The Pune Football Club Academy was the youth team of Pune Football Club. They played in the

I-League U19 The Youth League, also known as Hero Youth League for sponsorship reasons, is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the All India Football Federation. It consists of 3 age groups competitions: U17 (E ...

, the highest level of youth football in India. The team closed operations in 2016 and were purchased by

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 ...

side FC Pune City, and rebranded it as the FC Pune City Academy.

History

Pune had always operated a U19 and U17 youth team since their inception in 2007 but on 23 June 2011 it was announced that the club would open an Academy at the U20 level, thus becoming the first

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 ...

team to do so. The initial trials for the Academy were held 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 ...

and were attended by around 280 hopefuls. Out of the 280 players only 25 passed the trial while five extra players were called up from the then-Pune Under-19 squad, thus creating the first group of 30 players for the 2011–12 season. The clubs first tournament was the Peninsula Pune Cup which was held in September 2011 and was a pre-season tournament for Pune, Air India, and Deccan XI. The Academies first match since founding was during that tournament on 10 September against Air India. The match ended 2–1 in favor of Air India. The Pune Academy then played their first ever foreign tournament in January 2012 when they participated in the Aaha Rara Gold Cup. They however only made the semi-finals after losing to Samsung Jawalakhel 4–0. The Academy then participated for the first time in the

2012 I-League U20 The 2012 I-League U20 was the fourth season of the Indian I-League U20 competition. The season ran alongside the closing stages of the 2011–12 I-League season. The AIFF development team, Pailan Arrows, did not field their team in the competiti ...

which is the official youth tournament of the

. Their first match was against

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 ...

on 20 April 2012; Pune won 5–1. The team then went on to win the I-League U20 after winning all 9 matches to go undefeated. In 2013, the Academy won the U20 league again. This time in the final round the Pune Academy grabbed 13 points from five matches to finish on top. On 26 August 2016, it was announced that FC Pune City of the

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

Head coaches

Gift Raikhan Gift Raikhan (born 25 May 1981) is an Indian retired footballer who played as a left-back, and football manager who last managed NEROCA. He also managed Manipur football team in Santosh Trophy. Playing career During a playing career which spa ...

(2011–2013) *

Naushad Moosa Naushad Moosa (born 10 February 1971) is a former Indian footballer who mostly worked as head coach of Bengaluru FC Reserves and Academy. During his playing days, Moosa played for East Bengal, Mahindra United, and Mohammedan in the National Fo ...

(2013–2016)

Honours

I-League U20 The Youth League, also known as Hero Youth League for sponsorship reasons, is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the All India Football Federation. It consists of 3 age groups competitions: U17 (Eli ...

**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 ...

*Kedari Redekar Football Tournament **Runners-up (1): 2012

Notable graduates

This is a list of former academy graduates who have either played a match professional with

Pune F.C. Pune Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. The club has competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. The club was one of the most professional clubs in Indian footb ...

or any other club professionally. *

Amrinder Singh Amrinder Ranjit Singh ( pa, ਅਮਰਿੰਦਰ ਰਣਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ; born 27 May 1993) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Indian Super League club Odisha and the India national team. Early life and ...

Denechandra Meitei Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei (born 28 March 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who last played as a defender for Indian Super League club Punjab. Club career Early career Born in Manipur, Meitei started playing football from the age ...

Dhanpal Ganesh Dhanpal Ganesh (born 13 June 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Chennaiyin in the Indian Super League. Career Pune Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Ganesh became the first player from the Pune Academy to sig ...

* Fanai Lalrempuia *

Nikhil Kadam Nikhil Kadam (born 23 June 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as attacking midfielder/ winger for I-League 2nd division and CFL Premier A club Bhawanipore. Career Early career Born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Kadam was selecte ...

Salam Ranjan Singh Salam Ranjan Singh (born 4 December 1995) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for I-League club TRAU. Career Born in Kha-Potshangbam, Manipur, Singh started playing football as a striker, before being converted into ...

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 ...

Syed Shoaib Ahmed Syed Shoaib Ahmed (born 11 July 1996) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker for ARA FC in the I-League 2nd Division. Career Ahmed started his career with the youth set-up at Pune F.C. and played for the academy in the ...

References

{{coord missing, Maharashtra Academy Football academies in India 2011 establishments in Maharashtra Youth League U18