Nicknamed "the millmen",[11][12] JCT have won many tournaments and brought laurels to the State of Punjab. They won the inaugural edition of the
National Football League in 1996.[13][14][15] They were one of the benchmark teams in North Punjab along with
Border Security Force and
Punjab Police, winning prestigious state level tournaments. It was the first team from India to sign a foreign coach and the first team outside of
Calcutta to win the
IFA Shield,
second oldest football tournament in India.[16] JCT's corporate team also took part in All India Public Sector tournaments.[17]
In 2011, JCT emerged as sixth ranked Indian team, and 957 universally, in the international rankings of clubs during the first ten years of the 21st century (2001–2010), issued by the
International Federation of Football History & Statistics.[18]
History
Jagatjit Cotton, Sahil Bagga and Textile Mills constituted the football club in March 1971.[19][20] However, the club got recognition from 1974 onwards when several players joined the club from the Leaders Club of
Jalandhar. Included among these players was
Inder Singh,[21] who captained the India national team in previous years, won the Arjuna Award in 1969,[22] and managed the club until 2001.[23] The Leader Club, started by Lala Dwarka Das Sehgal had played a major role in popularizing football in Northern India in the 1960s and 1970s. After the end of Leaders Club era, JCT Mills have since taken the mantle and become the biggest and most successful football club in this part of India.[24][25] In 1983, British coach
Bob Bootland took charge of JCT and guided the team winning the
Durand Cup same year.[26][27]
JCT Limited had been involved in the
Punjab Football Association (PFA)[28] for the three decades. On 1 July 1992, the club appointed former Indian international
Sukhwinder Singh, who previously played for the club, as chief coach; He served as deputy general manager and joint secretary as well.[29] In 1995, they clinched Scissors Cup title, defeating
Malaysia Premier League side
Perlis F.A. by 1–0.[30] In 1996, they emerged champions in the
Federation Cup, defeating
East Bengal 5–3 through penalties.[31] JCT won the inaugural
NFL title in the 1996–97 season.[32][33] In that season, they clinched the prestigious
IFA Shield title, defeating
Iraqi Premier League side
Al-Karkh SC by 1–0. In January 2007, the JCT management decided to change the club name from JCT Mills FC to JCT FC.[34]
In 2011, two members from the
Wolves Academy members visited the club with an intention "to start special training programmes".[39] However, a few months later, in June, the club announced of its disbanding.[40][41][42] In a statement, the club said, "Today football teams worldwide have become self-sustaining enterprises for which high exposure is needed to build viewership and spectators in the stadium. JCT won the inaugural national league in 1996, where there was high quality TV exposure and widespread public interest. But since then the league has had negligible exposure and the teams have been going almost unnoticed." It added, "JCT Limited, being a corporate, needs to justify to its stakeholders the effort vs visibility of the football team."[9]
In 2014, reports said that the club was planning on a return to professional football through
I-League 2nd Division the
following season; however, it failed to materialize.[43] Though the official club body maintained JCT's football-centric activities and academies, and trials until 2015, alongside acquiring services of Spanish UEFA A license holder coach Juan Jose Royan Balco.[44][45]
Stadium
JCT Mills used Guru Nanak Stadium of
Ludhiana.[46][47] It served as club's home ground for National Football League and Punjab State Super League matches.[48][49] The stadium has a capacity of approximately 30,000 spectators.
In last 3 decades of its existence, the JCT FC is the first Indian team outside
Kolkata to win the prestigious
IFA Shield,[94][95] (in 1996, in which they defeated Iraqi Premier League club
Al-Karkh, by 1–0).[96] Apart from this, the JCT Club won many prestigious tournaments. They also won the opening edition of the National Football League in 1996–97.[97][98][99][100][101] JCT has also participated in the
Asian Club Championship during its
1996–97 season and reached the second round. They also achieved third place in 2007–08 season of the newly formed
I-League.
The club was an eight-time winner of the
Punjab State Football League and five-time winner of the
Durand Cup.[102][103] The success and the constant good performance of the club is attributed to its owner, the Thapars who apart from being business moguls, have been in constant effort to enhance the bar of their club at all the levels.[94][104]
In 2015, JCT FC entered into the partnership with India On Track to re-launch the club in the 2015–16 season of the
I-League 2nd division.[147] The aim of the partnership is to provide elite residential training and uplifting the development of its academy at
Hoshiarpur, Punjab.[147]
Academy
JCT FC academy and youth
JCT FC launched their under-19 academy in 1998 and participated in the first National Football League (under-19) in October 2001.[148][149] In the next edition between May and June 2003, they reached the finals.[150][151] JCT Football Academy won the
2011 I-League U19.[152] In 2011, their senior team was disbanded, but the academy continued to operate. The academy team later participated in the
2012 Durand Cup.[153] JCT academy team later participated in
Punjab State League.[154] They incorporated under-16 academy in 2005 at Rurka Kalan, and participated in Subroto Mukherjee Cup and Inter-school Games organized under the banner of School Games Federation of India.[155] Club's U-15 team also took part in
Manchester United Premier Cup of India.[156] Later in 2022, JCT FC academy competed in Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Memorial Tournament in Banga.[157]
^Siraj Chatterjee (10 December 2020).
"Punjabi Football on a Roar!". footballindia.co.in. Football India. Archived from
the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
^Bhattal, Amardeep (11 February 2000).
"Mahindras trounce JCT 3–0". tribuneindia.com. Ludhiana, Punjab: The Tribune Online. Tribune News Service. Archived from
the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
^서울선 6월26일亞洲올·스타蹴球팀 巡訪경기. Naver.com (in Korean). Kyunghyang. 22 February 1968. Archived from
the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
^Chaudhuri, Arunava; Hai Naveed, Malik Riaz (25 May 2003).
"India — List of Topscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from
the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
^Sharma, Sukalp (31 May 2010).
"Indias biggest league". financialexpress.com. The Financial Express. Archived from
the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
^Chattopadhyay, Hariprasad (17 January 2015).
"Time to regain lost glory". telegraphindia.com. Kolkata: The Telegraph India. Archived from
the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
^Sharda, Deepankar (12 December 2016).
"Minerva FC to debut in 2017 I-League". tribuneindia.com. Chandigarh: The Tribune India News. Archived from
the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^Wadwha, Arjun (19 May 2008).
"History of Football in India". thesportscampus.com. TheSportsCampus. Archived from
the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
Chatterjee, Siraj (10 December 2020).
"Punjabi Football on a Roar!". footballindia.co.in. Football India. Archived from
the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
Notes: The tournament was not held from 1914-19 (due to
WWI), in 1939 (due to
WWII), from 1941-49 (due to
WWII and
Partition), in 1962 (due to
1962 War) and in 2015 and 2017-2018 (due to unknown reasons)
Nicknamed "the millmen",[11][12] JCT have won many tournaments and brought laurels to the State of Punjab. They won the inaugural edition of the
National Football League in 1996.[13][14][15] They were one of the benchmark teams in North Punjab along with
Border Security Force and
Punjab Police, winning prestigious state level tournaments. It was the first team from India to sign a foreign coach and the first team outside of
Calcutta to win the
IFA Shield,
second oldest football tournament in India.[16] JCT's corporate team also took part in All India Public Sector tournaments.[17]
In 2011, JCT emerged as sixth ranked Indian team, and 957 universally, in the international rankings of clubs during the first ten years of the 21st century (2001–2010), issued by the
International Federation of Football History & Statistics.[18]
History
Jagatjit Cotton, Sahil Bagga and Textile Mills constituted the football club in March 1971.[19][20] However, the club got recognition from 1974 onwards when several players joined the club from the Leaders Club of
Jalandhar. Included among these players was
Inder Singh,[21] who captained the India national team in previous years, won the Arjuna Award in 1969,[22] and managed the club until 2001.[23] The Leader Club, started by Lala Dwarka Das Sehgal had played a major role in popularizing football in Northern India in the 1960s and 1970s. After the end of Leaders Club era, JCT Mills have since taken the mantle and become the biggest and most successful football club in this part of India.[24][25] In 1983, British coach
Bob Bootland took charge of JCT and guided the team winning the
Durand Cup same year.[26][27]
JCT Limited had been involved in the
Punjab Football Association (PFA)[28] for the three decades. On 1 July 1992, the club appointed former Indian international
Sukhwinder Singh, who previously played for the club, as chief coach; He served as deputy general manager and joint secretary as well.[29] In 1995, they clinched Scissors Cup title, defeating
Malaysia Premier League side
Perlis F.A. by 1–0.[30] In 1996, they emerged champions in the
Federation Cup, defeating
East Bengal 5–3 through penalties.[31] JCT won the inaugural
NFL title in the 1996–97 season.[32][33] In that season, they clinched the prestigious
IFA Shield title, defeating
Iraqi Premier League side
Al-Karkh SC by 1–0. In January 2007, the JCT management decided to change the club name from JCT Mills FC to JCT FC.[34]
In 2011, two members from the
Wolves Academy members visited the club with an intention "to start special training programmes".[39] However, a few months later, in June, the club announced of its disbanding.[40][41][42] In a statement, the club said, "Today football teams worldwide have become self-sustaining enterprises for which high exposure is needed to build viewership and spectators in the stadium. JCT won the inaugural national league in 1996, where there was high quality TV exposure and widespread public interest. But since then the league has had negligible exposure and the teams have been going almost unnoticed." It added, "JCT Limited, being a corporate, needs to justify to its stakeholders the effort vs visibility of the football team."[9]
In 2014, reports said that the club was planning on a return to professional football through
I-League 2nd Division the
following season; however, it failed to materialize.[43] Though the official club body maintained JCT's football-centric activities and academies, and trials until 2015, alongside acquiring services of Spanish UEFA A license holder coach Juan Jose Royan Balco.[44][45]
Stadium
JCT Mills used Guru Nanak Stadium of
Ludhiana.[46][47] It served as club's home ground for National Football League and Punjab State Super League matches.[48][49] The stadium has a capacity of approximately 30,000 spectators.
In last 3 decades of its existence, the JCT FC is the first Indian team outside
Kolkata to win the prestigious
IFA Shield,[94][95] (in 1996, in which they defeated Iraqi Premier League club
Al-Karkh, by 1–0).[96] Apart from this, the JCT Club won many prestigious tournaments. They also won the opening edition of the National Football League in 1996–97.[97][98][99][100][101] JCT has also participated in the
Asian Club Championship during its
1996–97 season and reached the second round. They also achieved third place in 2007–08 season of the newly formed
I-League.
The club was an eight-time winner of the
Punjab State Football League and five-time winner of the
Durand Cup.[102][103] The success and the constant good performance of the club is attributed to its owner, the Thapars who apart from being business moguls, have been in constant effort to enhance the bar of their club at all the levels.[94][104]
In 2015, JCT FC entered into the partnership with India On Track to re-launch the club in the 2015–16 season of the
I-League 2nd division.[147] The aim of the partnership is to provide elite residential training and uplifting the development of its academy at
Hoshiarpur, Punjab.[147]
Academy
JCT FC academy and youth
JCT FC launched their under-19 academy in 1998 and participated in the first National Football League (under-19) in October 2001.[148][149] In the next edition between May and June 2003, they reached the finals.[150][151] JCT Football Academy won the
2011 I-League U19.[152] In 2011, their senior team was disbanded, but the academy continued to operate. The academy team later participated in the
2012 Durand Cup.[153] JCT academy team later participated in
Punjab State League.[154] They incorporated under-16 academy in 2005 at Rurka Kalan, and participated in Subroto Mukherjee Cup and Inter-school Games organized under the banner of School Games Federation of India.[155] Club's U-15 team also took part in
Manchester United Premier Cup of India.[156] Later in 2022, JCT FC academy competed in Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Memorial Tournament in Banga.[157]
^Siraj Chatterjee (10 December 2020).
"Punjabi Football on a Roar!". footballindia.co.in. Football India. Archived from
the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
^Bhattal, Amardeep (11 February 2000).
"Mahindras trounce JCT 3–0". tribuneindia.com. Ludhiana, Punjab: The Tribune Online. Tribune News Service. Archived from
the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
^서울선 6월26일亞洲올·스타蹴球팀 巡訪경기. Naver.com (in Korean). Kyunghyang. 22 February 1968. Archived from
the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
^Chaudhuri, Arunava; Hai Naveed, Malik Riaz (25 May 2003).
"India — List of Topscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from
the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
^Sharma, Sukalp (31 May 2010).
"Indias biggest league". financialexpress.com. The Financial Express. Archived from
the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
^Chattopadhyay, Hariprasad (17 January 2015).
"Time to regain lost glory". telegraphindia.com. Kolkata: The Telegraph India. Archived from
the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
^Sharda, Deepankar (12 December 2016).
"Minerva FC to debut in 2017 I-League". tribuneindia.com. Chandigarh: The Tribune India News. Archived from
the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^Wadwha, Arjun (19 May 2008).
"History of Football in India". thesportscampus.com. TheSportsCampus. Archived from
the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
Chatterjee, Siraj (10 December 2020).
"Punjabi Football on a Roar!". footballindia.co.in. Football India. Archived from
the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
Notes: The tournament was not held from 1914-19 (due to
WWI), in 1939 (due to
WWII), from 1941-49 (due to
WWII and
Partition), in 1962 (due to
1962 War) and in 2015 and 2017-2018 (due to unknown reasons)