Air India F.C.

Air India FC
Full name Air India Football Club
Nickname(s) The Pilots
Founded 1952
Ground Cooperage Ground
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Ground Capacity 12,000
Owner Air India
Chairman Kieya Mistry
Manager Anand Prajapati
2012–13 I-League, 13th (Relegated)

Air India FC, is an Indian professional football club founded by Anand Prajapati in 1952, based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. They are sponsored by Air India and have enjoyed some success in the Mumbai Football League.

Founded in 1952, Air India Football Club is one of the oldest institutional sides in the country. Though never considered as frontrunners in the I-League, the Mumbai based club has often proved to be a thorn in the flesh for many top sides. They used to play in NFL 2nd Division but got promoted to Premier Division and have maintained their position there till now. Generally a low budget side, Air India’s best finish in the National Football League (now I-League) came in the 1997-1998 season when they were placed sixth in the table and their coach Bimal Ghosh received the Best coach award.

Four times champions in the local league in Mumbai, Air India are best known for nurturing youngsters into big time players. Many of these boys have played with distinction for bigger teams in the later years.[1]

History

Air India FC had been playing in the Premier Harwood League since 1980. The team though qualified for the National Football League in 1995. In 1996 the club finished 6th in the League and then 5th in 1997.

After being relegated to the second division in 1998, Air India paved their way back into the first division the next year and played in the National Football League in 2000 as well. The years 2001 to 2004 saw Air India going through a tough phase as they were playing in the second division. In 2005 the team qualified to the National Football League first division and then 2007 saw Air India finishing 7th and were the Mumbai Harwood Champions in 2005.[2]

On 25 February 2012 it was announced that parent company Air India do not have any plans on fulfilling the AFC Criteria required to play in the league and thus may fold the club by the end of the 2011–12 I-League season.[3]

Crest

Air India has always used a crest different from the logo of the parent company. For the 2011–12 season, however, Air India used the parent logo on both the home and away jersey.

Colours

To keep up with their image of being a sponsor of aircraft company Air India the club decided to make the colours of the club red which is the colour associated with the aircraft Air India.

Stadium

Air India have always played at the Cooperage Ground for all their home games. As of today Air India will play at the 20,000 seater Cooperage Ground which is currently going through a renovation and should be completed by March 2012. While renovations are taking place Air India will play at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune.

Ownership

Since the beginning Air India Football Club has been owned by airline company Air India which currently own a hub at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport which is where the club is located.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2000-2011 - Air India
2011-present Star Impact

Players

First-team Squad

As of 26 December 2013

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

No. Position Player
India GK Ubaid CK
India DF Baldeep Singh
India DF Bhushan Thube
India DF Chanchal Saha
Nigeria DF Emmanuel Ajaawa
India DF Faisal T
India DF John Dias
India DF Nikunj Khandelwal
India DF Prem Kumar
India DF Santosh Koli
India DF Vivek Singh Kaira
No. Position Player
India MF Akshay Mistry
India MF Anees Kutty
India MF Hringsolal Thomte
India MF Johny Singh
India MF Neil Gaikwad
India MF Sailesh Jadhav
India MF Ummer Farooque
India FW Harold Fernandes
India FW Sudheesh A

Team Management

As of 2 March 2013

Team Management Table
Name Position
India Naushad Moosa Head Coach
India Anthony Fernandes Assistant Coach
India Yusuf Ansari Goalkeeping Coach
India Joginder Thapa Senior Manager
India Sandeep Kurale Physio
India Simon D'Souza Media Manager

Honours

For more details on this topic, see List of Air India FC seasons.

Domestic

Winners: 1999-00
Winner: 2012

See also

Footnotes

External links

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