RoundGlass Punjab FC

From Bharatpedia, an open encyclopedia


RoundGlass Punjab
File:RoundGlass Punjab FC logo.png
Full nameRoundGlass Punjab Football Club
Short nameRG Punjab
Founded2015; 9 years ago (2015) (as Minerva Punjab)
GroundGuru Nanak Stadium
Capacity30,000
OwnerRoundGlass Sports Pvt Ltd
Head coachAshley Westwood
LeaguePunjab State Super Football League
Template:Indian football updater
Template:Indian football updaterTemplate:Indian football updater
WebsiteClub website
Current season

RoundGlass Punjab FC is an Indian professional football club based in Mohali, Punjab that competes in the I-League. Founded as Minerva Academy FC,[1] in 2005, the club name was rebranded to Minerva Punjab after being accepted into I-League, and in 2019 the club was again rebranded as Punjab FC. In April 2020, owner of Minerva Academy Ranjit Bajaj sold the football club to RoundGlass Sports Pvt Ltd, and hereafter it is recherished as RoundGlass Punjab. The club has won I-League title once, in 2017–18, their second season in the league.

History[edit]

The team was established in 2005 as Minerva Academy,[2][3] and has both the football and cricket sections.[4] Initially, the team took part in its first major tournament at the national level i.e. I-League 2nd Division,[5] and were the runners up for the season.[6] They lost to five-time I-League champions Dempo SC in the Final.[7] They were promoted to I-League after an impressive stint at the 2nd Division.[8] They finished their first-ever 2016–17 I-League season at the second last position. They also participated in the 2016 Durand Cup.[9] They came last in the group stage and hence couldn't qualify for the semi-finals.

Kareem Omolaja and Sehijpal Singh in training with Minerva Punjab in 2016.

Next season, surprising everyone, they won the I-League title, which was their first league win ever in top division. They became first ones from North India to win the league since 1996. This title made the team qualify for their first-ever Asian stint. The club qualified for Group stage of the 2019 AFC Cup, along with Indian Super League side Chennaiyin, starting from Preliminary Round 2. However, they lost to Iranian side Saipa in the preliminary round of 2019 AFC Champions League and therefore couldn't make it to the play-offs.[10] But, in their AFC Cup stint, they impressed with unbeaten run of five games until the last group fixture, which they lost against Abahani Limited Dhaka.[11] Minerva were also placed in the round of 16 bracket of 2018 Indian Super Cup in which they lost to Jamshedpur 4–5 on penalties.

In 2018–19 I-League, the club managed to win four of their twenty fixtures and finished ninth in the league table. They were placed in 2019 Indian Super Cup qualifying round, but refused to play protesting against uncertainty of I-League clubs' future in Indian football. Thereafter, they were also not invited to play 2019 Durand Cup, which was disappointing for the Punjabi side.

On 30 October 2019, announcement was made that after a partnership agreement with RoundGlass Sports Private Ltd. the club has been renamed as Punjab Football Club.[12][13]

Ahead of the 2020–21 I-League season, RoundGlass Sports completed acquisition of Punjab FC and rebranded the club to RoundGlass Punjab Football Club. On 15 June 2020, they appointed Curtis Fleming as their head coach.[14][15][16] On 15 July, they appointed Nikolaos Topoliatis as new technical director.[17] As the season progressed, Punjab made it to the championship stage and finished their season with a 2–3 loss to Churchill Brothers.[18] They achieved 2nd position with 22 points in 15 league matches.[19]

Stadium[edit]

Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana

RoundGlass Punjab currently plays their home matches at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana,[20] Punjab. Stadium has a capacity of 30,000 spectators.[21] The club previously used Tau Devi Lal Stadium for their home matches, but only for one season.[22]

When Minerva entered AFC Cup, they used various stadiums which could fit the competitions standards. During the group stage, club played two matches at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati,[23] and another at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

Supporters[edit]

A recognised fan club named The Warriors has been in support since 2018. The Guru Nanak Stadium has seen an average attendance of 12,000.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors[edit]

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2015—2017 T10 Sports -
2017—2019 Astro Apollo Tyres[24]
2019—2020 Spartan[25]
2020—2021 T10 Sports[26] RoundGlass
2021—present Six5six[27][28]

Current squad[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF India IND Saurabh Bhanwala
6 MF India IND Bikramjit Singh (Captain)
8 MF India IND Souvik Das
10 MF Spain ESP Joseba Beitia
12 FW India IND Rupert Nongrum
13 DF India IND Bikash Yumnam
17 MF India IND Telem Suranjit Singh
19 DF India IND Denzil Kharshandi
21 GK India IND Jaspreet Singh
27 DF India IND Aakash Sangwan
29 MF India IND Ashangbam Aphaoba Singh
31 DF India IND Ashray Bhardwaj
32 DF India IND Abhishek Verma
33 FW India IND Sumeet Passi
34 DF India IND Abhinas Ruidas
39 FW India IND Ashish Jha
41 GK India IND Jaskarenvir Singh
No. Pos. Nation Player
66 DF India IND Lironthung Latha
— MF India IND Cavin Lobo
— DF India IND Akhil Verma
— MF India IND Amandeep Singh
— FW India IND Luntinmang Haokip
— DF India IND Shankar Sampingiraj
— MF India IND Kean Lewis
— DF India IND Rino Anto
— FW India IND Robin Singh
— FW India IND C. K. Vineeth
— DF India IND Gurtej Singh
— FW England ENG Kurtis Guthrie
— DF England ENG Josef Yarney
— FW Australia AUS Travis Major
— MF India IND Ashish Pradhan
— DF India IND Keegan Pereira
— DF India IND Lalchhuanmawia

Statistics and records[edit]

Season-by-season[edit]

Year I-League Federation
Cup 		AFC Champions League Top Scorer(s)
Div P W D L GF GA Pts Pos. Player(s) Goals
As Minerva Punjab F.C.
2015–16 IL2 18 11 4 3 30 14 37 2nd DNP DNP Nigeria Kareem Omolaja 4
2016–17 IL 18 2 7 9 17 33 13 9th Nigeria Loveday Enyinnaya; Nigeria Kareem Omolaja 3
2017–18 IL 18 11 2 5 24 16 35 1st Bhutan Chencho Gyeltshen 7
2018–19 IL 20 4 6 10 10 19 18 9th Ivory Coast Lancine Touré
Nigeria Philip Njoku
Ghana William Opoku 		2
As Punjab FC
2019–20 IL 16 5 8 3 23 21 +2 3rd DNP DNP
4th DNP DNP BhutanChencho Gyeltshen 7

Managerial record[edit]

Name Nationality From To P W D L GF GA Win%
Surinder Singh  India 2015[29] 2017 36 13 11 12 47 47 036.11
Khogen Singh  India 2017 2018[30] 19 11 2 6 24 16 057.89
Paul Munster Template:NIR 2018[31][32] 2019 16 3 5 8 8 15 018.75
Sachin Badadhe  India 2019[33] 2019 2 1 0 1 1 4 050.00
Yan Law  India 2019[34] 2020 5 2 2 1 8 8 040.00
Curtis Fleming  Ireland 2020[35] 2021[36][37] 15 6 4 5 18 15 040.00
Ashley Westwood  England 2021[38] 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—

Honours[edit]

League[edit]

Cup[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Bharat, Khelchandra (6 July 2016). "Durand Cup 2016: Minerva Academy FC Gets Direct Entry Along With 7 Other Clubs". indianfootballnetwork.com. Indian Football Network. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  2. ↑ Nisanth V Easwar (10 September 2020). "I-League: How newly-promoted teams have performed". goal.com. Goal. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  3. ↑ Schöggl, Hans. "India - List of Foundation Dates". rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  4. ↑ Minerva Punjab football club profile and seasons Archived 14 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Shukla, Abhishek. "I-LEAGUE 2ND DIVISION: MINERVA BEAT GANGTOK HIMALAYAN TO KEEPS PRESSURE ON DEMPO". indianfooty.com. India Footy. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "Minerva AFC Continue Their Domination In Second Division League". I-League. 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  7. ↑ Results, Fixtures &Table: 2nd Division I-League Archived 18 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine i-league.org. Retrieved 23 March 2021
  8. ↑ Anselm Noronha (11 December 2016). "I-League Update: Chennai City FC and Minerva Punjab FC to play in the coming season". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2017. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch (help)
  9. ↑ "Durand Cup 2016: Minerva Academy FC Gets Direct Entry Along With 7 Other Clubs". Indian Football Network. 6 July 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  10. ↑ "AFC Champions League 2019 qualifier: SAIPA FC thrash Minerva Punjab 4-0". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  11. ↑ Soham Mukherjee (1 April 2020). "How have Indian clubs fared in AFC Champions League and AFC Cup?". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  12. ↑ "Minerva Punjab renamed as Punjab Football Club". Sportstar. The Hindu. 30 October 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  13. ↑ "I-League Club Minerva Punjab FC Renamed as Punjab Football Club". News18. PTI. 30 October 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  14. ↑ RoundGlass Punjab FC unveil kit, logo and squad Archived 12 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine Goal.com. Retrieved 12 May 2021
  15. ↑ "I-League: RoundGlass Sports completes acquisition of Punjab FC". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  16. ↑ Former Middlesbrough manager Curtis Fleming joins Punjab FC Archived 12 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine Goal.com. Retrieved 12 May 2021
  17. ↑ Punjab FC rope in former Olympiacos youth coach Nikolaos Topoliatis as new technical director Archived 14 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine Goal.com. Retrieved 14 July 2021
  18. ↑ Churchill Brothers 3–2 Punjab FC Archived 12 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine Soccerway.com. Retrieved 12 May 2021
  19. ↑ "I-League: Churchill Brothers Beat Punjab FC 3-2, But Lose Title Race". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  20. ↑ Swapnaneel Parasar (25 November 2017). "I-League 2017/18: Minerva Punjab 1-1 Mohun Bagan: Late equaliser stuns Mariners in season opener". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch (help)
  21. ↑ "I-LEAGUE 2019/20: PUNJAB FC TO PLAY THEIR HOME MATCHES AT LUDHIANA". indiafooty.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  22. ↑ Tau Devi Lal Stadium Archive Archived 30 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine indiafooty.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021
  23. ↑ Chennaiyin takes on Minerva Punjab in crunch AFC Cup group stage match in Guwahati Archived 18 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine dtnext.in. Retrieved 18 April 2021
  24. ↑ "Minerva". corporate.apollotyres.com. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  25. ↑ "Spartan sports will be the official kit sponsor of Minerva Punjab FC for the upcoming season". Minerva Punjab FC. Twitter. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  26. ↑ "RoundGlass Punjab Football Club". T10 Sports. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  27. ↑ Bureau, Adgully. "RoundGlass Punjab Football Club partners with Six5Six as official kit sponsor". www.adgully.com. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  28. ↑ RoundGlass Punjab FC [@SIX5SIXSport] (17 September 2021). "We are excited to welcome @RGPunjabFC to the @SIX5SIXSport family for the next 3 years!" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 September 2021 – via Twitter.
  29. ↑ Sen, Debayen (28 May 2016). "Dempo, Minerva eye I-League promotion in League 2 decider". ESPN. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  30. ↑ "Khogen Singh quits I-League champions Minerva Punjab". Goal.com. 22 May 2018. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  31. ↑ Crawford, Steven (8 August 2018). "Paul Munster joins Indian champions". News Letter. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  32. ↑ "Minerva Punjab FC". Apollo Minerva Punjab FC. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  33. ↑ Meet Sachin Badadhe, The Tea Shop Owner Whose Coaching Helped Minerva Punjab FC Win The I-League Archived 7 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine indiatimes.com. Retrieved 7 May 2021
  34. ↑ Punjab FC coach from iconic restaurant family Archived 18 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 18 April 2021
  35. ↑ "Former Middlesbrough manager Curtis Fleming set to take charge at Punjab FC | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  36. ↑ "RoundGlass Punjab mutually part ways with head coach Curtis Fleming". Khelnow.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  37. ↑ RoundGlass Punjab FC part ways with head coach Curtis Fleming Archived 27 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine voiceofindiansports.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021
  38. ↑ "OUR TEAM IS READY TO CHALLENGE IN I LEAGUE: WESTWOOD". kolkatafootball.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch (help)
  39. ↑ Atsushi Fujioka & Arunava Chaudhuri. "India - List of National Champions". rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  40. ↑ Das Sharma, Amitabha (10 March 2020). "Mohun Bagan wins second I-League title with win over Aizawl FC". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  41. ↑ "Minerva Punjab FC Beat Punjab Police to Win 2nd Straight Punjab Super League Title". news18. 21 October 2019.
  42. ↑ Khan, Abid (24 October 2018). "J&K Invitational Cup-2018: Real Kashmir FC, Minerva Punjab FC joint winners". Greater Kashmir. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  43. ↑ "11th Bodousa Cup: Durand Cup Winners Gokulam Kerala FC Beat Former I-League Champions Minerva Punjab In Nerve-Wrecking Final". outlookindia.com. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2020.

External links[edit]

Template:RoundGlass Punjab FC

Information red.svg
Scan the QR code to donate via UPI
Dear reader, We kindly request your support in maintaining the independence of Bharatpedia. As a non-profit organization, we rely heavily on small donations to sustain our operations and provide free access to reliable information to the world. We would greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to consider donating to our cause, as it would greatly aid us in our mission. Your contribution would demonstrate the importance of reliable and trustworthy knowledge to you and the world. Thank you.

Please select an option below or scan the QR code to donate
₹150 ₹500 ₹1,000 ₹2,000 ₹5,000 ₹10,000 Other


Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/index.php?title=RoundGlass_Punjab_FC&oldid=257628"