Indian Bank Recreational Club (also known as Football Club Indian Bank) is an Indian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. The club formerly participated in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, and the

I-League Second Division The I-League 2 is an Indian men's professional football league. It is the 3rd tier of the Indian football league system, behind the Indian Super League and the I-League. It operates as a system of promotion and relegation with the I-League and ...

. They are currently competing in

Chennai Football League The Chennai Football League, formerly known as the Madras Football League, is the group of state-level football leagues in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, including the top-level CFA Senior Division League. The League is organised by the Chenn ...

, under license from

Tamil Nadu Football Association The Tamil Nadu Football Association (also known as Tamilnadu; abbreviated as TNFA), formerly the Madras Football Association, is one of the 36 Indian state football associations that are affiliated with the All India Football Federation. The T ...

(TNFA). Indian Bank was managed by former

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

international,

Syed Sabir Pasha Syed Sabir Pasha (born 5 November 1972) is a former Indian football player and current technical director at the All India Football Federation. During his playing days, Pasha played for Indian Bank in the National Football League from 1991 to 20 ...

, who also captained the team since their inception. Indian Bank also participated in the National Football League II, and National Football League III.

History

Formation and early years

Founded in 1907 as an

n state-owned

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

company,

Indian Bank Indian Bank is an Indian public sector bank, established in 1907 and headquartered in Chennai. It serves over 100 million customers with 40,002 employees, 5,901 branches with 5,268 ATMs and Cash deposit machines. Total business of the bank has ...

established as a premier bank in the state of

, and considering the popularity and passion for the game of

in the region, decided to launch a team of its own and register it with

(TNFA). Thus the club was founded as "Indian Bank Sports and Recreational Club" in 1990 (they are also known as "FC Indian Bank"). In 1996, Indian Bank participated in the

Scissors Cup The Scissors Cup was an Indian football tournament held in Kerala, organized by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). It was instituted in 1992 and abolished in 1997. It was organised in various stadiums in Kochi. Results See also * Foo ...

, held in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and reached the final. They finished as runners-up as

Dempo Dempo Mining Corporation Limited is a prominent mining company from the western Indian state of Goa. The mineral business was founded by Vasantrao S. Dempo in 1941, along with his younger brother Vaikuntrao Dempo. Vasantrao was the founding c ...

clinched title defeating them 1–0. Since then, Indian Bank began participating in tournaments conducted by TNFA and CFA, including Vittal Trophy, Chennai Universal Cup, and TFA Shield.

NFL journey

The club began their journey in the

National Football League (India) The National Football League (NFL) was the men's highest level of the Indian football league system#Men's, Indian football league system from 1996 to 2007. Founded by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 1996, the NFL was the first footb ...

in 1996, which was the inaugural season. Jayantilal Jain, the president of Indian Bank Recreational Club, made a compact team for 1996–97 NFL season. The team registered a 4–1 win against

Mahindra United FC Mahindra United Football Club (formerly known as Mahindra & Mahindra) was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 1962, the club competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system, befo ...

, which becomes the biggest away win in that season. The club later relegated from the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

after finishing at the bottom of the Group-B. The club also competed in the

for a long time and in 2001–02, they declared as the joint-champions. From 2002 to 2006, V. P. Sathyan managed the club. In the 2003–04 NFL season, Indian Bank again relegated.

Later years

Winning trophies

In 1998, Indian Bank clinched their first knock-out title, Lal Bahadur Shastri Cup, defeating Delhi Blues XI 2–1. In February 2000, they again emerged victorious in Tirur All-India Football Tournament in Kerala, beating Goan side

Vasco SC Clube de Desportos Vasco da Gama (simply known as both Vasco Sports Club, and Vasco SC) is an Indian professional football club based in Vasco da Gama, Goa, part of the same named multi-sports club. Incorporated in 1951, the club is nickname ...

5–4. In January 2008, Indian Bank beat football team of

Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...

1–0 to win the Fr.Gerard Rolling Football Trophy, held at DBYC grounds, Basin Bridge, Chennai.

TNFA and CFA titles

Indian Bank began participating in regional league tournaments in

since its inception. In the Chennai Super League, they clinched title twice in 1997 and 1998. In 2005 season, they achieved third place. In Tamil Nadu State League knock-out tournaments, Indian Bank won titles thrice in 2004, 2005–06 and 2007 season. In 2005, the club took part in ''Nice'' All-India Invitational Football Tournament in Thiruvananthapuram. In 2016,

Chennai City FC Chennai City Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club predominantly competed in the I-League, which was then highest division of Indian football league system. They have also appeared in th ...

became the second club from

to play in the top division

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

after Indian Bank Recreational Club's entry in the

. In 2018, the club emerged champions of the CFA Senior Division league. After a long hiatus between TNFA and CFA, the 2021–22 Chennai Senior Division kicked off on 9 May 2022 with 10 teams competing for the title, and Indian Bank achieved fifth place.

Rivalries

In CFA Senior Division, the club has a rivalry with

(formerly Nethaji SC). The club has also a rivalry with local sides like

Integral Coach Factory Integral Coach Factory (ICF) is an Indian manufacturer of rolling stock, and electrical multiple units. Established in 1955, it is located in Perambur in Chennai and is the largest rail coach manufacturer in the world. It is owned and operated ...

(ICF FC), Chennai Customs SC and Hindustan Eagles.

Stadium

Indian Bank used Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (also known as Marina Arena) in

as their home ground since 1996, which has a capacity of 40,000 spectators. They also played some state-league matches at the Nehru Stadium of

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

Ownership

Notable players

Past foreign internationals

*The players below had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed, represented their countries before or after playing for ''Indian Bank RC''. * Hammed Mohammed Nazir (1998–1999) * TN Bagoos (1999–2001) *

Kasun Jayasuriya Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya (born 25 March 1980) is a retired Sri Lankan football forward who last played for Saunders Sports Club and the Sri Lanka national football team. He is the all-time top goalscorer for the Sri Lankan national team with 27 ...

(2001–2002) * Kamaldeen Fuard (2000–2001) *

Anton Silva Anton Silva (born October 28, 1964) is a former Sri Lankan professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker and represented Sri Lanka national football team in 1996 and 1997. International ca ...

(1998–1999) * Stanley Festus (2000–2002) * A.S. Mahendran (2001–2002) * Imran Mohamed (2002–2003) * Abdul Azeez Fazlur Rehman (2003–2004) * Mohammed Rawme (2003–2004) * Kapongo Ilunga Patient (2018–2019)

Noted Indian international

* V. P. Sathyan (1992–1993) – awarded the "AIFF Player of the Year" in 1993 representing Indian Bank RC in domestic league.

Honours

Domestic league

**Champions (1): 2001–02 * National Football League II **Runners-up (1): 2001–02 * National Football League III **Champions (1): 2006–07 *

**Champions (6): 1997, 1998,India regional tournaments 1997/98
. ''Rsssf''. Retrieved 16 August 2021. 2000–01, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2017–18 **Runners-up (2): 2004, 2022–23 **Third place (1): 2005 * Tamil Nadu State League **Champions (3): 2004, 2005–06, 2007–08 **Runners-up (1): 2006–07

Cup

* Fr.Gerard Rolling Football Trophy **Winners (1): 2008 * Vittal Trophy **Winners (1): 1990 *

Lal Bahadur Shastri Cup Lal Bahadur Shastri Cup, also known as the Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Football Tournament, is an Indian association football tournament held in Delhi and organized by Shastri Football Club. The tournament was first started in 1978 in the memor ...

**Winners (1): 1998 * Tirur All-India Football Tournament **Champions (1): 2000 * Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup **Runners-up (1): 1990 *

**Runners-up (1): 1996

Other departments

Men's cricket

Indian Bank RC has men's cricket team, which is affiliated with

Tamil Nadu Cricket Association The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) is the governing body of cricket activities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is affiliated with the Board of Control for Cricket in India and governs the Tamil Nadu cricket team. The TNCA is one o ...

(TNFA) and competes in TNFA Second Division League. ;Honours *Nachimuthu Trophy **Champions (1): 2019 *Chief Minister's T-20 Cup **Champions (1): 2022

Men's basketball

The club also operates men's basketball section, participate in numerous regional and domestic tournaments including PSG Trophy and IOB-CDBA Championship. ;Honours *All India Basketball Championship ** Champions (1): 2019 *Tamil Nadu State Basketball Championship **Champions (1): 2019 *PSG Trophy **Champions (1): 2019

Footnotes

References

External links

Indian Bank Recreational Club
at Soccerway
Indian Bank Recreational Club
at WorldFootball
Indian Bank Recreational Club
at EverythingForFootball {{Football in Tamil Nadu Financial services association football clubs in India Association football clubs established in 1996 Defunct football clubs in India I-League clubs 1996 establishments in Tamil Nadu Football clubs in Chennai