [23]
Hindustan Football Academy was started by the former club chairman D. K. Bose, [24] and they roped in Spanish professional coach Óscar Bruzón on board for a period of two years to train Delhi's budding footballers in the age group of under-12 and under-16. [25] Hindustan FC, founded just after the independence of India, have been the flag bearers from the capital in the second tier of Indian football, having participated for a record 14 times. [26] They also participated in the 2014 I-League 2nd Division and moved to the final round of I-League Qualifiers, [27] [28] finishing on fifth position [29] [30] with four points in eight matches. [31] [32]
Though their biggest achievement is finishing as the runners-up in the 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division, [33] under the coaching of Vikrant Sharma. [34] [35] [36] [37] In the 2018–19 I-League 2nd Division, [38] Hindustan finished at the bottom of the Group A and bowed out of the tournament. [39] [40] The club has participated in the 2021 FD Senior Division, [41] [42] [43] and finished as runners-up.
Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi is used as the clubs' home ground for most of their DSA Senior Division League matches. [44] [45] [46] It has also hosted I-League 2nd Division matches. [47] [48] [49] The stadium has a capacity of 35,000 spectators. Hindustan also use Thyagaraj Sports Complex ground. [50]
The club formerly used Government of India press grounds for matches of DSA B-Division League. [14]
Hindustan FC have nurtured rivalries with other Delhi based clubs, predominantly with Garhwal, [51] Simla Youngs, [52] Indian Air Force, [53] [54] New Delhi Heroes and Sudeva Moonlight (now 'Sudeva Delhi'). Besides the state league, they faced some more rivals in the prestigious Durand Cup, [55] [56] the oldest existing club football tournament in Asia and third oldest in the world. [57] [58]
Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
---|---|---|
1996—1998 | Phoenix Shoes [59] | |
1998—2000 | LML [60] | |
2000—2003 | Electrolux [19] | |
2003—2005 | Coca-Cola India [14] | |
2005—2006 | ||
2006—2008 | Group 4 Securicor [61] | |
2008—2010 | ONGC [62] | |
2010—2012 | SAIL [62] | |
2012—2014 | Lotto [63] | Solutrean [64] |
2014—2020 | Cosco [65] | Hero MotoCorp [66] |
On 29 November 2012, Hindustan FC launched its women's team with the unveiling of team jersey. At a press conference, Hindustan president Sushil Pandit said that the decision to launch the team was in line with the club philosophy to support women's football. [67]
Delhi Soccer Association is looking to start its women's league and Hindustan FC would not want to be left behind.
— Sushil Pandit, President of Hindustan FC, after launching their women's team ahead of the Delhi Women's League in 2012. [68]
The women's team competes in the Delhi Women's Football League, organised by Football Delhi. [69] [70] Its U17 women's team has been participating in the Khelo India Women's League since 2019. [71]
Hindustan FC ran U-13, U-15 and U-17 level teams and academies, which were based at the Thygaraja Stadium. [63] In 2013, the club launched its U19 team to participate in the Elite League (India). [72] The U19 team was from Delhi zone and first participated in the 2014–15 I-League U19 season (group D – rest of India), and reached the final round. [73] [74] [75]
The club also established an academy, named Hindustan Football Academy. [62] They also organize an youth football tournament yearly in Delhi, known as Hind Kishore School Tournament. [62]
For current and former notable Hindustan FC players with a Wikipedia article, see: Hindustan FC players .
Name | Nationality | Years | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Bernard Operanozie | Nigeria | 2007–2008 | [82] |
Monoranjan Bhattacharya | India | 2008–2009 | [83] |
Tope Ayodeji Fuja | Nigeria | 2011–2012 | [84] [85] |
Michiteru Mita | Japan | 2012–2014 | [86] |
Abhijoy basu | India | 2014–2017 | [87] [88] |
Vikrant Sharma | India | 2017–2018 | [89] |
Sena Sena | India | 2018–present | [90] |
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