Chennai City F.C.
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Chennai City Football Club is 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
Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
,
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
, that last 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 one of the top flights 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 ...
, and Chennai Football League. Established in 1946 as Nethaji Sports Club, the club spent its grand majority of history by competing in state leagues and city tournaments until entering the national stage in 2016. On 11 December 2016, nicknamed ''the Lions'', Chennai City was awarded a direct-entry spot into the I-League for 2016–17 season, and became champion in the 2018–19 season.


History


Formation and early years

The club was founded in 1946 as ''Netaji Sports Club'', by five friends, SV Kanagasabai, E Vadivelu, TR Govindarajan, PV Chellappa and K Ekambaram. Nethaji Sports Club, affiliated with
Tamil Nadu Football Association The Tamil Nadu Football Association (also known as Tamilnadu; abbreviated TNFA), formerly the Madras Football Association, is one of the 37 Indian state football associations that are affiliated to the All India Football Federation. The TNFA a ...
(TNFA), has appeared in several state competitions including Vittal trophy, TFA Shield and Chennai District Football League. The club always used to have a young squad with players usually aged 21–22 and the club did come close to national relevance a couple of times, making appearances in 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 ...
and
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 ...
. Since the 1990s, Netaji Sports Club participated in Madras Football League, conducted by Chennai Football Association.India regional tournaments 1997/98
''Rsssf''. Retrieved 16 August 2021
In state tournament, Tamil Nadu State League, they finished as runners-up thrice in 2004, 2005–06 and 2007.


Present years

On 11 December 2016, the club was accepted as a direct entry club for
2016–17 I-League The 2016–17 I-League was the 10th season of the I-League, the top Indian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 7 January 2017 and concluded on 30 April 2017. Aizawl won their ...
and became the second club from Tamil Nadu to play in the top division after
Indian Bank Recreational Club Indian Bank Recreational Club, also known as FC Indian Bank, is an Indian professional football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club formerly participated in the National Football League, and the I-League Second Division, alongside the C ...
team in
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 ...
. Chennai City FC made it to the Federation Cup by finishing eighth in the I-League table and did it with a game remaining in the league. Chennai City did decent in their first season at the highest level of domestic league. Their potential was highlighted when they managed to hold off
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 ...
for a very long time and even got wins against
Aizawl FC Aizawl FC is an Indian professional football club based in Aizawl, Mizoram, that competes in the I-League. Incorporated in 1984, the club earned the entry in India's top-tier league in 2015–16, after winning 2015 I-League 2nd Division. Nickn ...
and
East Bengal FC East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...
. In the 2016–17 Indian Federation Cup, they were pitted in Group A against Aizawl, East Bengal and
Churchill Brothers 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 ...
. Chennai City lost their first games and were out of contention before playing the last fixture. The team did salvage pride as they won the game against Churchill Brothers emphatically in a 3–1 victory. On 6 February 2019, Chennai City FC had agreed for a partnership with
Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...
giants
FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...
, which owned 26 percent of the club and would develop football in the state by building football schools for young talents. FC Basel would also have a player exchange program, including first team players, with CCFC and help the club with technical know how. On 9 March 2019, Chennai City FC beat former champions
Minerva Punjab FC RoundGlass Punjab FC is an Indian professional football club from Mohali in Punjab that competes in the Punjab State Super Football League and I-League. Founded as ''Minerva Academy FC'', in 2005, the club name was rebranded to ''Minerva Punjab ...
3–1 to be crowned the 2018–19 I-League champions. This marked the finish of a very successful season for the club, defying all expectations to win the league. Spanish-Uruguayan forward Pedro Manzi Cruz also scored a brace in this match, and was the joint top scorer of the league, scoring 21 league goals with record four hat-tricks. This was Chennai City FC's maiden I-League title, and later they represented India at the
2020 AFC Champions League The 2020 AFC Champions League was the 39th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 18th under the current AFC Champions League title. Ulsan Hyundai won their second Champion ...
playoffs and
2020 AFC Cup The 2020 AFC Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic after group stage matches on 11 March ...
respectively. They also participated in
2019 Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup The 2019 Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup, also known as ''Sheikh Kamal Gold Cup 2019'', was the 3rd edition of Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup, an international club football tournament hosted by the Chittagong Abahani in association with ...
in Bangladesh, but failed to advance to the knock-out stages. Chennai City FC also played in the Hero Super Cup during March–April 2019, and lost in the semi-finals to eventual champions FC Goa. However, they did manage to win 2–1 against ISL champions
Bengaluru FC Bengaluru Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bangalore, Karnataka. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 20 July 2013, and began its first ...
in the quarter finals. In December 2020, Satyasagara appointed as head coach, and the club ended their 2020–21 I-League campaign in ninth place. In December 2021, the AIFF club licensing committee has unanimously decided to not grant the exemption sought by the club, after having failed to receive the ICLS licence. As a result, Chennai City was thus barred from participating in the 2021–22 I-League. The club also failed to took part in 2021–22 Chennai Senior Division league.


Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors


Stadium

The club played most of its home games at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in
Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...
. Constructed in 1971, it is currently used mostly for football matches and has a capacity of 30,000. Prior to 2017–2018 season, the club played their home matches at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
. In 2019, the club decided to play their continental matches (
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 ...
playoffs and
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 ...
) at the
EKA Arena EKA Arena (formerly The Arena) is a multi-purpose stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, located near Kankaria Lake. The stadium was completed by and officially opened on 7 October 2016. It was built in a public-private partnership between the Governm ...
in
Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...
.


Players


Affiliated clubs

The following club was affiliated with Chennai City FC: *
FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...
(2019–2020)


Honours


Domestic leagues

*
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 ...
**Champions (1): 2018–19 * Chennai Football League **Champions (2): 2008–09, 2016–17 * Tamil Nadu State League **Runners-up (3): 2004, 2005–06, 2007


Notable players

''For all former notable Chennai City FC players with a Wikipedia article, see:
Chennai City FC players Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
''.


Past internationals

*The players below had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed, represented their countries before or after playing for ''Chennai City FC''. *
Zohib Islam Amiri Zohib Islam Amiri ( prs, ذهیب اسلام امیری; born 15 February 1990) is a professional footballer from Afghanistan who plays as a centre-back for A.S. Blainville and the Afghanistan national team. Early life Amiri was born on 15 Fe ...
(2017) *
Ildar Amirov Ildar Amirov ( tt-Cyrl, Илдар Әмиров, translit=İldar Ämiref; born 9 October 1987) is a Kyrgyzstani footballer of Tatar descent, last played as a striker. Career He played for Chennai City in the I-League The I-League (known ...
(2017–2018) * Murilo de Almeida (2017–2018) * Veniamin Shumeyko (2017–2018) *
Feiz Shamsin Fayez Bilal Chamsine ( ar, فايز بلال شمسين; born 12 July 1992) is a Lebanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Ansar. Club career Chamsine joined Pandurii Târgu Jiu in 2013, and scored a hat-trick on his fi ...
(2018–2019) * Tenzin Samdup (2018–2019) * Iqbal Hamid Hussain (2020–2021)


Continental record


Team records


I-League

;Key *Tms. = Number of teams *Pos. = Position in league *Attendance/G = Average league attendance *DNP = Did not participate *DNQ = Did not qualify


Overall


Head coach


Team

* Highest transfer fee received – €125,000 plus sell-on clause from
J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yas ...
side
Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. From 2023, Albirex will be playing on the J1 League, coming back to the fir ...
for Pedro Manzi, 2020.


See also

*
List of football clubs in India There are roughly 50 thousand football clubs and academies operating in India. This is a list of professional football clubs located in India, with leagues and states they play in. This is the list of AIFF approved clubs under every state foot ...
*
Sport in Chennai Cricket is the most popular sport in Chennai. The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India and has been the venue for many notable milestones in the history of Indian cricket. Tennis, field hockey, football and fo ...


Notes


References


Further reading

*


External links


Chennai City FC
at Global Sports Archive * *
Chennai City FC
at Soccerway
Chennai City FC
at the-AIFF.com
Chennai City FC
at WorldFootball.net {{Tamil Nadu Sports Football clubs in Chennai Association football clubs established in 1946 1946 establishments in India I-League clubs