New Delhi, a city that has never fallen short of producing the best sporting talent the country has to offer. Also, a city where competition is the law of the jungle, a city that has no place for weakness, a city where you must always strive to prosper. New Delhi, the capital famous for its diversity and the sheer variety of cultures it houses. Sunil Chhetri, the all-time leading goal scorer for India confessed his love for the city he was brought up in. “I am honored by the kind gesture of Football Delhi and recognizing me with the Football Ratna award. My support will always be there for the development of football in Delhi and I am sure the current management is working hard to develop football in Delhi and make Delhi a model football State in India,” Chhetri said.
History.
Youngmen FC is the oldest club that was established in Delhi in 1898. The history of football in Delhi has been glorious as it played in the final of the inaugural Santosh Trophy in 1941 and then 3 years later won it, in 1944. The third oldest tournament of the world- Durand Cup was hosted by Delhi since the 1940s whereas Delhi Football League is one of the oldest in India (Since 1930s). After Partition, several members of this Delhi team which included, center-back Munawar Hafiz, midfielders Afzal and Ahmed Hassan moved to Pakistan. They started a Mughals club in Karachi. Right midfielder Afzal, who had excelled in Delhi’s 1944 Santosh trophy triumph, was then selected for the Pakistan team, which participated in the 2nd Asian Games in the Philippines. Another player for Mughals club of that era was Darshan Singh Sodhi, who captained the Delhi state hockey team and was later a national hockey umpire and secretary of the Delhi Hockey Association (DHA). In the 1940s, Mughals was a dangerous team and won the local league title in 1944-45 without either losing a point or conceding a goal. The Delhi league was very popular in the 1960s and Delhi also twice won the Junior National Championships (Dr. B.C. Roy trophy) in 1963 and 1965. Several distinguished players also emerged during this decade. Aziz Qureishi (1965) and the late left winger Arunesh Sharma (1969) represented the India junior team in the annual Asian Youth Football championships. Crafty inside forward Shujaat Ashraf was snapped up by Mohammedan Sporting and scored in the final when his team won the 1964 DCM tournament.
Present scenario:
Currently, there are 18 Senior Division, 44 A&B Division, 10 Women and 17 Institutional Clubs in Delhi. Shaji Prabhakaran, a football player himself is the President of Delhi Football and oversees all its operations. Shaji Prabhakaran presented the first-ever Football Ratna award to Sunil Chhetri where he said he was sure that the current Football Delhi management is working hard to develop football in the state. "We are inspired by the spectacular achievements of Sunil. His professionalism, dedication, discipline, and passion, on and off the field, is an example not only for the football fraternity but also for every Indian to dream big and achieve something spectacular in life," Prabhakaran said. Various amateur tournaments in Delhi include the TAL(The Amateur League) is a 4-month long football league that takes place in the Delhi NCR. It promises to promote young talent that could very well be the prospects that the Indian National Team might need. Prabhakaran also stated that Football Delhi will support a Centre of Excellence for Girls to be set up in one of the city schools this year. Angelique Foundation, the CSR arm of Angelique International Limited, has come forward to support the Centre of Excellence for Girls and a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed. Although Football in Delhi might only be the 2nd most popular sport after cricket, efforts are being constantly made by the employees of Delhi Football as well as the AIFF to promote football across the capital of India.
