Air India Football Club is an Indian professional football

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

, founded by Anand Prajapati in 1952, based in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, Maharashtra. They are sponsored by

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the ...

, and have enjoyed some success in the MDFA Elite League. They have also competed in the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

, then top tier of

Indian football league system The Indian football league system is the league structure of football club competitions in India. The highest level of men's club football competition in India is the Indian Super League. Indian Women's League, founded in 2016, is the highest l ...

. 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. 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.

History

Formation and journey

Founded in 1952, Air India Football Club is one of the oldest institutional sides in the country. Since then, they became affiliated with Western India Football Association (WIFA). 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.

In leagues of Mumbai

Since their inception, Air India became a member of WIFA and later in 1983, became affiliated with Mumbai District Football Association (formerly BDFA). They participated in later editions of Bombay Harwood League alongside Maharashtra Football League. They participated in B.D.F.A League, and W.I.F.A. Super Division from 1990 to 1999 and clinched WIFA title in 1999. Air India also participated in MDFA Elite Division, and lifted trophies in 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2016–17 season. They also won Harwood league in 2000 and 2005.

National Football League seasons

They used to play in the NFL 2nd Division but got promoted to Premier Division and have maintained their position there until the formation of

. Generally a low budget side, Air India's best finish in the National Football 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. Air India FC had been playing in the Premier Harwood League since 1980. Though it, they qualified for the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

in 1995. In the first season of NFL 1996, they finished 6th on the table 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. In 1996, they emerged as the champions of Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup and they lifted the trophy again in 2006.

Present years

In 2008, Air India created history by winning the EK Nayanar Gold Cup, defeating three foreign club teams –

Associação Ferroviária de Esportes Associação Ferroviária de Esportes, commonly referred to as simply Ferroviária, is a Brazilian association football club in Araraquara, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série D, the fourth tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Bayelsa FC of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and Buenos Aires De Futbal of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Interestingly Bayelsa won Nigerian Professional Football League and reached semi-finals of African Confederations Cup once. Other than Mohun Bagan A.C. (1911

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...

) and East Bengal FC (

ASEAN Club Championship The ASEAN Club Championship or ACC is an international club football competition organised by the ASEAN Football Federation between domestic champion clubs. The competition is backed by AFC and FIFA. The first edition was sponsored by LG Electron ...

), no other

Indian club Indian clubs, which originated in the Indian subcontinent, are a type of exercise equipment used to present resistance in movement to develop strength and mobility. They consist of juggling club shaped wooden clubs of varying sizes and weights, ...

has defeated so many foreign teams to win a single tournament. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, the club emerged as the champions of the

Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...

, which was their last trophy. On 25 February 2012, it was announced that parent company

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.

Anthony Fernandes Anthony Fernandes (6 July 1936 – 3 February 2023) was an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Bareilly from 1989 until his retirement in 2014. Early life Bishop Anthony was born in Kala ...

was appointed as interim head coach on 30 December 2012 after

Godfrey Pereira Godfrey Pereira is a former Indian footballer who was last the head coach for Air India FC in the I-League. Coaching career Air India On 3 July 2012, it was announced that Pereira had become coach of Air India FC after Santosh Kashyap joined ...

was revealed to be away from the team due to salary issues. On 2 January 2013, it was confirmed that Pereira had left his post, when Air India played against Salgaocar at

Duler Stadium Duler Stadium is a football stadium located in Mapusa, Goa, India. It is the former home of local I-League clubs who participated in the highest level of football in the country. Dempo SC, Salgaocar FC, and Sporting Clube de Goa use the venue ...

in I-League in which, and lost the match 4–0. They came back to the I-League, participating in the 2012–13 I-League season. On 7 April 2013, they played against Mumbai F.C. and lost 3–1. They earned 26 points in 19 league matches and finished on thirteenth position. The club later confirmed their inability to field team for the 2013–14 I-League, and financial reasons were main factors behind it.

Crest & colours

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. Practicing with Air India

To keep up with their image of being a sponsor of aircraft company

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. Between 2007 and 2013, Air India FC hosted their home games of the top tier

at the 5,000 seater Cooperage Ground. While renovations took place, Air India played at the

Balewadi Sports Complex The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex is a sports complex located in Pune, India. The complex is situated about 15 km from Pune downtown and 5 km from Hinjawadi. This complex was the venue for the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, Kh ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. During the

2010–11 I-League The 2010–11 I-League was the fourth season of the I-League, which waa the highest football league competition in India during the time. It ran from 3 December 2010 to May 2011. Dempo are the defending champions. On 30 May 2011 Salgaocar SC ...

season, Rajarshi Shahu Stadium in

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

, hosted numerous matches of Mumbai teams due to unavailability of Cooperage Ground. Air India played its home games at this ground throughout the season.

Ownership

Since the beginning, Air India Football Club has been owned by airline company

which currently own a hub at

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic af ...

which is where the club is located.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Managerial history

Head coach's record

Last technical staff

Notable former players

''For all current and former notable Air India FC players with Wikipedia articles, see:

Air India FC players The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

''.

Honours

Domestic tournaments

* National Football League 2nd Division **Champions (1): 1999–00 **Runners-up (1): 2004–05 *

**Champions (1):

* Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup **Champions (2): 1996, 2006 **Runners-up (2): 2000, 2003 * Mumbai Harwood League ( MDFA Elite Division) **Champions (9): 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997–98, 1999, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17 **Runners-up (3): 1988, 2000, 2005 * WIFA Super Division **Champions (1): 1999 *EK Nayanar Gold Cup **Champions (1): 2008 **Runners-up (1): 2012 *

Fourth oldest football tournament, organized by the IFA ( W.B.), and played between the local clubs of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

and other invited ones. **Runners-up (1): 2009 *

Rovers Cup The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India, organized by the Western India Football Association. It was the second oldest tournament in India after Durand Cup. History Rovers Cup was incorporated by some British football ent ...

**Runners-up (2): 1994, 1996 *

Nadkarni Cup The Nadkarni Cup is a football competition in Mumbai, India, which was first held in 1908. From 1908–1913, it was known as Junior Rovers Cup which was contested by school and college teams of Bombay (now Mumbai), with the trophy originally p ...

**Champions (8): 1984, 1991, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019 **Runners-up (6): 1983, 1988, 2001, 2010, 2014, 2015 * Air-India Millenium Cup **Champions (4): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 *Aurungabad Mayor's Trophy **Champions (1): 2006 *Kalina MLA Cup **Champions (1): 2013 *Arlem Cup **Runners-up (1): 2002 * Kalinga Cup **Runners-up (1): 2013 *G.V. Raja Football Tournament **Runners-up (1): 2015

Other department

Field hockey

The club has its hockey team, that competed in

Beighton Cup Beighton Cup is a field hockey tournament organized by Hockey Bengal (formerly the Bengal Hockey Association). Instituted in 1895, it is one of the oldest field hockey tournaments in the world and is held every year at Kolkata. History Aristocr ...

(one of the oldest

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

tournaments in the world), and lifted the trophy in 2007 and 2010. They also appeared in Bombay Gold Cup. *

**Champions (2): 2007, 2010 **Runners-up (1): 1995 * Bombay Gold Cup **Champions (2): 2001, 2002 **Runners-up (3): 2007, 2009, 2013 *Guru Tegh Bahadur Gold Cup **Champions (3): 2008, 2010, 2015 * Surjit Memorial Hockey Tournament **Champions (1): 2011 **Runners-up (4): 1992, 1994, 1995, 2010 *

Senior Nehru Hockey Tournament Senior Nehru Hockey Tournament is a field hockey tournament organized by the Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Tournament Society (JNHTS). Instituted in 1964 by the Society, the All India Hockey Tournament is held as an annual feature at New Delhi. Histor ...

**Champions (4): 1995, 1997, 2001, 2010 **Runners-up (1): 1994