Mahindra United

Full name	Mahindra United Football Club
Nickname(s)	Jeepmen
Short name	MUFC
Founded	1962; 63 years ago (1962) (asMahindra & Mahindra)
Dissolved	2010; 15 years ago (2010)
Ground	Cooperage Ground,Mumbai
Capacity	5,000
League	I-League MDFA Senior Division
Home colours Away colours

Mahindra United Football Club (formerly known asMahindra & Mahindra)^[1][2][3][4] was an Indian professionalfootball club based inMumbai,Maharashtra.^[5][6] Founded in 1962, the club competed in theI-League,^[7] then top tier ofIndian football league system, before closing down at the end of2009–10 season.^[8][9] Affiliated withMumbai Football Association, the club participated in both theNational Football League,^[10] andMDFA Elite League.^[11]

Nicknamed "Jeepmen",^[12] the club was popularly referred as India's MU after theEnglish Premier League powerhouseManchester United.^[13][14] It was one of the most popular football clubs in the country and was known for its consistent good performance in the last four decades of its existence.^[15] The club had won many major tournaments inIndia,^[16][17] and also clinched an international tournament,2003 POMIS Cup in theMaldives.^[18]

The club was founded in 1962 as the "Mahindra & Mahindra Allied Sports Club" under the patronage ofMahindra Group.^[19][14] Being predominantly a corporate sporting entity,^[20] they secured admission intoBombay'sHarwood League in 1964 and won the first title in 1970. Players like renowned goalkeeperE.N. Sudhir appeared with the club at that time.^[21] The club later lifted its first knock-out tournament,Bandodkar Gold Trophy in 1980.^[22] The club later becameDurand Cup champion in 1998,^[23] under coaching of legendary football managerSyed Shahid Hakim,^[24][25][26] and went on to clinch the title again in 2001–02.^[27]

Since their inception, Mahindra became a member ofWestern India Football Association (WIFA) and later in 1983, became affiliated withMumbai District Football Association (formerlyBDFA). They participated in later editions ofBombay Harwood League alongside Maharashtra Football League, and won the Harwood League four times in 1970, 1982, 1984 and 1985.^[28][29]

Mahindra later participated inW.I.F.A. Super Division from 1990 to 1999 and clinched WIFA title in 1995.

They later participated inMDFA Elite Division and lifted trophies consecutively from 2000 to 2004 and 2006 to 2009.^[29]

From 2002 to 2003,Czech coachKarel Stromšík managed club in theNational Football League.^[30] In the summer of 2006, it was renamed toMahindra United. The shirt colour was also changed from orange to red.

Team played its NFL home matches at theCooperage Ground inMumbai,^[31][32][33] but due to the bad state of the stadium, as of February 7, 2006, they had to play almost all of their NFL games at away venues.

Mahindra were crowned champions of NFL Premier Division for the first time in club's history in the 2005–06 season, with two games to spare.^[34] They followed it up by beating their arch-rivals,Air India for the first time in the season. They are also two-time winners of theIndian Federation Cup, having won the title in 2003 and 2005.^[35][36][37] The win in 2005 ensured that Mahindra became the first club in the history of Indian football to win the Federation Cup and National Football League double in the same season.^[38][39]They did however lose the NFL Super Cup toEast Bengal by a margin of 1–2.

In the 2006 edition ofIFA Shield, Mahindra United emerged as champions, defeatingMohun Bagan AC by 1–0 inKolkata.^[43][44] They also participated in the2006 Federation Cup and achieved third place, defeatingDempo SC 4–2 in the penalty-shootout.^[45] In the 2008 edition of IFA Shield, they defeated South African sideSantos FC by 3–1 to win the title.

Head coach of the team wasDerrick Pereira. Players like Subhashish Roy Chowdhury,Manjit Singh andSurojit Bose have been associated with the team. The club also tried forming under-15 and under-19 teams in order to nurture the young talent in the country.^[38]

Mahindra United mainly usedCooperage Football Ground.^[46][47][48] It is located inNariman Point, Mumbai,^[49] The stadium hosted home matches of both the National Football League and I-League, alongsideMDFA Elite League; It had a seating capacity of nearly 12,000 spectators.^[50][51]

During the existence and playing days, Mahindra United shared rivalry in the NFL, predominantly with fellowMumbai-based clubAir India.^{[52][53][54][55][56][57]}

In 2010, it was announced that club will be disbanded after the end of the2009–10 I-League.^{[58][59][60][61]} The decision was a major blow for football inMumbai,^[62] and financial reason was one of the main factors behind it.^[63][64][65] Alan Durante, the chairman of Mahindra United, who had been with the team since 1991 and under whom Mahindra have won almost everything in Indian football, said it wasn't about costs.

Ruzbeh Irani, executive vice-president of the club, said: "It was in line with our group's philosophy and shift, from taking part in professional sport to developing it. We feel we can make much difference to sport in India at the school level in football, instead of running a professional team."^[67] Due to the dysfunction of Mahindra United, the All India Football Federation allowedAIFF XI to take part in I-League directly.^[68]

Mahindra United had won almost all the major competitions in India until its dissolution.^{[69][70][71][72][73]} The club was one-time winner of the National Football League.^[74] It was also the first team fromMaharashtra to win the Harwood League and Nadkarni Cup three times in a row, and also first team from the state to compete in domestic highest division.^[75] The club has also been two-time winner ofIFA Shield andFederation Cup.^[76][77] There are several other championships like Mammen Mappillai Cup,Rovers Cup, Chief Minister's Cup and Super Cup where Mahindra United has registered victories.^[38]

On international level, Mahindra United achieved success through lifting the2003 POMIS Cup trophy in theMaldives, beatingClub Valencia 3–1.^[78][79] They also became the first Indian club to reach the quarter-finals of the2007 AFC Cup, but their journey ended with an aggregate 4–5 defeat toLebanese sideAl-Najmeh SC.^{[80][81][82][83]} In 2003, Debjit Ghosh of Mahindra United, wonIndianFootball.com 'player of the Year' award.^[84]

Mahindra United emerged as top ranked Indian team, and 464 universally, in the international rankings of clubs during the first ten years of the 21st century (2001–2010), issued by theInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics in 2011.^[85]

In three consecutive seasons, Indian players (while representing Mahindra United) have been awarded theAIFF Player of the Year: S Venkatesh in 2004,Climax Lawrence in 2005, and Surkumar Singh in 2006.^[86][87][88]

• POMIS Cup^{[note 1][89]}
  • Champions (1):2003^[90]

• AFC Cup
  • Quarter-final (1):2007^[91]

• National Football League
  • Champions (1):2005–06^[92][93]
  • Third place (2): 2003–04, 2006–07
• Durand Cup
  • Champions (3): 1998,^[94] 2001–02,^[95] 2008^[96][97]
  • Runners-up (3): 1990, 2000, 2007^[98]
• Federation Cup^[99]
  • Champions (2): 2003, 2005^[100]
  • Runners-up (3): 1991,1993,^[101] 2007
• Indian Super Cup
  • Champions (1): 2003^[102][103]
  • Runners-up (1): 2006^[104]
• IFA Shield^{[note 2][105]}
  • Champions (2): 2006,^[106] 2008^[107]
• Rovers Cup
  • Champions (1): 1993^[108]
  • Runners-up (2): 1970–71, 1990^[109]
• Mumbai Harwood League (MDFA Elite Division)
  • Champions (13): 1970, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1995, 2000,^[110] 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09^[111][112]
• Nadkarni Cup
  • Champions (3): 1986, 2001, 2002^[113]
  • Runners-up (4): 1968, 1971, 1974, 2005
• Mammen Mappillai Trophy
  • Champions (1): 1999^[114]
• Bandodkar Gold Trophy
  • Champions (1): 1980^[115][116]
  • Runners-up (1): 1988
• Sait Nagjee Trophy
  • Runners-up (1): 1975^[117][118]

• Chief Ministers Cup
  • Champions (1): 1998^[119]

• AFC Cup: 3 appearances^{[120][121][122]}

2004: Group stage

2006: Group stage

2007: Quarter-finals

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away
2004	AFC Cup	Group stage		Dhofar	2–1	2–4
				Al-Wahda	0–0	1–5
2006	AFC Cup	Group stage		Al Ahed	2–1	2–2
				Brothers Union	1–0	2–2
				Al-Muharraq	0–1	1–1
2007	AFC Cup	Group stage		Singapore Armed Forces	0–1	2–0
				New Radiant	1–0	2–0
				Happy Valley AA	3–1	1–2
		Quarter-final		Al-Najmeh	1–2	3–3

For all former or notable Mahindra United players with a Wikipedia article, see:Mahindra United FC players.

The following players of Mahindra United either represented their respective countries in senior/youth international level or appeared with the club in top-tier domestic league of India.

• Narendra Man Singh (1986–1989)^[123][124]
• Monwar Hossain Munna (1997–1998)^[125]
• Sameer Jameel (1999–2000)^[126]
• Bassam Al-Khatib (1999–2000)^[127]
• Davood Hosseini (2000–2001)^[128]
• Hari Khadka (2001)^[129]
• Gilmar Tadeu da Silva (2001–2002)^[130]
• Bal Gopal Maharjan (2001–2002)^[131]
• Sergey Andreyev (2001–2002)^[132]
• Štrandel Petr (2002–2003)^[133]
• Odartey Lawson (2002–2004)^[134]
• Felix Aboagye (2003–2004)^[135]
• Raphaël Patron Akakpo (2003–2005)^[136]
• Charles Asamoah (2004–2005)^[137]
• José Ramirez Barreto (2005–2006)^[138]
• Yusif Yakubu (2005–2008)^{[139][140][141]}
• Mbaka Dady (2006–2007)^[142]
• Tony Menezes (2006–2007)^[143][144]
• Filipe Azevedo (2006–2007)^[145]
• Andrews Pomeyie Mensah (2006–2008)
• Caswain Mason (2007)^[146]
• Edson Dico Minga (2007)^[147][148]
• Douhou Pierre (2007–2009)^[149][150]
• Lamine Tamba (2007–2010)^[151][152]
• Bello Razaq (2008)^[153]
• Svetozar Mijin (2009)^[154]

Role	Name
Head coach	David Booth
Assistant coach	Arshad Hussain
Team manager	Henry Menezes
Physio	Sandeep Kurale
Medical head	N. N. Shingornikar

In an attempt to nurture young talent and promote football in Mumbai, Mahindra United fielded an under-19 team from 2003.^[155] The team was managed by Santosh Kashyap,^[156] and performed extremely well in theNational Football League (Under-19) and reached the semi-finals, beating teams likeChurchill Brothers andSalgaocar.^[157]

Mahindra United participated inU19 I-League, held since 2008.^[158]

Spurred by the success of its U-19 team, Mahindra United fielded both U-15 and U-17 teams from 2006.^[159] The U-15 team playedManchester United Premier Cup Asian Qualifiers held at Kolkata, where top NFL clubs also participated.

Youth setup has also participated in theManchester United Premier Cup in 2010.^[160]

Honours

• Manchester United Premier Cup (India)
  • Runners-up (1): 2006–07^[161]

This list isincomplete; you can help byadding missing items.(July 2022)

• Dereyk D'Souza (1981–1982)^[163]
• Syed Shahid Hakim (1998–1999)^[164][165]
• Harish Rao (1999–2000), (2001–2002)^[166]
• Shabbir Ali (2000–2001)^[167][168]
• Karel Stromšík (2002–2003)^[169]
• Dave Booth (2003–2004),^[170] (2009–2010)^[171]
• Syed Nayeemuddin (2004–2005)^[172]
• Derrick Pereira (2005–2009)^[173]

The club had itsfield hockey team that participated in both theBeighton Cup andBombay Gold Cup.^[174][175] Two of the club's notable players areSameer Dad – who represented India at the1998 Asian Games and1998 Men's Hockey World Cup,^[176][177] andBaljit Singh Dhillon – who appeared at theSummer Olympics.^[178][179]

Honours

• Bombay Gold Cup^[180]
  • Runners-up (4): 1974, 1976, 1982, 1986
• Guru Tegh Bahadur Gold Cup^[180]
  • Champions (1): 1980

• Indian football clubs in Asian competitions
• Sports in Maharashtra
• List of football clubs in Mumbai
• Defunct football clubs in India

Bibliography

• Kapadia, Novy (2017).Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House.ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
• Martinez, Dolores; Mukharjiim, Projit B (2009).Football: From England to the World: The Many Lives of Indian Football.Routledge.ISBN 978-1-138-88353-6. Archived fromthe original on 2 July 2022.
• Shreekumar, S. S. (15 August 2020).The Best Way Forward for India's Football. HSRA Publications. p. 244.ISBN 978-81-947216-9-7. Archived fromthe original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved3 February 2023.
• Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001).Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora.London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 33.ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived fromthe original on 25 July 2022.
• Nath, Nirmal (2011).History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service.ISBN 978-81-87891-96-3. Archived fromthe original on 22 July 2022.
• Majumdar, Boria; Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (2006).A Social History Of Indian Football: Striving To Score.Routledge.ISBN 978-0-415-34835-5. Archived fromthe original on 29 June 2021.
• Basu, Jaydeep (2003).Stories from Indian Football. UBS Publishers' Distributors.ISBN 978-81-7476-454-6. Archived fromthe original on 11 October 2022.

Cited sources

• Anand, Chetan (29 April 2023)."The Lone Ballad for a Mahindra United Comeback".iftwc.com. Mumbai: Indian Football Team for World Cup. Archived fromthe original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved29 April 2023.
• Sethi, Nitin N. (13 January 2004)."Mumbai salutes soccer legend Neville D'Souza".timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Mumbai:The Times of India. Archived fromthe original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved26 November 2015.
• Malhotra, Kratik (12 August 2011)."I-League: Air India Sign Lamine Tamba and Kali and Have a Deal in Place for Manandeep".Goal.com. Archived fromthe original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved12 August 2011.
• Chattopadhyay, Hariprasad (17 January 2015)."Time to regain lost glory".telegraphindia.com. Kolkata: The Telegraph India. Archived fromthe original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved22 September 2021.
• "Salim Ansari gets Player of the Year Award".tribuneindia.com. New Delhi: The Tribune India. 16 April 2002. Archived fromthe original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved19 September 2023.
• "Viva Kerala hold Mahindra 1–1".timesofindia.indiatimes.com.The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 6 November 2009. Archived fromthe original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved4 February 2010.
• Bobrowsky, Josef; King, Ian (6 December 2006)."India 1993 – All-India Federation Cup".RSSSF. Archived fromthe original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved4 November 2022.
• Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin."NFT player — National team & Club appearances: Jamil, Khalid".national-football-teams.com. National Football Teams. Archived fromthe original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved26 November 2021.
• Keerthivasan, K (18 February 2015)."Raman Vijayan to use his wealth of experience".thehindu.com. Chennai: The Hindu. Archived fromthe original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved1 July 2015.
• "Former India footballer Raman Vijayan signs as Delhi Dynamos assistant coach".firstpost.com. FirstPost. 2 July 2015. Archived fromthe original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved2 July 2015.
• Vinod, A. (4 May 2002)."A futile exercise, to say the least".sportstar.thehindu.com.Sportstar. Archived fromthe original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved26 September 2021.
• "Old Candy in New Wrapper: DSK Shivajians have got basics right but lack excitement".thefangarage.com. Pune. 20 January 2016. Archived fromthe original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved16 February 2024.

• Mahindra United FC at Global Sports Archive
• Mahindra United FC at WorldFootball
• Mahindra United FC at flashscore.in

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