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The Rovers Cup was an annual
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 ...
tournament held in
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 ...
, 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 British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
football enthusiasts in
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
, 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 Indian clubs, known in Iran as meels (), are a type of exercise equipment used to present resistance in movement to develop strength and mobility. They consist of juggling-club shaped wooden clubs of varying sizes and weights, which are swung in ...
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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Some legendary players from Great Britain, including Arsenal winger
Denis Compton Denis Charles Scott Compton (23 May 1918 – 23 April 1997) was an English multi-sportsman. As a cricketer he played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most of his ca ...
, 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 Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
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 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 ...
, 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 The Cooperage Football Ground is a Association football, football stadium located in Nariman Point, Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is predominantly home to multiple Mumbai Football League clubs. The Western India Football Association has operated fro ...
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)


Post-independence era (1948–2001)

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 Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest multi-sports clubs in Asia. The club has various sports departments like association football, footb ...
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 14 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 Salahaddin SC () is an Iraqi football team based in Tikrit. Honours Major *Iraq Stars League The Iraq Stars League (), is the highest level of the Iraqi football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and ...
(1982) * Al-Jaish Army SC (1983) *
Oman Club Oman Club (; also known locally as ''Al-Ahmar'', "The Red(s)" or simply as Oman) is an Omani list of football clubs in Oman, football club based in Muscat, Oman, Muscat. The club currently plays in the Oman Professional League, First Division L ...
(1995)


Runners-up

* Kemari Union FC (1954)


See also

*
list of oldest football competitions This is a list of the oldest documented football sports league, competitions, played at school, club, national and international levels. The first list contains competitions that have been played continuously. The second is a list of competition ...
* Football in India *
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is a football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, the football governing body in the Indian state of West Bengal. The IFA came into existence in 1893, and was named after the association. The IFA Shield to ...
* Federation Cup *
Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...


References


Further reading


Bibliography

* * * * *Dutta, P. L., ''Memoir of 'Father of Indian Football' Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary'' (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1944) (hereafter Memoir) * *Ghosh, Saurindra Kumar. ''Krira Samrat Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary 1869–1940'' (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1963) (hereafter Krira Samrat). * * * * * *
''From recreation to competition: Early history of Indian football''
. pp. 124–141. Published online: 6 Aug 2006. ''www.tandfonline.com''. Retrieved 30 June 2021.


Others

* * *


External links



at
RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (''RSSSF'') is an international organisation dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around ...
{{Football in Maharashtra Football cup competitions in India Football competitions in Mumbai 1890 establishments in India 2001 disestablishments in India Defunct football competitions in India Defunct international association football competitions in Asia