Mumbai Football Club is an Indian professional football club, based in Mumbai, that plays in the I-League. The club was established in 2007, and has many firsts to its credit and promises made have been duly fulfilled. The club plays the "Mumbai Derby" against local rivals Air India FC and also the "Maha Derby" which is against state rivals Pune FC.
History
The beginning
Essel Group envisioned the formation of a professional football club around the time when Zee Sports had bought the rights for broadcasting the I-League for a period of ten years from the All India Football Federation (AIFF). With Mr. Amit Goenka spearheading the project and with Mr. Sanjay Das given the Director’s role, they sought to develop a football club that the people of Mumbai can truly be a part of. Thus came about Mumbai Football Club’s formation on June 28, 2007, with the ideal of being a community based football club which focuses on the City’s youth and infrastructure development in a scientific and professional manner. The next step was to rope in Mukul Choudhari as the Business Development and Marketing Head and the experienced Henry Menezes was on board as the General Manager of the team. Mr. Menezes identified David Booth as the coach to take the reins of Mumbai FC’s senior team and acquiring his services confirmed the Club’s first steps in the right direction.[1]
2007-present
Mumbai FC played and emerged victorious by being crowned Champions of the 2008 I-League 2nd Division.[2] On gaining promotion, the club made a momentous start to the 2008–09 I-League beating Kolkata football heavy-weights Mohun Bagan and East Bengal Club in consecutive away games at the Salt Lake Stadium. However, the club lost their tempo during the course of the season and finished 7th on the table in its first season in top flight football. The 2009–10 I-League season saw Khalid Jamil take on the coaching duties from David Booth, who left for Mahindra United. The club did not fare well in the league as they did the previous season, finishing 11th on the table. Improved performances in the 2010–11 I-League season saw the club finish 7th in the league.
Crest
The Mumbai FC logo is a shield with an envisage of the Gateway of India in blue with a person kicking a football in front of it, symbolizing the pride and passion of Mumbaikars for the game, with the name 'Mumbai FC' at the top. The colors used in the logo are yellow and blue, from which the club derives its kit colors.
Colours
Since its inception, the club has used yellow strips for home games and orange strips for away games. The current home kit is a yellow shirt with blue pipings on the shoulder worn with blue shorts and socks and the away kit is an orange shirt with black shorts and socks, both with kit and team sponsor logos, manufactured by Adidas. Alternate variations of yellow shirts with black shorts and socks have also been used. The club debuted a third kit, a sky-blue shirt with dark blue shorts and socks against East Bengal FC at Salt Lake Stadium in the i-League on 30 March 2012, as both its yellow and orange strips clashed with the East Bengal home kit. The goalkeeper kit consists of an orange shirt with black shorts for home games and a green shirt for away games.
Stadium
Mumbai FC play their home matches of the i-League at the Cooperage Ground in southern Mumbai which has a capacity of 12,000. Traditional kick-offs are at 15.30 IST. The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune was used as a temporary home ground by the club for the 2011/12 season whilst the Cooperage had been closed for renovation. The revamped Cooperage, complete with an astro-turf and new spectator stands will again host the home games of Mumbai FC from 2012/13 season onwards.
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Kit manufactures
Players
First-team squad
- As of 24 February 2012.[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserve squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. |
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Position |
Player |
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GK |
Neeraj Sharma |
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DF |
Rolfred Coutinho |
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DF |
Ritesh Perambra |
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Position |
Player |
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MF |
Rohit Mirza |
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FW |
Tushar Poojary |
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FW |
Jayesh Rane |
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Current technical staff
- As of 19 December 2011.
| Position |
Name |
| Manager |
Khalid Jamil |
| Assistant manager |
Henry Picardo |
| Club doctor |
Sujit Manna |
Honours
- Winners: 2008
References
External links
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Mumbai Football Club
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Current season
