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Garhwal Heroes FC

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Garhwal FC
File:Garhwal FC logo.png
Full nameGarhwal Heroes Football Club
Nickname(s)Garhwalis
Founded1953; 71 years ago (1953) (as Garhwal Heroes Football Club)[1]
GroundAmbedkar Stadium
Capacity30,000
OwnerBhagwan Singh Negi
LeagueFD Senior Division
2021FD Senior Division, TBA

Garhwal Football Club (also known as Garhwal Heroes FC) is an Indian professional football club based in New Delhi.[2] The club lifted its first FD Senior Division league title in 1986, which became one of the most successful seasons in their history.[3] In 2010, Garhwal FC became the first Delhi based club to enter into the quarter final of Durand Cup, prestigious and oldest knockout football club tournament in India. They also competed in the I-League 2nd Division.[4][5]

History

Foundation

Garhwal Heroes FC was initially set up by Kesar Singh Negi as a platform for young players of the Garhwali community to compete locally in Delhi. As the club gained popularity, it was formally registered with the Football Delhi in 1953. Since then, GHFC has regularly featured in the league championship organized by the Football Delhi (FD).[6] One of the most memorable moments came in 1986, when GHFC were crowned the champions of the FD Senior Division. Unfortunately, the one and a half decades following the historic triumph saw GHFC beset by financial problems which resulted in the club being relegated to the A Division and then the B Division of the Delhi League. The club got a fresh lease of life when it was taken over by B. S. Negi and M. S. Patwal in 2001 following which the club gradually started its ascent once more. From the nadir of the B Division, the club gained promotion to A Division and then to the Senior Division in 2005. Since then, GHFC, backed by strong community support, has consistently delivered strong results in the Senior Division which culminated in reclaiming the lost glory by winning the FD Senior Division League once more in 2012–13.[7]

In order to keep raising the bar, GHFC now has ambitions to play the I-League 2nd Division from 2013–2014 onwards. Always a community and youth-oriented club, GHFC entered into a historic partnership in 2013 with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools – the largest and most reputed football youth development setup in India and Delhi-NCR.

Garhwal FC Era (2013–present)

In 2013, GHFC also won the Delhi leg of the Manchester United Premier Cup, which is a nationwide U-16 club competition. As GHFC tries to attain sustainability of its operations, the partnership will strengthen the club's youth development and scouting network.

In 2013, GHFC was rechristened as Garhwal Football Club (GFC) in order to fulfill the AFC Club Licensing Criteria laid down by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) – a step that would enable GFC to compete in the I-League – the highest level of professional football in the country. GFC brought about a major restructuring drive that would make it a complete club ready for the next generation. In addition to becoming an independent commercial entity as mandated by AIFF, GFC also set up a highly organized youth development system and a professional management team in order to be able to compete in the 2nd Division of the I-League. GFC has since been recognized as one of only 15 clubs that will compete in the 2nd Division I-League and the U-19 I League by the AIFF, on 7 June 2015. GFC finished runner up in All India Football Tournament in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.

In July 2021, Garhwal FC participated in the innagueal Delhi 2nd Division Qualifiers and moved through knockout stages from Group A.[8][9][10]

Competitive seasons

2020 was Garhwal's one of the successful seasons when the club finished top of the 2019–20 2nd Division League Group A preliminary round[11] and entered into the 2020 I-League Qualifiers, where they finished at the bottom.[12]

Achievements

Being current Champions of the Delhi League, GHFC were also winners of the prestigious state league in 1986. Other notable achievements in the past include winning the Delhi Women's League in 2011 and reaching the quarterfinals of the prestigious Durand Cup in 2010, beating the likes of Sporting Clube de Goa and JCT in the process.[13]

Tradition

Historically, the Garhwal Kingdom in the Garhwal Himalayas was established by King Kanak Pal by integrating the 52 forts or "Garhs" in the region at a time when these forts were owned by several warring chieftains. This helped the kingdom to unite and flourish despite the hardships posed by the unforgiving terrain and extreme weather conditions. Unity and bravery of the Garhwalis were also instrumental in helping the Kingdom to withstand multiple invasions – firstly from the Mughals and then from the Gorkhas. These values of fighting against all odds to survive and succeed formed the basis of the club's philosophy when it was set up. Thus, Unity, Bravery, Victory (Ekta, Shaurya, Vijay) became the guiding principles of the club. The goal of the club is to promote community welfare by achieving sporting success in the field of football on the basis these principles.

Since its inception, GFC has always been a community-oriented club with most of its roster being local players. It enjoys unparalleled support within Delhi and Uttarakhand with over 5000 fans celebrating its victory in the Delhi League in 2012–13.[14]

Squad

As of 3 February 2020

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK India IND Sayak Barai
2 DF India IND Pratik Lama
3 DF India IND Nitesh Chhikara
4 DF India IND Maan Singh
5 DF India IND Neeraj Bhandari
9 FW India IND Aman Thapa
11 MF India IND Nirmal Singh Bisht
12 MF India IND Niteen Bhandari
13 MF India IND Gaurav Rawat
14 FW India IND Muhammed Nabeel
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF India IND Rahul Aswal
16 MF India IND Rony C. Lalenkima
17 DF India IND Rahul Khokhar
20 MF India IND Suman Sarkar
22 FW India IND Subhanil Ghosh
27 DF India IND Kamlesh Sathanathan Nadar
29 MF India IND Ashif
32 GK India IND Paramveer Singh
34 GK India IND Abhishek Calvin

Club management

Role Name
Honorary president India Bhagwan Singh Negi
Treasurer India Magan Singh Negi
Director India Kishor Gam Taid
Assistant director India Anurag Khilnani
Honorary vice president India Sukhpal Singh Negi
Honorary secretary India Anil Kumar Negi

Honours

Domestic tournaments

See also

References

  1. ^ "Garhwal Football Club". Khelnow.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Football Delhi 2nd Division League Qualifiers 2021: Fixtures, results, standings & more". Khel Now. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  3. ^ "The history and the current status of football in Delhi". chaseyoursport.com. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Live Streaming I-League Qualifiers 2020 Garhwal FC vs Bhawanipore FC: When and Where to Watch on TV". New18.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  5. ^ "I-League 2nd Division: Garhwal FC ready to punch above its weight to gain promotion". Goal.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  6. ^ "DSA Senior Division Open League begins Tuesday". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Garhwal Heroes to meet Goodwill in DSA senior division league final - Times of India". The Times of India.
  8. ^ "2nd Division Qualifiers Delhi - Garwhal Heroes sign Ansumana Kromah". Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Football Delhi 2nd Division League Qualifiers 2021: Fixtures, results, standings & more". Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Delhi (DSA) Senior Division League". Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  11. ^ [Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India, a shorter format of the league was announced. Therefore, only the top 6 non-reserve clubs advanced to the Final Round.]
  12. ^ "I-League Qualifiers 2020 FULL MATCH -- FC Bengaluru United beat Garhwal FC 1-0". thefangarage.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  13. ^ Garhwal Heroes stuns Sporting Clube de Goa The Hindu. Retrieved 9 September 2021
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ Delhi Senior Division Football League footballdelhi.com. Retrieved 28 February 2021
  16. ^ Arunava Chaudhary. "List of Champions of the Delhi Football League (DSA Senior Division)". Indianfootball.de. Indian Football Network. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 1 May 2002 suggested (help)
  17. ^ "Delhi (DSA) Senior Division League". theawayend.co. The Away End. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  18. ^ India - List of Delhi League Champions RSSSF.com. Retrieved 8 May 2021
  19. ^ Arunava Chaudhary. "List of Winners/Runners-Up of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Cup:". indianfootball.de. Indian Football Network. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 15 March 2016 suggested (help)
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