• Source: ONGC FC

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Football Club (known simply as ONGC FC) was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai. The club was an institutional arm of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), and part of its multi-sports club.
Nicknamed "The Oilmen", they competed in both the domestic top tiers National Football League, and I-League, alongside the regional competition named MDFA Elite League. The club also operated a non-professional football section that participates in regional corporate tournaments, including All-India Public Sector League.




History






= 2006–2010: I-League 2nd Division

=

In 2006, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation revived its football section and renamed it as ONGC F.C., in hope of expanding their involvement in Indian football, which included title sponsoring the old National Football League, Durand Cup and Nehru Cup. In their inaugural season in the I-League 2nd Division, the club finished on 6th place. After their first season, the club offered their players full-time contracts and higher salaries, as well as inducting youth sections. These changes helped the club finish on 5th place in the final round of the 2009 I-League 2nd Division, after topping the group stage. The next season would finally see ONGC get promoted, after the club won the 2010 I-League 2nd Division and went undefeated in the final round. It was the club's biggest achievement in domestic football.

In 2010, Caetano Pinho became the head coach of ONGC and helped the team winning the I-League 2nd Division and qualified for the 2010–11 season of I-League. Unfortunately, after one season in the I-League, the club were relegated back into the 2nd Division and Pinho's job was on the line as ONGC were considering folding the club. Even Pinho himself said: "The club's poor showing had not gone down well with the management, who it was believed were even considering the most extreme of repercussions. For a company which supports 16 different disciplines of sports around the country, they had after all pumped in the maximum amount of money into the football club's coffers."




= 2010–2014: I-League and back

=
After earning promotion into the I-League, ONGC made some unexpected signings with the signatures of Nigerian David Opara and re-signing Badmus Babatunde, who was the overall top-scorer during the 2010 I-League 2nd Division, and signing former India national football team goalkeeper Rajat Ghosh Dastidar. ONGC played their first match of the 2010–11 on 4 December 2010 against East Bengal at the Salt Lake Stadium, in which they lost 1–0. It took the club register first win till 9 January 2011 against Viva Kerala at home with David Opara scoring the lone goal for ONGC. Then on 12 February 2011, ONGC created the biggest shock of the season after defeating East Bengal, who were undefeated before the game, 1–0 with Babatunde scoring in 58th minute at Cooperage Ground. Despite the unexpected result, ONGC could only do so much as despite scoring 11 more goals in the 2nd half of the season, they ultimately finished on last 14th place, which meant straight relegation back into 2nd Division after only one season.
ONGC began their mission for a comeback to the I-League by entering the 2012 I-League 2nd Division. The immediately made an impact after finishing the group stage in first place and entered the final round as automatic contenders. After a tough 12 matches in Siliguri and Sikkim, ONGC again finished in a promotion spot, 2nd place, and thus qualified for the 2012–13 I-League, which was confirmed on 17 April 2012, after the club drew 1–1 with Aizawl. ONGC finished the next I-League season on 9th position with 31 points in 26 matches.
The club has also participated in the 2013 IFA Shield unlikely. On 4 March 2013, it was announced that Muktijoddha Sangsad of Bangladesh would not participate in this tournament and instead current I-League club ONGC would take their place. But they failed to qualify for the knockout stages. In 2014, they participated in the 14th Darjeeling Gold Cup and won the tournament with a 5–0 win over Dalhousie AC of Kolkata in final.




= Sikkim Gold Cup win

=
In October 2014, ONGC participated in Sikkim Governor's Gold and reached to the final with a 2–1 win over Gangtok Himalayan. They clinched the trophy defeating Manang Marshyangdi Club of Nepal on penalty shoot-out.




= In leagues of Mumbai

=
Since their inception, ONGC became a member of Western India Football Association (WIFA) and Mumbai District Football Association (formerly BDFA). They participated in later editions of Mumbai Harwood League alongside Maharashtra Football League.
Before getting revived in 2006, they participated in B.D.F.A League, and W.I.F.A. Super Division from 1990 to 1999 and clinched BDFA title in 1993. ONGC also participated in MDFA Elite Division, and lifted trophies in 2015–16 and 2017–18 season.




Ownership






Expulsion


In spite of finishing 9th in the 2012–13 I-League table with 36 points, ONGC were excluded from the next season, because they did not meet the AFC's club licensing criteria.
New club Oil India has taken sponsorship and majority of ONGC's squad in the following years.




Stadium



ONGC played all their home matches for National Football League and I-League at the Cooperage Ground, which is located at the Nariman Point, Mumbai. It has a capacity of 5,000.
During the 2010–11 I-League season, Rajarshi Shahu Stadium in Kolhapur, hosted numerous matches of Mumbai teams due to unavailability of Cooperage Ground. ONGC played its home games at this ground throughout the season.




Notable players


For all former notable players of ONGC FC with a Wikipedia article, see: ONGC FC players.




Honours






= League

=
I-League 2nd Division
Champions (2): 2010, 2012
Mumbai Football League/MDFA Elite Division
Champions (4): 1993, 2011–12, 2015–16, 2017–18
Runners-up (1): 2016–17




= Cup

=
Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup
Champions (2): 2010, 2014
Bordoloi Trophy
Runners-up (1): 2007
Durand Cup
Runners-up (1): 2013
Kalinga Cup
Champions (1): 2014
Darjeeling Gold Cup
Champions (1): 2014
All-India Petroleum Sports Control Board Inter-unit Championship
Champions (8): 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009
Runners-up (1): 2007
YMFC Centennial All India Football Tournament
Champions (1): 2016
Nadkarni Cup
Champions (1): 2014
Runners-up (1): 2007
Gadhinglaj United Cup
Champions (1): 2016
Runners-up (1): 2015
ONGC Invitational Trophy
Champions (1): 2016
Hot Weather Football Championship
Runners-up (1): 2007
All-India Ballarpur Industries Limited Trophy
Runners-up (2): 2001–02, 2002
Principal Harbhajan Singh Memorial All-India Cup
Runners-up (1): 2018




Other departments






= Field hockey

=
ONGC has its field hockey team. It previously competed in Beighton Cup, one of world's oldest hockey tournaments. They finished as runners-up in the prestigious trophy in 2011 and 2013. Affiliated with the Bombay Hockey Association, ONGC also appeared in Bombay Gold Cup and Guru Tegh Bahadur Gold Cup.

Honours
Beighton Cup
Runners-up (2): 2011, 2013
Guru Tegh Bahadur Gold Cup
Runners-up (1): 2010
Surjit Memorial Hockey Tournament
Runners-up (1): 2017
Senior Nehru Hockey Tournament
Champions (1): 2011
Runners-up (1): 2010
UP Hockey Championship
Champions (1): 2013–14
PSPB Hockey Tournament
Champions (1): 2014
Murugappa Gold Cup
Champions (1): 2017
AIPSSPB Hockey Trophy
Champions (1): 2018
Inter-Unit PSPB hockey tournament
Champions (1): 2018




= Volleyball

=
ONGC operates men's volleyball team, that participates in domestic state and national level tournaments. In 2011, ONGC clinched IOB Platinum Jubilee National Volleyball Championship title, and qualified to represent India at the Asian Club Volleyball Championships in China.

Honours
IOB Platinum Jubilee National Volleyball Championship
Champions (1): 2011
All India Public-Sector Volleyball Championship
Champions (2): 2015, 2019
All-India Volleyball Championship
Champions (1): 2017
PSPB Inter-Unit Volleyball Tournament
Champions (1): 2014
Runners-up (1): 2019–20
Chand Agarwala Memorial National Volleyball Championship
Runners-up (1): 2003




See also


Sports in Maharashtra
List of football clubs in Mumbai
Oil India FC




References






Further reading


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 from the original on 2 July 2022.
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 from the original on 25 July 2022.
Nath, Nirmal (2011). History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service. ISBN 9788187891963. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
Majumdar, Boria; Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (2006). A Social History Of Indian Football: Striving To Score. Routledge. ISBN 9780415348355. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021.
Basu, Jaydeep (2003). Stories from Indian Football. UBS Publishers' Distributors. ISBN 9788174764546. Archived from the 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 from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
Noronha, Anselm (11 October 2012). "Churchill Brothers SC 5–0 ONGC FC: The Red Machine demolish Subrata Bhattacharya's side". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
"I-league leaders Prayag cautious about title dream". archive.indianexpress.com. New Delhi: Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 25 October 2012. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
"Subrata to replace Berber as Vasco coach". news18.com. Panaji: News18. Press Trust of India. 3 January 2013. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
"Subrata to replace Berber as Vasco coach". business-standard.com. Panaji: Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 29 January 2013. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
"Santosh Kashyap, lone Indian selected for FIFA/AFC Futsal Instructor Course". Kick off India. 18 October 2010. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
Bera, Kaustav. "Pailan Arrows 4–1 ONGC FC: Papas' boys trounce 10-man ONGC with ease". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
"Champions Air India finish season unbeaten". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Mumbai: The Times of India. TNN. 4 July 2023. Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
Williams, Joe (25 September 2017). "The Goa and Maha Derby: A thing past in I-League". khelnow.com. Khel Now News. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
"AIFF XI open account in I-League". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Gurgaon: The Times of India. PTI. 8 December 2010. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
Rodrigues, Mario (19 October 2011). "Indian football: Suspects vs outsiders". livemint.com. Mumbai: LiveMint News. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
Ghoshal, Amoy (1 July 2011). "Players To Watch: India Under-23's Saba Saleel". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
"Federation Cup: United Sikkim FC Down ONGC 3–2 In Their Opening Group B Fixture". Goal.com. 9 September 2011. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2017.




External links



ONGC FC on Facebook
ONGC FC at GSA
ONGC FC at Soccerway
ONGC FC at Khel Now

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Bengaluru FC
• Liga-I 2010–2011
• ONGC FC
• Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
• Sikkim Gold Cup
• List of ONGC FC seasons
• Katsumi Yusa
• Bibek Bhowmik
• I-League 2
• Rehenesh T. P.
• List of football clubs in India
• Dharmesh Patel