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; 87 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]