United Sikkim Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in

Gangtok Gangtok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the Gangtok District. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's populat ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligu ...

. Founded in 2011, the club usually competed in the

Sikkim Premier Division League The Sikkim Premier League is a highest state-level football league in Sikkim, India, organised by Sikkim Football Association. It started with 8 teams in 2011. United Sikkim FC is the only team to have won two consecutive and three league ti ...

. United Sikkim is the only club from Sikkim to have played in the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the win ...

, one of the top flights of Indian football league system. The club which is owned by former

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

captain

Bhaichung Bhutia Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often n ...

, was founded in order to give people of the Indian state of Sikkim a professional football team. In September 2019, Bhaichung Bhutia announced shutting the club down due to some unavoidable circumstances. During an emotional farewell event, Bhaichung Bhutia thanked all the players and support staff besides the fans who supported the club over the years. The club was revived again in January 2021, with aim to play in the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

. Manager Arjun Rai said on Monday that besides inaugurating the senior and youth team, emphasis would be laid on bringing footballers from the villages.

History

Foundation

The professional club was founded in 2011, by

Sikkim Football Association Sikkim Football Association ( SFA; is the state governing body of football in Sikkim, India. It is affiliated with the All India Football Federation, the sports national governing body. History The Sikkim Football Association was formed in the ...

(SFA) and Baichung Bhutia, already competing in the

Sikkim Gold Cup The Sikkim Gold Cup, known as the Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup, is an Indian football tournament held in Sikkim and organized by Sikkim Football Association (SFA). Past champions include New Road Team of Nepal in 2007, Three Star Club of Nepal ...

and other all-India tournaments for the early years of their existence. Then on 22 March 2011, the club was launched as a professional, which would be co-owned by

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...

-based Fidelis World, former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia and Indian singer

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. Personal life and early career Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a T ...

. The club revealed that they would compete in the 2011 I-League 2nd Division, in the quest for promotion to the I-League within the next three years.

2011–2012: 2nd Division seasons

The club started their quest for the I-League on 27 February 2011, when they signed Liberian international

Johnny Menyongar Johnny Menyongar (born 26 June 1980 is a retired Liberian professional footballer who last played for Bengaluru FC in India's I-League. On 27 July 2015, he announced his retirement from competitive football. Career College Menyongar came to th ...

from NSC Minnesota Stars of the North American Soccer League in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. The club played their first match of the 2011 I-League 2nd Division against Langsning F.C. on 31 March 2012, in which they drew 2–2. United Sikkim won their first match of the season five days later, on 5 April 2011 against North Imphal Sporting Association at the

Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, also known as Sarusajai Stadium, is a football stadium in Guwahati, Assam, India. It is the current home ground of NorthEast United FC. Besides hosting football matches, the stadium is also used for athletics ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, by a score of 2–0. The club finished in first place in group A of the first round of the I-League 2nd Division and thus qualified for the 2011 I-League 2nd Division Final Round, in which they only needed to finish in the top two for promotion. The club began Final round with three consecutive draws against

Sporting Clube de Goa Sporting Clube de Goa, simply known as Sporting Goa (also known by its abbreviation SCG), is an Indian professional football club based in Panaji, in the Indian state of Goa, that competes in Goa Professional League. The club has also compet ...

, Royal Wahingdoh and Shillong Lajong, before winning two matches in a row against

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muham ...

and Southern Samity. Next, a draw to Ar-Hima and a loss to Vasco officially knocked United Sikkim out of contention for promotion and forced them to settle on fifth place for the season. The season including the

2012 I-League 2nd Division The 2012 I-League 2nd Division was the fifth season of the league. The league serves as the second top tier of Indian Football, using promotion and relegation with the I-League, which is top tier league of India. Stadiums The 2012 I-League ...

did not start well for United Sikkim. On 11 June 2011, it was announced that Johnny Menyongar would leave the club to join I-League team Shillong Lajong, as well as Indian internationals Renedy Singh and NS Manju few months later. However, after firing coach Stanley Rozario, United Sikkim signed Belgian Philippe De Ridder as coach of the team. The club re-signed

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

players Daniel Bedemi and Quinton Jacobs for the season. They then began charge for the I-League for the second season in a row with a 3–2 victory over

Bhawanipore F.C. Bhawanipore FC is an Indian professional football club based in Bhowanipore, Kolkata, West Bengal. The club was established in 1910, and competed in the I-League 2nd division in 2020–21 season, then second tier of Indian football league syst ...

at the Satindra Mohan Dev Stadium in

on 2 February 2012. The club went on to win three more matches during the first round of the I-League 2nd Division against

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large Bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Ou ...

, Southern Samity and Ar-Hima in order to qualify for the final round. They won promotion on the last day of the season on 17 April 2012 at the

Paljor Stadium Paljor Stadium (also spelled Palzor Stadium) is a football stadium located in Gangtok, Sikkim, India. The stadium is currently home to Sikkim Premier Division League clubs. It holds 30,000 people. The stadium also hosts matches of the Sikkim ...

in front of 30,000 fans, as United Sikkim drew Mohammedan 1–1, with Daniel Bedemi scoring. On 13 November 2012, Bhutia was named the interim manager to replace

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

Philippe De Ridder, after the club's heavy 1–10 defeat in an I-League match against

Prayag United United Sports Club (formerly known as both Prayag United, and Chirag United) is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded as Eveready Association in 1927, the club competes in the Calcutta ...

on 10 November 2012 at the

Salt Lake Stadium The Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK; ), commonly known as the Salt Lake Stadium, is an all-seater multi-purpose stadium located in Bidhannagar, with current capacity of 85,000 spectators. Named after Swami Vivekananda, the stadium f ...

2012–2013: I-League

Later it was initially reported that United Sikkim had started talks with Australian manager Nathan Hall about a possible head coaching role at the club. On 10 December 2012, it was officially confirmed by United Sikkim that Hall had joined the club as its new head coach, replacing interim player-coach Bhaichung Bhutia. His first game as head coach of the club in the league came on 15 December against

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

at the Balewadi Sports Complex in which United Sikkim lost 0–1. Hall then managed to earn his first point as head coach in his next match against

ONGC The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. ONGC was founded on 14 August 1956 by the ...

on 29 December in which his side drew 1–1 at the

Ambedkar Stadium Dr. Ambedkar Stadium is a football stadium in New Delhi, India. The stadium is named in honour of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, famous social reformer and architect of the Indian Constitution. It was earlier known as the Corporation Stadium. It also h ...

with

Nadong Bhutia Nadong Bhutia (born 25 November 1993) is an Indian former footballer who played as a striker or winger. Career United Sikkim Bhutia made his debut for United Sikkim F.C. on 19 January 2013 during an I-League match against Dempo S.C. at the D ...

scoring the first goal for United Sikkim under Hall. United Sikkim did not win a single game under Hall until 27 March 2013 in which his side managed a 5–0 victory over forced-relegated side

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed ...

at the Paljor Stadium. This would turn out to be United Sikkim's last win and points for the rest of the season as the side lost its last four matches after this one and were thus relegated to the

I-League 2nd Division I-League 2, previously known as I-League 2nd Division and officially known as or Hero I-League 2 (for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp), is an Indian men's professional football league. It is the 3rd tier of Indian football, behind India ...

2013: Travel to Bhutan

In March 2013, United Sikkim went to

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...

for training. In their first foreign tour, they played three friendly matches against local sides Drukpol, Yeedzin and Zimdra at the

Changlimithang Stadium Changlimithang Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan, which serves as the national stadium. It is predominantly used for football matches and is the home of the Bhutan national football team, other national selections and numb ...

in Thimpu. From July to August, they went to Bhutan again and participated in

2013 King's Cup The 2013 King's Cup was an international football competition, the 42nd edition of the tournament. It was a two-round knockout tournament, with all matches held at the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai, Thailand between 23 January and 26 J ...

, in which they moved to the knockout stages. In the first semi-final, United Sikkim lost 2–4 to Manang Marshyangdi of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

2014: I-League 2nd Division

They also participated in the

2014 I-League 2nd Division The 2014 I-League 2nd Division was the seventh season of the I-League 2nd Division under its current title. The season began on 7 February 2014. It contained 11 clubs in two groups and twelfth club United Sikkim F.C. directly entered into fina ...

and moved to the

Final Round A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

of I-League Qualifiers, finishing on fourth position with seven points in eight matches.

2014–2018

On 18 December 2014, it was revealed by owner Bhaichung Bhutia that United Sikkim had decided to leave the competition as future of I League was dim due to the formation of ISL, and thus team would only participate in the local league. In February 2018, United Sikkim went to Nepal for participating in the 16th Aaha! Rara Gold Cup, in which they failed to reach the knock-out stages.

2020–present

The

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry ...

was all set to invite bids for vacant spot in the I-League and Gangtok-based United Sikkim Football Club were one of the front-runners to submit it for 2020–21 season. However, the bid was won by Sudeva Moonlight (currently Sudeva Delhi) from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

. In 2021, Bhaichung Bhutia, the owner of the club announced that it will revive its junior and senior teams while aiming to bring the

(ISL) into the state. The Sikkim's top club said it will also focus on its grassroots programme.

Crest and colours

On 22 March 2011, the first kit and crest of United Sikkim were unveiled at Taj Hotel in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. The club crest had a picture of a

Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

, which is also their mascot, and the color of the kit was red with white shorts. The club's away colors are dark and light blue. On 29 August 2012, after gaining promotion to the

, the club unveiled their new crest which is dominantly red, unlike orange crests from before. Instead of having "est. 2008" for the founding year, new crest has "est. 2011", which stands for the year when professionalized itself. USFC

Stadium

For their first season in the I-League, the club announced that they would play all their home matches at the 30,000 seater Paljor Stadium in the capital of Sikkim, Gangtok. When the club was participating in amateur tournaments from 2008 to 2011, and the I-League 2nd Division from 2011 to 2012, in which they would play in neutral venues, the club used Paljor Stadium as a training ground, holding majority of their practices there. PALJOR2

However, despite the I-League 2nd Division being a neutral competition, the Paljor Stadium was given the rights to host the 2012 I-League 2nd Division Final Round 2nd leg, in which United Sikkim was also participating. The ground was also the venue for the match in which United Sikkim gained promotion to the I-League after drawing with Mohammedan (1–1).

Rivalry

United Sikkim had a rivalry with their fellow

North East India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

n club Shillong Lajong FC in the I-League, which was often regarded as the "Northeast India Derby".

Northeast India Derby

Sikkim Derby

United Sikkim has also a rivalry with their fellow Sikkim-based club Gangtok Himalayan SC, whom they face in regional tournaments including

. Both the clubs use

as their home grounds. They last met each other on 9 November 2019 during a match of Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup and Gangtok Himalayan defeated United by 3–1 margin.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Managerial history

Notable former players

''For all former notable players of United Sikkim with a Wikipedia article, see:

United Sikkim F.C. players United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

''.

World Cup player

* Michael Rodríguez (2012–2013)

Honours & achievements

Domestic

**Champions (1):

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

**Champions (3): 2013, 2017,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

**Runners-up (1): 2014

International

Jigme Dorji Wangchuk Memorial Gold Cup The Jigme Dorji Wangchuk Memorial Gold Cup (formerly known as King's Cup) is an international football club tournament held in Bhutan. The inaugural edition was held in 2004, replacing the ''Federation Cup'' which was last played in 2002, which i ...

**Semi-finals:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

Regional

Bordoloi Trophy The Bordoloi Trophy, also known as the Bharat Ratna Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Trophy, is a premier annual Indian football tournament held in Guwahati and organized by Guwahati Sports Association (GSA). The tournament was first started in 1952 ...

**Semi-finals (1): 2016 *

Darjeeling Gold Cup All India Darjeeling Gold Cup, also known as All India Brigade of Gorkha's Gold Cup Football Tournament, or simply GTA Chairman's Gold Cup, is an Indian association football tournament held in Darjeeling and organized by the Indian Darjeeling Go ...

**Runners-up (1): 2011