Pune Football Club was an Indian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, 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 ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. The club has 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 flight of Indian football league system. The club was one of the most professional clubs in Indian football history, known mainly for their focus on fanfare, professional playing set-up, and focus on youth development. The club was owned by the Ashok Piramal Group. Founded in 2007, the club managed to gain promotion to the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. In their first season in the I-League, the club managed to finish in a very surprising third place before having their best ever season during the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season in which they finished in second place. Pune used to have a rivalry with fellow Maharashtra club

Mumbai FC Mumbai Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system, alongside the MDFA Elite League. It was founded in 2007, with the o ...

, with whom it contested the Maha derby. The club pulled out of I-League earlier 2015–16 season. The main club shut down its operations while

Pune F.C. Academy The Pune Football Club Academy was the youth team of Pune F.C., Pune Football Club. They played in the I-League U19, the highest level of youth football in India. The team closed operations in 2016 and were purchased by Indian Super League side ...

was acquired by ISL club, FC Pune City. It was dissolved in 2016.

History

Foundation

In 2007, Indian football was in the process of a renovation, mainly with the start of the

replacing the old

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 ...

. However, despite this, the

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry o ...

still had trouble attracting investors to create new clubs, specially outside 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 fourt ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, and

North East India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

due to the fact that, despite a good number of fans in these areas and good wages to players, the clubs in these regions still had trouble creating any profit. Ashok Piramal Group, a company based in

, however did the opposite. Despite the city of

not having much history when it comes to

or much support for the sport, which is overshadowed by

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, Ashok Piramal Group still created Pune Football Club in 2007. In creating the club they created one of the first clubs in India named after the city they were playing in and representing. The club also got invitation and participated in TFA Shield tournament, organized by Tamil Nadu Football Association (TFA).

I-League 2nd Division (2008–2009)

In preparation for their first ever season in the I-League 2nd Division, the club signed mainly a bunch of unknown players and also signed on Stewart Hall as the first head coach of the club. The club were grouped in Group A during the

2008 I-League 2nd Division The draw of the preliminary groups of the inaugural 2008 I-League 2nd Division was carried out at Football House, Dwarka on 25 February 2008. The 12 participating teams have been drawn into two groups of six teams each to be played in Balewadi ...

along with

Vasco Vasco may refer to: * Basque language, called ''vasco'' in Spanish * ''Vasco'' (album), a two-part EP by Ricardo Villalobos * Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer * Vasco da Gama, Goa, a city in India, often called simply Vasco * Club de Regatas Va ...

ONGC The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. ONGC was founded on 14 August 1956 by the ...

HAL HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

, and Chirag United. Midway through their 2nd Division campaign the club changed coaches, going from Stewart Hall to former Northern Ireland national teamer,

Bernard McNally Bernard Anthony McNally (born 17 February 1963) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played in midfield. During his club career he played for Shrewsbury Town (1980–1989), West Bromwich Albion (1989–1995), Hednesford ...

. The club finished in third place in Group A and thus failed to advance further that campaign. The club then participated the next year in the

2009 I-League 2nd Division The 2009 I-League 2nd Division season ran from February 2009 to 19 April 2009. Initially 15 teams were divided in three groups of five teams and then the top two teams in each group were advanced to final round of qualification. Four teams wer ...

where there were now four promotion spots up for grabs instead of the usual two as the

was going to expand. Before the season began the club re-hired former coach Stewart Hall to coach the club. Also before the season the club managed to make many changes to the squad. At the end of the season Pune managed to finish in fourth place with a 3–0 victory over

SESA Football Academy Sesa Football Academy (SFA) is a football academy based in Sanquelim, Goa. Originally founded in the 1960s as Sesa Sports Club, its football team competes in the Goa Professional League, and previously participated in NFL II and I-League 2nd D ...

and thus earn promotion to the I-League for the first time in their history.

Early I-League and Derrick Pereira Era (2009–2013)

Pune Football Club's first season in the I-League was the 2009–10 season. Pune selected the Balewadi Sports Complex in Balewadi, a suburb of

, as their home stadium. Before the season began the club made headlines when they signed the current

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

number 1 goalkeeper,

Subrata Pal Subrata Paul (also Pal; born 24 December 1986) is an Indian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Indian Super League club ATK Mohun Bagan FC, ATK Mohun Bagan, on loan fr ...

, from

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

and by also signing

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese midfielder

Arata Izumi is a Japanese-born Indian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently a youth coach with the Reliance Foundation Young Champs. Izumi began his professional career in Singapore with Albirex Niigata Singapore and in ...

from Mahindra United. At the same time the club also signed

Derrick Pereira Derrick Pereira (born 17 March 1962) is an Indian association football manager and former player, who managed then I-League 2nd Division club FC Goa Reserves and the India national under-23 football team. He is also the technical director of In ...

to be the head coach of the team after Stewart Hall resigned. Before joining Pune, Pereira was head coach at Mahindra United where he had won the

and the

Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...

. He also took Mahindra United to the quarter-finals of the

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

in 2007. Pune played their first I-League match against East Bengal, which was also their first home match in the I-League, on 3 October 2009 in which the final score was 0–0. Pune had no wins, six draws, and two losses in the league before winning their first ever I-League match on 9 January 2010 against JCT 2–1. At the end of the season Pune finished in third place which was called a success by the club due to their weak start in the league. The summer of 2011 was an important time for Pune. On 23 June 2011, it was announced that Pune would start the

team which would make Pune the first team in I-League with an academy team. Then on 25 July 2011 it was announced that Pune's

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 ...

ian striker Edmar Figueira would join the Portuguese top flight

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

with

C.D. Feirense Clube Desportivo Feirense, commonly known as CD Feirense or just Feirense, is a Portuguese football club based in Santa Maria da Feira. Founded on 18 March 1918, Feirense play in the LigaPro, the second tier of Portuguese football. Their chair ...

which would be the first-time a player from the I-League would sign for a team in a top 10 European league based on the

UEFA coefficient In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments, and after applied in wome ...

. Then on 26 September 2011 it was announced that Pune would play

English Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

side Blackburn Rovers, who are owned by Indian owners

Venky's The V H Group is an Indian conglomerate primarily comprising companies related to the poultry industry, including processed food, animal vaccines, human and animal pharmaceutical and healthcare products. It was founded as Venkateshwara Hatcheries ...

, in a friendly. Thus making Pune the first ever Indian club to play a friendly against an English Premier League team. The match was then played on 7 October 2011 at the Balewadi Sports Complex in which Pune lost 0–3 to Blackburn. Then on 22 October 2011, it was announced that Pune had tied-up a partnership with IT giant

Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Ba ...

which would see more promotion of the club through media networks. Then on 11 June 2012, Pune became the first Indian football team to participate in a transfer between another I-League club, Prayag United, when Pune sold midfielder Lester Fernandez to Prayag for 20 lakh. Punefc dempo

The club then finished the

season with their best finish yet in the I-League by finishing in 2nd place, just behind

Churchill Brothers S.C. Churchill Brothers FC Goa, or simply known as Churchill Brothers, is an Indian professional football club based in Margao, Goa, that competes in the I-League, alongside Goa Professional League. Founded in 1988 in Margao, the club usually part ...

for the I-League crown.

Mike Snoei Era (2013–2014)

After the 2012–13 season finished it was announced that coach

had resigned as Pune FC coach to return to his former club

Salgaocar Salgaocar Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Vasco, Goa, that competes in the Goa Professional League. They have also played in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. Founded in 1956, the clu ...

. Soon enough though Pune were able to sign Pereira's replacement in former

Vitesse Arnhem Vitesse may refer to: * Vitesse Models, a diecast model car company * Vitesse (band), Dutch rock band * Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, a car * Rover 216 Vitesse, a car * Rover 3500 Vitesse, a car * Rover 800 Vitesse, a car * Triumph Vites ...

head coach, Dutchman

Mike Snoei Mike Snoei (born 4 December 1963) is a former Dutch football player and manager. He is currently in charge of Eerste Divisie side Telstar. During his playing days, Snoei played for Excelsior and Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie and Eerste Di ...

for the new season. Also, with the new coach, came a new direction for Pune with the director of the club, Nandan Piramal, stating that the club would focus mainly on youth development while also mixing youngsters with a good group of senior players. The club then made new signings in the foreign department by signing

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

player

Calum Angus Calum James Angus (born 15 April 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Career Wilmington Hammerheads Angus was invited to the 2009 MLS Player Combine in Florida for the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. Due to a str ...

and former

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

player James Meyer. The club also signed current Equatorial Guinea international,

Raúl Fabiani Raúl Iván Fabiani Bosio (born 23 February 1984) is an Equatoguinean footballer who plays as a centre forward for Spanish club CD Soneja. He spent most of his extensive career in Spain, representing Alcoyano in Segunda División. He also pl ...

, who also played for his adopted country in the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football ( ...

. The first tournament the club took part in was the

2013 Durand Cup The 2013 Durand Cup was the 126th season of the Durand Cup, the third oldest football tournament in the world, which is a knock-out competition held in India. Air India were the current holders, having beaten Mumbai Tigers 3-2 on penalties aft ...

in which the club sent a mix of players from the first-team and the

with the three senior players being Caitano Costa,

Shahinlal Meloly Shahinlal Meloly (born 15 May 1990) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Chennai City F.C. in the I-League. Career Born in Calicut, Kerala, Meloly started his footballing career with Viva Kerala as a youth playe ...

, and Prakash Thorat. The club however did not make it out of the group stages. Pune then played their first

match under Snoei on 21 September 2013 against

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muham ...

at the Salt Lake Stadium in which Pune won the match 3–1 thanks to a double from Fabiani and a goal from Meyer. Then, on 29 January 2014, Pune played their first ever international club match when they took on Vietnamese side Hanoi T&T in the

2014 AFC Champions League The 2014 AFC Champions League was the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title. Guangzhou Evergrande were the defe ...

qualifier first round at the Balewadi Sports Complex. The club however suffered a 3–0 defeat in that match, meaning that they would have to play in the

2014 AFC Cup The 2014 AFC Cup was the 11th edition of the AFC Cup, a association football, football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia. Kuwait SC, Al-Kuwait were the two-time defendin ...

that season. In

2014 Durand Cup The 2014 Durand Cup was the 127th season of the Durand Cup, the third oldest football tournament in the world, which is a knock-out competition held in India. Mohammedan were the defending champions, having beaten ONGC 2–1 in the 2013 Fina ...

, held from 20 October to 8 November in

, Pune lost 1–0 to

Salgaocar SC Salgaocar Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Vasco, Goa, that competes in the Goa Professional League. They have also played in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. Founded in 1956, the cl ...

in final and finished as runners-up. A month later, Pune FC participated in the 2014 Bhutan King's Cup and faced

Assam State Electricity Board The Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) ( Assamese: অসম ৰাজ্যিক বিদ্যুৎ পৰিষদ) is a State Statutory Body of the state of Assam in India. It is under the ownership of Department of Power, Government of ...

in their last group stage match.

Thongkhosiem Haokip Thongkosiem Haokip (born 13 March 1993), commonly known as Semboi, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward. Career Early career Born in the village of Gangpijang in Manipur, Haokip began playing football for his state side ...

scored a hat-trick as Pune booked their place into the semi-finals with a 5–0 victory. Then they defeated

Mohun Bagan AC Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

through penalty-shootout and reached to the final, in which, they lost 1–0 to Bangladeshi outfit Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi.

Rivalry

Pune FC used to have a rivalry with fellow

-based club

, with whom it contested the "Maha derby". Both the teams faced each other in yearly competitions like

and MDFA Elite League.

Disbanding the club

Pune FC enjoyed their best ever campaign during the 2012–13 season, in which they became runners-up. Later in May 2015, ahead of the 2015–16 I-League season, the club was dissolved due to financial crisis. Meanwhile, their academy was purchased by the erstwhile ISL side FC Pune City. On 26 August 2016, it was announced that FC Pune City of the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

had taken over the Pune FC Academy and will rebrand it under their name.

Stadium

Since Pune made their debut in the

, they have always played at the Balewadi Sports Complex, which is located in Balewadi, a suburb of

. The stadium was also the site of the

2008 Commonwealth Youth Games The 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games (Hindi: 2008 कॉमनवेल्थ यूथ गेम्स), officially known as the III Commonwealth Youth Games, and commonly known as Pune 2008, a regional sporting event that was held from 12 to 18 O ...

. The club also used the stadium as their home ground for continental tournaments like

, and

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

play-offs. The club also trained on the outskirts of Pune in an area called Mamurdi on their own training ground. For a season, they used St. Vincent's High School football ground for training, which is located in Pune.

Ownership

Pune FC was owned overall by the Ashok Piramal Group. Peninsula Land Limited CEO Nandan Piramal was last chairman of the club.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Academy

Since their inception in 2007, Pune FC operated its U19 and U17 youth teams. On 23 June 2011, it was announced that the club would open an Academy at the U20 level, thus becoming the first

team to do so, and they later competed in U19 I-League. The academy was fully known as Peninsula Pune Football Club Academy (PPFCA).

Notable players

Foreign players

This list comprises foreign players who either represented their respective countries in international level before or after playing for ''Pune FC'' or played for the club in matches of

. * Cyd Gray (2008) *

Edgar Marcelino Edgar Carvalho Figueira Marcelino (born 10 September 1984) is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Amora F.C. as a right winger. Club career Born in Coimbra, Marcelino started his career at Sporting CP, but never represented the main squad, goi ...

(2009–2014) *

Douhou Pierre Douhou Sey Djidja Pierre (born 21 December 1987) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for DSK Shivajians in the Indian I-League. Career Early career Born in Abidjan, Douhou started his career at the JMG Ac ...

(2009–2014) * Lamine Tamba (2010–2011) * Mandjou Keita (2010–2012) * Karma Tsewang (2011–2013) * James Meyer (2012–2013) *

James Moga James Joseph Saeed Moga (born 14 June 1983) is a South Sudanese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is South Sudan's all-time top goalscorer, with six goals in 18 appearances. Early life James Joseph Saeed Moga was born ...

(2012–2013) * Daisuke Nishiguchi (2012–2013) * Raúl Iván Fabiani (2013) * Sewram Gobin (2013) *

Riga Mustapha Rahamat Riga Mustapha (born 10 October 1981) is a Ghanaian-born Dutch professional footballer who last played as a striker for Pune F.C. in the Indian I-League. Club career Born in Accra, Ghana, Mustapha began his career with Eredivisie sid ...

(2013–2014) *

Chika Wali Chika Wali is a Nigerian football player who last played as a centre back for Ozone in the I-League 2nd Division. Career Early career From the grounds of River State in Nigeria to Pune, this solidly built Nigerian has come some distance in ev ...

(2013–2014) * Ryuji Sueoka (2014–2015) * Luciano Sabrosa (2014–2015) *

Darko Nikač Darko Nikač ( sr-cyr, Дарко Никач; born 15 May 1990) is a Montenegrin footballer who plays as a forward for Montenegrin side FK Sutjeska Nikšić. He debuted for Montenegro's national team in 2013. Club career Budućnost Nikač ma ...

(2015)

Managerial history

Last technical staff

:''As of October 2013.''

Club honours

Domestic

**Runners-up (1):

**Third Place (1): 2009–10 * Durand Cup **Runners-up (1):

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Invitational

Bhutan King's Cup The Jigme Dorji Wangchuk Memorial Gold Cup (formerly known as King's Cup) is an international football club tournament held in Bhutan. The inaugural edition was held in 2004, replacing the ''Federation Cup'' which was last played in 2002, which in ...

**Runners-up (1):

Junior team

;U17 *Football Challenge Cup Chandigarh **Winners (1): 2015 ;U20 * I-League U20 **Champions (2):

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 gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Performance in AFC competitions

: 1 appearance ::

: Qualifying play-off Round 1 *