Punjab F.C.

Punjab Football Club (previously as Minerva Punjab F.C.) is an Indian professional football club based in Mohali, Punjab. The club competes in the I-League, under licence from the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Minerva, since inception in 2013 as a club, have won the I-League title once, the Punjab State Super Football League title twice, and were also the runners-up of the I-League 2nd Division. Minerva was crowned champions of I-League in 2017–18.

Not to be confused with Punjab United F.C., a UK based football club.

Punjab F.C.
Full namePunjab Football Club
Nickname(s)The Warriors
Short namePFC
Founded2005 (2005), (as Minerva Academy F.C.)
GroundGuru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana
Capacity15,000
OwnerRoundGlass Sports[1]
ManagerCurtis Fleming
LeagueI-league
2018–19I-League, 9th
WebsiteClub website

The club is owned by a Mohali-based firm RoundGlass Sports.Earlier RoundGlass had a collaboration with Mr.Ranjit Bajaj which was recently broken. RoundGlass has now taken full charge of the club. Punjab plays their I-League home matches at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana. On October 30, 2019, the club was renamed as Punjab Football Club and 2019–20 I-League would be their first season as Punjab F.C.[2]

History

As Minerva Punjab F. C.

The team was established in 2005 as Minerva Academy and has a football and cricket club. Initially, the team took part in its first major tournament at the national level i.e. I-League 2nd Division and were the runners up for the season. They lost to five-time I-League champions Dempo SC in the Final. They were promoted to I-League after an impressive stint at the 2nd Division. They finished their first-ever I-League season at the second last position. They also played the 2016 Durand Cup. They came last in the group stage and hence couldn't qualify for the semi-finals.

Next season, surprising everyone, they won the I-League title, which was their first league win ever in the top division. They became the first ones from North India to win the league since 1996. This title made the team qualify for their first-ever Asian stint. The club qualified for Group Stage of the 2019 AFC Cup along with Indian Super League side Chennaiyin and the Preliminary Round 2. However, they lost to the Iranian side Saipa in the preliminary round of the 2019 AFC Champions League and therefore couldn't make it to the play-offs. But, in their AFC Cup stint, they impressed with their unbeaten run of five games until the last group fixture, which they lost against Abahani Limited Dhaka. Minerva were also placed in the Round of 16 bracket of the 2018 Indian Super Cup in which they lost to Jamshedpur 4-5 on penalties.

In the 2018-19 I-League, the club managed to win four of their twenty fixtures and finished ninth in the league table. They were placed in the 2019 Indian Super Cup qualifying round but they refused to play in the tournament protesting against the uncertainty of I-League clubs' future in Indian football. Thereafter, they were also not invited to play the 2019 Durand Cup, which was disappointing for the Punjabi side.

As Punjab F. C.

On 30 October 2019, the announcement was made that after a partnership agreement with Round Glass Sports Private Ltd. the club has been renamed as Punjab Football Club and all their age group and senior teams would be named the same.[3][4]

Stadium
Guru Gobind Singh Stadium, Jalandhar
Main article: Guru Gobind Singh Stadium

The team plays at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana, Punjab, which has a capacity of 15,000 spectators. The club shifted the base to other locations for their Asian stint. During the 2019 AFC Cup group stage, Minerva played two of its home games at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, and one of the three home games at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

Fans

A club recognised fan club by the name The Warriors has been in support since 2018. The Guru Nanak Stadium has seen an average attendance of 12,000.

Current squad
As of 1 December 2019[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 GK Bhaskar Roy
3 DF Teah Dennis Jr.
4 DF Danilo Quipapá
5 DF Anwar Ali
6 MF Souvik Das
8 MF Maheson Singh Tongbram
9 FW Bali Gagandeep
10 FW Sérgio Barboza
13 DF Bikash Yumnam
15 FW Sanju Pradhan (Captain)
16 GK Kiran Kumar Limbu
18 FW Beikhokhei Beingaichho
19 FW Makan Chote
21 DF Yumnam Raju
22 GK Nidhin Lal
23 FW Danjuma Ademola Kuti
No. Position Player
25 DF Devansh Dabas
26 DF Imanuel Lalthazuala
28 DF Samuel Shadap
29 FW Aser Pierrick Dipanda
32 FW Himanshu Jangra
33 DF Munmun Lugun
38 DF Lalrinchhana Tochhawng
50 FW Moinuddin Khan
DF Akashdeep Singh
DF Akhil Verma
MF Amandeep Singh
FW Valci Júnior
FW Luntinmang Haokip
MF Cavin Lobo

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
— FW Jay Hart (at Punjab Reserve)
No. Position Player

Records

Seasons
Season Div. Tms. Pos. Attendance/G Federation Cup/Super Cup Durand Cup AFC Champions League AFC Cup
As Minerva Punjab F.C.
2015–16 IL2D 10 2 – DNP
2016–17 IL 10 9 2,757 DNP Group Stage DNP
2017–18 IL 10 1 5,736 Round of 16 DNP Preliminary Round 2 Group Stage
2018–19 IL 11 9 5,624 DNP
As Punjab F.C.
2019–20 IL 11 DNP DNP DNP DNP
Key
  • Tms. = Number of teams
  • Pos. = Position in league
  • Attendance/G = Average league attendance

Seasons by season
As of 2 November 2017
Year I-League Federation
Cup		 AFC Champions League Top Scorer(s)
Div P W D L GF GA Pts Pos. Player(s) Goals
As Minerva Punjab F.C.
2015–16 IL2 18 11 4 3 30 14 37 2nd DNP DNP Kareem Omolaja 4
2016–17 IL 18 2 7 9 17 33 13 9th Loveday Enyinnaya; Kareem Omolaja 3
2017–18 IL 18 11 2 5 24 16 35 1st Chencho Gyeltshen 7
2018–19 IL 20 4 6 10 10 19 18 9th Lancine Touré
Philip Njoku
William Opoku		 2
As Punjab F.C.
2019–20 IL TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
DNP − Did not play

Head coach's record

updated as of now

NameNationalityFromToPWDLGFGAWin%
Surinder Singh  India 2015 2017 36 13 11 12 47 47 036.11
Khogen Singh  India 2017 2018 19 11 2 6 24 16 057.89
Paul Munster  Northern Ireland 2018 2019 16 3 5 8 8 15 018.75
Sachin Badadhe  India 2019 2019 2 1 0 1 1 4 050.00
Chun Yan Law  India 2019 - 5 2 2 1 8 8 040.00

Team management
As of 15 June 2020.
Position Name
Technical Director Michael Browne[6]
Head Coach Curtis Fleming[7]
Assistant Coach Yan Law
Physiotherapist Karuna Kant Gupta

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2015—2017 T10 Sports None
2017—2019 Astro Apollo Tyres
2019—present Spartan

Honours & Titles

Domestic
Champions (1): 2017–18
Runner-up (1): 2015–16
Champions (2): 2018, 2019

Continental record
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2019 AFC Champions League Preliminary round 2 Saipa 4–0
2019 AFC Cup Group E Chennaiyin 1–1 0–0 3rd
Abahani Limited Dhaka 0–1 2–2
Manang Marshyangdi Club 2–2 1–1

References
  1. "Something never done before in I-League! Ranjit Bajaj sets history with sale of Punjab FC". Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  2. "Something never done before in I-League! Ranjit Bajaj sets history with sale of Punjab FC | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  3. "Minerva Punjab renamed as Punjab Football Club". Sportstar. The Hindu. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  4. "I-League Club Minerva Punjab FC Renamed as Punjab Football Club". News18. PTI. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  5. "Squad". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  6. "Punjab FC will be looking to play in ISL in the future, says Michael Browne | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  7. "Former Middlesbrough manager Curtis Fleming set to take charge at Punjab FC | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
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