Punjab State Super League

Punjab State Super League

Organising body	Punjab Football Association
Founded	1986;39 years ago (1986)
Country	India
Number of clubs	15
Level on pyramid	5
Promotion to	I-League 3
Relegation to	Punjab Second Division
Current champions	Namdhari FC (1st title)
Most championships	JCT (9 titles)
TV partners	YouTube (live streaming)
Current: 2024–25

The Punjab State Super League (simply known as the Punjab Super League or the JCT Punjab Super League) is an Indian top state-level regional football league in the state of Punjab. ^{[1] [2]} The league serves as the top football league in the state of Punjab and is sanctioned by Punjab Football Association. The league has been long-sponsored by the JCT Limited. ^{[3] [4]}

History

The Punjab State Super Football League was started in 1986 by the Punjab Football Association. ^[4] However, during the early days the league was played as a knock-out tournament for at least one week, thus was not granted state league status by the All India Football Federation till 2001. ^[5] In 2001, the Punjab Football Association reformed the league to make it more into a league which would be played on a home and away basis. This thus earned the league its "state league" status. ^[5]

In 2014, the Punjab State Super Football League was relaunched with JCT Limited as the title sponsors. ^[5] The league would also be played in a number of different cities to promote grassroots football and prize money would be given out to provide an incentive for teams participating. ^[5]

Competition structure

The Punjab football structure is based on two state level leagues, followed by the district leagues.

Tier	Division
I (5 on Indian Football pyramid)	Punjab State Super Football League
II (6 on Indian Football pyramid)	Punjab Second Division
III (7 on Indian Football pyramid)	Punjab Third Division

Champions

The list of Super League champions: ^[6]

Season	Champion
1985–86	BSF
1987	JCT
1988	BSF
1989	Punjab State Electricity Board
1990–91	JCT
1991	JCT
1992–93	Punjab State Electricity Board
1993	League not held
1994–95	Punjab Police
1995	JCT
1996	League not held
1998	Punjab State Electricity Board
1999	Rail Coach Factory
2000–01	BSF
2001	League not held
2002	JCT
2003	JCT
2004	JCT
2005	JCT
2006	JCT
2007	Rail Coach Factory
2008	BSF
2016	Rail Coach Factory
2018	Minerva Punjab
2019	Minerva Punjab
2020–21	Punjab Police
2021–22	BSF
2022–23	RoundGlass Punjab
2023–24	Namdhari FC
2024–25	TBA

References

1. Siraj Chatterjee (10 December 2020). "Punjabi Football on a Roar!". footballindia.co.in. Football India. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
2. Chowdhury, Ayantan (7 November 2019). "By the touchline: Yan and the Laws of a young football coach". newindianexpress.com. Chandigarh: The New Indian Express. ENS. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
3. "28th JCT Punjab State Super Football League starts today". MSR Sports News. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
4. Pathak, Manasi (22 June 2018). "All you need to know about the football league structure in Punjab". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
5. "League History — 28th Punjab State Super Football League — Legend Inder Singh to kick-off". kolkatafootball.com. Kolkata Football. 23 August 2014. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
6. Chaudhuri, Arunava (2008). "List of Champions of the Punjab Football League". indianfootball.de. Indian Football Network. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2021.