Stafford Challenge Cup

The Stafford Challenge Cup is an Indian football tournament held in Karnataka, organized by the Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA).^[1] Instituted in 1938, it is the oldest football tournament in South India.^[2][3] The tournament was abolished in 1993, but was revived in 2023.^{[4][citation needed]}

Stafford Challenge Cup

Organising body	Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA)
Founded	1938; 86 years ago (1938)
Region	India
Number of teams	various
Current champions	Bengaluru United (1st title)
Television broadcasters	FanCode
2023

History

The Stafford Challenge Cup was introduced by Staffordshire Regiment in 1938 in Bengaluru. They also donated the silver rolling trophy. Bangalore Muslim Club was the first Indian club to win it in 1941.^{[citation needed][5]}

In 1990, the Iraqi Olympic team won the tournament but didn't return the trophy since the cup was lost during the Gulf War.^[4] It was held for the then-last time in 1993, before the revival 30 years later.

Venue

The older edition matches used to be held at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium^[2] and Vyalikaval Ground.^[6] The revived edition is held at Bangalore Football Stadium.^[4]

Awards

Award name	Prize money
Champions	₹ 2,50,000
Runners-up	₹ 1,50,000

Results

Year	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Notes
1938	Wiltshire Regiment			[7]
1939	Wiltshire Regiment			[8]
1941	Bangalore Muslim Club		Hyderabad City Police	[2][9]
1942	Bangalore Sporting			[2]
1943	Mysore Rovers			[2]
1944	Sullivan Police
1945	Sullivan Police
1946	Sullivan Police
1947	Sullivan Police
1948	Sullivan Police
1949	Sullivan Police			[10]
1952	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited			[5]
1954	Binny Mills			[5]
1956	Bangalore Blues			[5]
1957	LRDE			[5]
1958	Mysore State Police			[5]
1961	Mysore State Police			[5]
1964	Howrah Union			[11]
1966	MEG & C			[5]
1967	CIL			[5]
1968	Mohammedan Sporting			[12]
1970	Mohammedan Sporting			[12]
1971	CIL			[5]
1972	Orkay Mills	1–0	A.S.C. Centre (South), Bangalore	[13][14]
1973	Vasco			[15]
1974	Orkay Mills
1975	Dempo and Orkay Mills (joint winners) – 0–0
1979	Dempo	2–0	ITI	[16]
1980	Al-Shabab	4–2	ITI	[17]
1981	East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting (joint winners)			[18][19]
1982	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1–0	Mohun Bagan	[20]
1984	Al-Talaba	3–0	Salgaocar	[2]
1986	East Bengal		Dempo	[21]
1987	Salcete FC			[22]
1990	Iraq Olympic			[2]
1991	Mohammedan Sporting
1993	ITI	2–1	Union Bank of India, Mumbai	[23]
1994–2022	Tournament not held
2023	Bengaluru United	2–1	Chennaiyin (R)	[24]

References

1. Muralidharan, Ashwin (10 May 2018). "All you need to know about the football league structure in Karnataka". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
2. "Stafford Challenge Cup: One cup, many emotions". Deccan Herald. 22 February 2023. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
3. "On decline mode for long". The New Indian Express. 9 September 2010. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
4. "After 30 years, KSFA to relaunch Stafford Cup". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
5. "Stafford Challenge Cup: A Brief History of Time". theawayend.co. The Away End. 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
6. Suchindran, Aravind (17 January 2017). "Caught in a time warp". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
7. "THE HISTORY: STAFFORD CHALLENGE CUP – KARNATAKA". ksfa.in. Bengaluru: Karnataka State Football Association. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
8. "THE HISTORY". ksfa.in. Karnataka State Football Association. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
9. Veerappa, Manuja (2 April 2018). "When sports, fandom thrived on local grounds". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Bangalore: The Times of India. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
10. "FC Bengaluru United on Instagram: "The Stafford Challenge Cup is back after a hiatus of 30 years! 🤩🏆 𝙒𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙁𝘾 𝘽𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙪 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. 💪 This tournament has a rich legacy, and we're honoured to be a part of it. 🔥 #FCBU #NammaUnited #WeAreUnited #UnitedWeStand #KSFA #BengaluruFootball #StaffordChallengeCup2023"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
11. "Howrah Union – at a glance". howrahunion.com. Howrah Union Club. Archived from the original on 25 April 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
12. "AIFF condoles N. Pappana's death". the-aiff.com. AIFF. 13 February 2022. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
13. "Sportsweek No. 302-324 (july-dec) 1974". archive.org. 1974. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
14. Technologies, Sancoale (3 August 2020). "Stafford Challenge Cup 1975". demposportsclub.in. Dempo Sports Club. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
15. "Former Vasco defender George Ambrose no more". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Panaji, Goa: The Times of India. TNN. 8 August 2022. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
16. Technologies, Sancoale (3 August 2020). "Stafford Challenge Cup 1979". demposportsclub.in. Dempo Sports Club. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
17. "From ITI, HAL in '70s to Bengaluru FC in 2013: How the football scene in Bengaluru evolved". thenewsminute.com. The News Minute. 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
18. "East Bengal Club - Trophy Room". eastbengalclub.co.in. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
19. "Mohammedan Sporting bestowed the honour of the Shan-e-Mohammedan to Prasun Banerjee". indiafooty.com. India Footy. 4 July 2016. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
20. "Sportsweek No.705-717(april-july) 1982". archive.org. 1982. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
21. Shreekumar, S. S. (15 August 2020). THE BEST WAY FORWARD FOR INDIA'S FOOTBALL. HSRA Publications. p. 244. ISBN 9788194721697. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
22. Bharadwaj, Sathvik K (31 August 2022). "Five most successful Indian football coaches". khelnow.com. Khel Now. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
23. Shreekumar, SS (22 February 2023). "Stafford Cup: City's glamour event set for kick-off". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
24. "Stafford Cup 2023: FC Bengaluru United become champions- Highlights". thebridge.in. The Bridge. 6 March 2023. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.