The Trades Cup (also known as the Trades Challenge Cup
or IFA Trades Challenge Cup
) is an Indian
football tournament held in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
and organised by
Indian Football Association. Incorporated in 1889, it is the
second oldest football tournament in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
and oldest football tournament in Kolkata. It is the traditional curtain raiser for the Kolkata football season.
History
The Trades Cup was instituted in 1889 by the trading community of Calcutta and was organised by the
Dalhousie AC
Dalhousie Athletic Club is an Indian multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It was established in 1880, during the British rule in India. The club tent is located in Mayo Road, Kolkata Maidan, in Esplanade. Dalhousie competed in the P ...
committee.
It was the first open football tournament in India, where Indian, British, regimental and college clubs participated.
The first Indian club to win a match against a British team was
Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari's Sovabazar Club. They won the opening match of the 1892 Trades Cup by defeating the
East Surrey Regiment with the score of 2–1.
The first Indian club to win the Trades Cup was the National Association who won the trophy in the 1900 edition. The Indian club from South Calcutta under the guidance of Manmatha Ganguly defeated the British side, Shibpur Engineering College on 11 August 1900 at the Shobhabazar Ground.
completed a hat-trick of Trades Cup titles between 1906 and 1908, which enabled them to make their
IFA Shield debut in 1909.
The Trades Cup was revived after not being held for 25 years in 2004 by the IFA. The tournament gives the Kolkata clubs outside the "Big Three" playing in the Premier and lower divisions the chance to field and organise their teams ahead of the start of their league season.
Results
See also
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History of Indian football
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Football in Kolkata
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List of oldest football competitions
References
Further reading
Bibliography
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*Dutta, P. L., ''Memoir of 'Father of Indian Football' Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary'' (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1944) (hereafter Memoir)
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*Ghosh, Saurindra Kumar. ''Krira Samrat Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary 1869–1940'' (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1963) (hereafter Krira Samrat).
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Others
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''From recreation to competition: Early history of Indian football''. pp. 124–141. Published online: 6 Aug 2006. ''Taylor & Francis''. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
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{{Football in West Bengal
Football cup competitions in India
Football competitions in Kolkata
1889 establishments in India
Recurring sporting events established in 1889