Federation Cup (India)

Federation Cup
Organising body	All India Football Federation
Founded	1977; 47 years ago
Region	India
Current champions	Bengaluru (2nd title)
Most successful club(s)	Mohun Bagan (14 titles)
Motto	Where Pride Meets Passion

The Federation Cup was an annual knockout football competition and the premier cup competition in men's domestic Indian football until 2017.^[1] Established in 1977, it was organized by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The Federation Cup was eventually replaced by the Super Cup from the 2018 season.This Cup will revive from 2024-25 season.

Bengaluru were the last champions, having defeated Mohun Bagan 2–0 in the 2017 final.^[2]

History

In 1977, the All India Football Federation started the Federation Cup as the first club based national tournament in the country. Inaugural champion of the competition was the ITI (Indian Telephone Industries) who defeated Mohun Bagan in the final.^[3] In 2015 the All India Football Federation announced that the Federation Cup will be put on hold to avoid scheduling conflict with the Indian Super League and the I-League.^[4] After the Asian Football Confederation mandated that a club must play at least 18 matches in the season, the AIFF decided to revive the tournament under new format.^[5] On 19 February 2018, the AIFF fully abolished the competition and formed the Super Cup as a replacement. In July 2023 AIFF has decided again to revive the competition in 2023-24 season as the premier cup competition in the country but later it moved to 2024-25 season.^[6]

Venues

Matches during the Federation Cup were usually held at neutral venues around India. The final was also held in a neutral venue. From 2015 matches were played as two legged (home and away) knockout format.

Results

Federation Cup finals

Year	Winners	Runners-up	Score
1977–78	Indian Telephone Industries	Mohun Bagan	1–0
1978–79	Mohun Bagan and East Bengal	–	0–0
1979–80	BSF	Mafatlal Mills	2–2, 3–0
1980–81	Mohun Bagan and East Bengal	–	1–1
1981–82	Mohun Bagan	Mohammedan	2–0
1982–83	Mohun Bagan	Mafatlal Mills	1–0
1983–84	Mohammedan	Mohun Bagan	0–0, 2–0
1984–85	Mohammedan	East Bengal	1–0
1985	East Bengal	Mohun Bagan	1–0
1986–87	Mohun Bagan	East Bengal	0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)
1987–88	Mohun Bagan	Salgaocar	2–0
1988–89	Salgaocar	BSF	1–0
1989–90	Salgaocar	Mohammedan Sporting	2–1 (a.e.t.)
1990	Kerala Police	Salgaocar	2–1
1991	Kerala Police	Mahindra & Mahindra	2–0 (a.e.t.)
1992	Mohun Bagan	East Bengal	2–0
1993	Mohun Bagan	Mahindra & Mahindra	1–0
1994	Mohun Bagan	Salgaocar	0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–0 p)
1995	JCT Mills	East Bengal	1–1 (a.e.t.) (7–6 p)
1995–96	JCT Mills	East Bengal	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p)
1996	East Bengal	Dempo	2–1
1997	Salgaocar	East Bengal	2–1
1998	Mohun Bagan	East Bengal	2–1
1999	Not held
2000	Not held
2001	Mohun Bagan	Dempo	2–1
2002	Not held
2003	Mahindra United	Mohammedan Sporting	1–0
2004	Dempo	Mohun Bagan	2–0
2005	Mahindra United	Sporting Goa	2–1
2006	Mohun Bagan	Sporting Goa	3–1
2007	East Bengal	Mahindra United	2–1
2008	Mohun Bagan	Dempo	1–0
2009–10	East Bengal	Shillong Lajong	0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–0 p)
2010	East Bengal	Mohun Bagan	1–0
2011	Salgaocar	East Bengal	3–1
2012	East Bengal	Dempo	3–2 (a.e.t.)
2013–14	Churchill Brothers	Sporting Goa	3–1
2014–15	Bengaluru	Dempo	2–1
2015–16	Mohun Bagan	Aizawl	5–0
2016–17	Bengaluru	Mohun Bagan	2–0 (a.e.t.)
since 2017	Replaced by Super Cup

a.e.t.: After extra time
pen.: Score in penalty shootout

Finalists

Club	Final Appearances	Winner	Winning Years	Runners-up	Runners-up Years
Mohun Bagan	20	14	1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998 2001, 2006, 2008, 2015–16	6	1977, 1983, 1985, 2004, 2010, 2016–17
East Bengal	16	8	1978,1980,1985, 1996, 2007, 2009-10, 2010, 2012	8	1984,1986,1992, 1995, 1996–97,1997,1998, 2011
Salgaocar	7	4	1988,1989,1997, 2011	3	1987,1990,1994
Dempo	6	1	2004	5	1996#,2001,2008, 2012, 2014–15
Mohammedan	5	2	1983,1984	3	1981,1989,2003
Mahindra United	5	2	2003,2005	3	1991,1993,2007
Sporting Goa	3	0	-	3	2005,2006,2013–14
Bengaluru	2	2	2014–15, 2016–17	0	-
JCT Mills	2	2	1995,1995-96#	0	-
Kerala Police	2	2	1990, 1991^[7]	0	-
Border Security Force	2	1	1979	1	1988
Indian Telephone Industries	1	1	1977	0	-
Churchill Brothers	1	1	2013–14	0	-
Shillong Lajong	1	0	-	1	2009
Aizawl	1	0	-	1	2015–16

* : Shared
# : There were two federation cups in 1996

Overall top goalscorers

As of 10 January 2015^[8]

Rank	Player	Goals
1	Jose Ramirez Barreto	27
2	Chima Okorie	26*
3	Bhaichung Bhutia	25
4	Chidi Edeh	23
5	Ranti Martins	18
6	I. M. Vijayan	17
6	Odafa Onyeka Okolie	17

(Note. * Includes 7 goals scored in Eastern Zone Qualifiers at Sibsagar – 1990 Federation Cup)

References

^ "AIFF Executive Committee inducts five new clubs into Hero I-League, Federation Cup restored". the-aiff.com.
^ Solomon, Joseph (21 May 2017). "Bengaluru FC Crowned Champions of Hero Federation Cup". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
^ "List of Winners/Runners-Up of the Federation Cup". IndianFootball.de. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
^ "Why AIFF's decision to scrap the Fed Cup makes sense for Indian football". Firstpost. 24 April 2015. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
^ "AIFF decides to bring back Federation Cup". The Times of India. 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^ "AIFF Executive Committee inducts five new clubs into Hero I-League, Federation Cup restored". the-aiff.com.
^ Federation Cup. the-aiff.com (archived)
^ "From the history book, roll of honour". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 10 January 2015. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2021.

[1] "AIFF Executive Committee inducts five new clubs into Hero I-League, Federation Cup restored". the-aiff.com.

[2] Solomon, Joseph (21 May 2017). "Bengaluru FC Crowned Champions of Hero Federation Cup". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2023.

[3] "List of Winners/Runners-Up of the Federation Cup". IndianFootball.de. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

[4] "Why AIFF's decision to scrap the Fed Cup makes sense for Indian football". Firstpost. 24 April 2015. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2015.

[5] "AIFF decides to bring back Federation Cup". The Times of India. 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2016.

[6] "AIFF Executive Committee inducts five new clubs into Hero I-League, Federation Cup restored". the-aiff.com.

[aiff-7] Federation Cup. the-aiff.com (archived)

[Fed-8] "From the history book, roll of honour". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 10 January 2015. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t Indian Federation Cup
Seasons	1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009–10 2010 2011 2012 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2024–25
Finals	1985 1993 1996 1997 2009–10 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2017