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Rovers Cup

2nd Battalion of Middlesex Regiment after winning the Rovers Cup in 1926
Organising body	Western India Football Association (WIFA)
Founded	1890; 134 years ago (1890)
Abolished	2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Region	India
Last champions	Mohun Bagan (14th title)
Most successful club(s)	Mohun Bagan (14 titles)

The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India, organized by the Western India Football Association. Incorporated in 1890, it was the third oldest tournament in India after Trades Cup.

History

Rovers Cup was incorporated by some British football enthusiasts in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, in 1890, as a form of amusement. After the foundation of Bombay Football Association (BFA) in 1902, the tournament became well organized. Patronised by Justice Russell, the tournament was firstly opened to British teams. Later in 1911, Western India Football Association was founded as a result of merger between BFA and Rovers Cup Committee. After justice Russel became president and P. R. Cadell became vice-president of WIFA, Indian clubs were given opportunity to participate, and Bengal United (a squad formed with Indian soldiers serving in British battalions) became first Indian team to compete. The tournament was suspended from 1914 to 1920 due to the World War I. Some legendary players from Great Britain, including Arsenal winger Denis Compton, Scottish international Tommy Walker and English international Bobby Langton appeared in the tournament in mid-20th century with visiting overseas teams.

The First Worcester Regiment became first team to clinch the title. Mohun Bagan became the first non-army civilian club in the tournament to compete in 1923 and achieved runners-up position, after their 4–1 defeat to Durham Light Infantry. Mohammedan Sporting from Calcutta became the first Indian club to win title, when they defeated Bangalore Muslims 1–0 in 1940. Mohammedan later won 1956, 1959, 1980, 1984 and 1987 editions. In the 1950s, Syed Abdul Rahim managed Hyderabad City Police formed their supremacy, winning Rovers Cup consecutively from 1950 to 1954. In modern era, Iraqi club Salahaddin became the first foreign side to win trophy, when they defeated Mohammedan Sporting 2–1 in 1982. In 1958, Caltex Sports Club had the honor of becoming the first local team to win it, and Bengal Mumbai is the last local team to win title. The championship was last time held in the 2000–01 season, when Mohun Bagan beat Churchill Brothers by 2–0 in the final.

After the inception of the National Football League, the Rovers Cup started facing problems. With huge costs and sponsorship deals issues, the tournament was finally dissolved in 2001. In 2007, the WIFA announced that they were making attempts to revive the tournament.

Venue

The primary venue of the tournament was Cooperage Ground in Bombay (now Mumbai). The stadium, built over hundred years ago, hosted each and every edition of the tournament.

Results

Pre-independence era (1890–1947)

Year	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Notes
1890	1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment	2–0	Band & Drums of the Worcestershire Regiment
1891	1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment	1–0	2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
1892	1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment	4–1	Bombay Rovers Club
1893	2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers	–
1894	2nd Battalion, Royal Scots	–	1st Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
1895	2nd Battalion, Royal Scots	3–0	2nd Battalion, Welsh Regiment
1896	2nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry	–
1897	2nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment	1–0	2nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
1898	2nd Battalion, Highland Light Infantry	–
1899	2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment	3–0	1st Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
1900	1st Battalion, Black Watch	2–1	1st Battalion, Shropshire Light Infantry
1901	1st Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles	1–0	2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire Light Infantry
1902	1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment	1–0	1st Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment
1903	1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment	3–0	2nd Battalion, Royal Scots
1904	1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment	2–1	1st Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders
1905	1st Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders	1–0	1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
1906	2nd Battalion, Royal Scots	1–1, 0–0, 1–0	2nd Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment
1907	2nd Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment	3–0	6th Battalion, Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers)
1908	2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment	1–0	2nd Battalion, Royal Scots
1909	2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment	5–0	1st Battalion, King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
1910	2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment	1–0	1st Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment
1911	1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment	1–0	2nd Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
1912	2nd Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment	0–0, 1–0	2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
1913	1st Battalion, Royal Scots	1–0	1st Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
1914–20	Tournament not held, due to World War I
1921	1st Battalion, Shropshire Light Infantry	1–0	1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
1922	2nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry	3–1	1st Battalion, Shropshire Light Infantry
1923	2nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry	4–1	Mohun Bagan
1924	2nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment	0–0, 2–1 (a.e.t.)	1st Battalion, Royal Scots
1925	2nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment	2–0	1st Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment
1926	2nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment	4–0	1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders
1927	1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment	4–1	2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
1928	2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment	2–0	1st Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
1929	2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment	4–0	2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment
1930	2nd Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers	2–0	2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment
1931	2nd Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment	2–1	16th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
1932	Royal Irish Fusiliers	3–1	2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment
1933	1st Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool)	1–1, 2–2, 1–0	2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
1934	2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters	6–1	2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
1935	1st Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool)	2–1	2nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
1936	1st Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool)	2–0	1st Battalion, Shropshire Light Infantry
1937	Bangalore Muslims FC	1–0	Mohammedan Sporting
1938	Bangalore Muslims FC	3–2	2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
1939	28th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery	2–0	Howrah District XI
1940	Mohammedan Sporting	1–0	Bangalore Muslims FC
1941	2nd Battalion, Welch Regiment	2–0	Mohammedan Sporting
1942	Bata Sports Club	3–1	Western India Automobile Association Staff
1943	Royal Air Force	5–0	Bombay City Police
1944	British Base Reinforcement Camp	3–1	Western India Automobile Association Staff
1945	Corps of Military Police	0–0, 3–1	Albert David XI (Calcutta)
1946	British Base Reinforcement Camp	2–1	Tata Sports Club
1947	Tournament abandoned when the stands collapsed during the quarterfinal

Post-independence era (1948–2001)

Year	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Notes
1948	Bangalore Muslims FC	1–0	Mohun Bagan
1949	East Bengal	3–0	East Indian Railway
1950	Hyderabad City Police	1–0	Aryan FC
1951	Hyderabad City Police	2–0	WIMCO (Western India Match Company, Madras)
1952	Hyderabad City Police	0–0, 1–0	Bombay Amateurs
1953	Hyderabad City Police	2–0	Bangalore Muslims FC
1954	Hyderabad City Police	2–1	Keamari Union (Karachi)
1955	Mohun Bagan	2–0	Mohammedan Sporting
1956	Mohammedan Sporting	3–1	Mohun Bagan
1957	Hyderabad City Police	3–0	Mohammedan Sporting
1958	Caltex Club (Bombay)	3–2	Mohammedan Sporting
1959–60	Mohammedan Sporting	0–0, 3–0	East Bengal
1960	Andhra Pradesh Police	1–0 (a.e.t.)	East Bengal
1961–62	Elec. & Mech. Engineering Centre	1–0	Mohun Bagan
1962	Andhra Pradesh Police and East Bengal (joint winners) – 1–1, 1–1
1963–64	Andhra Pradesh Police	1–0	East Bengal
1964–65	Bengal Nagpur Railway	1–1, 1–0	Mohun Bagan
1965	Mafatlal Mills (Bombay)	1–0	Mohun Bagan
1966–67	Mohun Bagan	1–0	Vasco SC
1967	East Bengal	0–0, 2–0	Mohun Bagan
1968	Mohun Bagan	0–0, 3–0	Leader FC (Jalandhar)
1969	East Bengal	3–0	Mohun Bagan
1970–71	Mohun Bagan	0–0, 1–0	Mahindra United FC
1971–72	Mohun Bagan	1–0	Vasco SC
1972–73	Mohun Bagan and East Bengal (joint winners) – 0–0, 0–0 (a.e.t.)
1973–74	East Bengal	3–2	Tata Sports Club
1974–75	Dempo SC	0–1, 1–0	Tata Sports Club
1975–76	East Bengal	1–0	Mafatlal Group
1976	Mohun Bagan	0–0, 1–0	Mafatlal Group
1977	Mohun Bagan	0–0, 2–1	Tata Sports Club
1978–79	Dempo SC	2–1	Orkay Mills
1979–80	Dempo SC	2–0	JCT FC
1980	Mohammedan Sporting and East Bengal (joint winners) – 1–1 (a.e.t.)
1981	Mohun Bagan	2–0	Mohammedan Sporting
1982	Salahaddin FC	2–1	Mohammedan Sporting
1983	Al-Jaish Army SC	2–1	Mohammedan Sporting
1984	Mohammedan Sporting	1–0	JCT FC
1985	Mohun Bagan	2–0	Salgaocar FC
1986	Dempo SC	2–0	Mohun Bagan
1987	Mohammedan Sporting	2–0	Mohun Bagan
1988	Mohun Bagan	1–0	East Bengal
1989–90	Salgaocar FC	1–0	Dempo SC
1990	East Bengal	1–0	Mahindra United FC
1991	Mohun Bagan	1–0	Mohammedan Sporting
1992	Mohun Bagan	2–0	JCT FC
1993	Mahindra United FC	0–0 (3–0 p)	Bank of India (Mumbai)
1994	East Bengal	2–1	Air India FC
1995	Oman Club	2–0	Sesa Sports Club
1996	Salgaocar FC	1–0	Air India FC
1997	JCT FC	1–0	Churchill Brothers
1998	Bengal Mumbai FC	3–0	Central Railway SC
1999	Salgaocar FC	1–0	Churchill Brothers
2000–01	Mohun Bagan	2–0	Churchill Brothers

Notes:

1. The tournament was abandoned when the stands collapsed during the quarterfinal between Mohun Bagan and 1st Bn, South Staffordshire Regiment

2. Joint winners after replay

3. Joint winners after replay

4. Replay after first match was abandoned at 84', with the score at 0–1, as Dempo refused to continue after having a goal disallowed

5. Joint winners

6. Penalty shootout

Performance by teams

Performance by Indian teams

During its initial years, only British teams contested in the tournament. Mohun Bagan AC was the first Indian team to participate in this tournament on invitation in 1923, but they lost in the finals to Durham Light Infantry by 1–4 margin. The first Indian team to win this tournament was Bangalore Muslims, in 1937.

Statistics: Teams with at least 2 wins, (including joint wins)

Performance by overseas teams

Overseas teams had often been invited to participate in Rovers Cup.

Winners

• Salahaddin FC (1982)
• Al-Jaish Army SC (1983)
• Oman Club (1995)

Runners-up

• Kemari Union FC (1954)

See also

• list of oldest football competitions
• Football in India
• IFA Shield
• Federation Cup
• Super Cup

References

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13. Nizamuddin, Mohammed (14 July 2018). "Old-timers recollect past glory of city football". Hyderabad, Telangana: The Hans India. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
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Further reading

Bibliography

• Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
• Shreekumar, S. S. (15 August 2020). THE BEST WAY FORWARD FOR INDIA'S FOOTBALL. HSRA Publications. p. 244. ISBN 9788194721697. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
• Martinez, Dolores; Mukharji, 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.
• Sharma, Nikhil Paramjit; Gupta, Shantanu (4 February 2019). India's Football Dream. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 9789353283063. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
• Dutta, P. L., Memoir of 'Father of Indian Football' Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1944) (hereafter Memoir)
• Majumdar, Boria, Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (2006). Goalless: The Story of a Unique Footballing Nation. Penguin India. ISBN 9780670058747.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Ghosh, Saurindra Kumar. Krira Samrat Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary 1869–1940 (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1963) (hereafter Krira Samrat).
• Nath, Nirmal (2011). History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service. ISBN 9788187891963. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
• Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.
• "Triumphs and Disasters: The Story of Indian Football, 1889—2000" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
• D'Mello, Anthony (1959). Portrait Of Indian Sport. P R Macmillan Limited, London.
• Mukhopadhay, Subir (2018). সোনায় লেখা ইতিহাসে মোহনবাগান (transl. Mohun Bagan in the history written in gold). ISBN 978-93-850172-0-9.
• Banerjee, Argha; Basu, Rupak (2022). মোহনবাগান: সবুজ ঘাসের মেরুন গল্প (transl. Mohun Bagan: Green fields' Maroon stories). Shalidhan. ISBN 978-81-954667-0-2.
• From recreation to competition: Early history of Indian football Archived 9 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine. pp. 124–141. Published online: 6 Aug 2006. www.tandfonline.com. Retrieved 30 June 2021.

Others

• Sarkar, Dhiman (25 March 2018). "India's football past gasping for survival". hindustantimes.com. Kolkata: Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
• Sengupta, Somnath (14 May 2018). "Legends of Indian Football : Peter Thangaraj". thehardtackle.com. Mumbai: The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
• Bhattacharya, Ayan (10 September 2023). "বাংলা ভাগের ক্ষত কিভাবে বিষিয়ে দিল মোহনবাগান আর ইস্টবেঙ্গলকে?" [How did the wound of the partition of Bengal poisoned both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal?]. inscript.me (in Bengali). Kolkata: ইনস্ক্রিপ্ট বাংলা নিউজ. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.

External links

• India – List of Rovers Cup Finals at RSSSF

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