Hindustan FC
Indian association football club From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hindustan Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in New Delhi.[1][2] Affiliated with the Football Delhi (FD), the club currently participates in the Delhi Premier League.[3][4][5]
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Full name | Hindustan Football Club | |||
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Short name | HFC | |||
Founded | 1948 | |||
Ground | Ambedkar Stadium | |||
Capacity | 35,000 | |||
Head coach | Konjengbam Donald Singh | |||
League | Delhi Premier League | |||
Website | hindustanfc | |||
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Founded in 1948, Hindustan predominantly participated in the I-League 2nd Division,[6][7][8] which was then second tier of the Indian football league system.[9][10]
History
Summarize
Perspective
Formation and early history
Hindustan FC was founded in New Delhi Chittaranjan Park area.[11][12][13] Owned and run by Bengalis, it is one of the oldest football clubs in the capital city of India.[14][15][16][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][20] In November 2002, Hindustan participated in the inaugural edition of Delhi Lt. Governor's Cup and reached to the semi-finals.[21] The club later competed in the National Football League Second Division continuously, in 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2006–07, but were not granted the permission of joining the newly formed I-League 2nd Division.[22] In 2007, Hindustan FC roped in their first foreign coach, Bernard Operanozie from Nigeria.[23] Hindustan clinched their second DSA Senior Division title in 2009 season as co-winners with Indian National.[24]
Present years
Hindustan Football Academy was started by the former club chairman D. K. Bose,[25] 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.[26] 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.[27] They also participated in the 2014 I-League 2nd Division and moved to the final round of I-League Qualifiers.[28][29][30] The club ended their campaign finishing on fifth position,[31][32] earning four points in eight matches.[33][34]
Though their biggest achievement is finishing as the runners-up in the 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division,[35] under the coaching of Vikrant Sharma.[36][37][38][39] In the 2018–19 I-League 2nd Division,[40] Hindustan finished at the bottom of the Group A and bowed out of the tournament.[41][42] The club has participated in the 2021 FD Senior Division,[43][44][45] and finished as runners-up.
Stadium

Ambedkar Stadium has been used as the clubs' home ground for most of their DSA Senior Division/DPL League matches.[46][47][48] It has also hosted their I-League 2nd Division matches.[49][50][51] The stadium has a capacity of 35,000 spectators. Hindustan also uses Thyagaraj Sports Complex ground.[52] The club formerly used Government of India press grounds for matches of DSA B-Division League.[14]
Rivalries
Hindustan FC has nurtured rivalries with other Delhi based clubs, predominantly with Garhwal,[53] Simla Youngs,[54] Indian Air Force,[55][56] New Delhi Heroes and Sudeva Moonlight (now 'Sudeva Delhi'). Besides the state league, they faced some more rivals in the prestigious Durand Cup,[57][58] the oldest existing club football tournament in Asia and third oldest in the world.[59][60]
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
---|---|---|
1996—1998 | Phoenix Shoes[61] | |
1998—2000 | LML[62] | |
2000—2003 | Electrolux[19] | |
2003—2005 | Coca-Cola India[14] | |
2005—2006 | ||
2006—2008 | Group 4 Securicor[63] | |
2008—2010 | ONGC[64] | |
2010—2012 | SAIL[64] | |
2012—2014 | Lotto[65] | Solutrean[66] |
2014—2020 | Cosco[67] | Hero MotoCorp[68] |
Women's team
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.[69]
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.[70]
The women's team competes in the Delhi Women's Football League, organised by Football Delhi.[71][72] Its U17 women's team has been participating in the Khelo India Women's League since 2019.[73]
Youth & academy
Hindustan FC ran U-13, U-15 and U-17 level teams and academies, which were based at the Thygaraja Stadium.[65] In 2013, the club launched its U19 team to participate in the Elite League (India).[74] 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.[75][76][77]
The club also established an academy, named Hindustan Football Academy.[64] They also organize an youth football tournament yearly in Delhi, known as Hind Kishore School Tournament.[64]
Honours
League
Cup
Notable players
For current and former notable Hindustan FC players with a Wikipedia article, see: Hindustan FC players.
Managerial history
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Name | Nationality | Years | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Bernard Operanozie | ![]() | 2007–2008 | [85] |
Monoranjan Bhattacharya | ![]() | 2008–2009 | [86] |
Tope Ayodeji Fuja | ![]() | 2011–2012 | [87][88] |
Michiteru Mita | ![]() | 2012–2014 | [89] |
Abhijoy basu | ![]() | 2014–2017 | [90][91] |
Bernard Operanozie | ![]() | 2017 | [92] |
Vikrant Sharma | ![]() | 2017–2018 | [93] |
Sena Sena | ![]() | 2018 | [94] |
See also
Footnotes
- Joint-winners (with "Indian National FC").
References
External links
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