# Punjab FC

Punjab Football Club (formerly known as RoundGlass Punjab FC) is an Indian professional football club founded in Mohali, Punjab. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of the Indian football league system, following promotion after winning the 2022–23 I-League season title. The Shers are At 4th Position in ISL ( November 2024).

## History

In April 2020, RoundGlass Sports Pvt. Ltd. completed the acquisition of the I-League club Minerva Punjab, rebranding it later the year as RoundGlass Punjab. After promotion to the ISL, they changed name to Punjab FC in July 2023. On 15 June 2020, they appointed Curtis Fleming as head coach. On 15 July, they appointed Nikolaos Topoliatis as new technical director. As the season progressed, Punjab made it to the championship stage and finished their season with a 2–3 loss to Churchill Brothers. They achieved 2nd position with 22 points in 15 league matches.
In August 2022, Staikos Vergetis was appointed as the new head coach of RoundGlass Punjab. After winning 4–0 against Rajasthan United on 4 March 2023, the club ensued their I-League title, gaining promotion to the Indian Super League for the first time. They ended the season with 52 points in 22 league matches. RoundGlass Punjab later participated in the 2023 Indian Super Cup. Punjab began their 2023–24 season campaign on 23 September, in a 3–1 away defeat to Mohun Bagan, in which Luka Majcen scored club's first ever ISL goal. They secured first league point on 6 October, in an 1–1 tie with NorthEast United, in their first home match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi. On 19 December, French playmaker Madih Talal scored a goal, gave Punjab their historic first match win in the Super League as they defeated Chennaiyin by 1–0 at home. The club achieved their first away win later on 12 February 2024, defeating Kerala Blasters 3–1 in Kochi. The club registered their biggest win on 10 April defeating East Bengal 4–1, ended the league campaign with 24 points in 22 matches.

## Crest, colours & kits

Punjab FC's home kit primarily features a vibrant orange base, often paired with black or white accents. The away kit typically comes in white with orange or black highlights, maintaining consistency with the home kit while offering a fresh look. The club's third kit may feature a contrasting color, such as black or navy blue, providing variety while staying aligned with the team's core colors.

### Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| 2020–21 | T10 Sports | RoundGlass |
| 2021–22 | SIX5SIX | RoundGlass |
| 2022–24 | T10 Sports | RoundGlass |
| 2024–25 | Shiv Naresh | DafaNews |

## Stadiums

In September 2023, Punjab FC officially confirmed Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi as their home venue for the 2023–24 Indian Super League.
Previously, Punjab FC played at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in the I-League. The stadium has a capacity of 12,000 spectators. The club also has used Guru Nanak Stadium as their home ground.

## Players
### First-team squad

    As of 28 February 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | IND | Ravi Kumar |
| 4 | DF | IND | Nikhil Prabhu |
| 6 | MF | IND | Ricky Shabong |
| 7 | FW | BIH | Asmir Suljić |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Ezequiel Vidal |
| 12 | DF | IND | Khaiminthang Lhungdim |
| 14 | DF | IND | Melroy Assisi |
| 16 | MF | IND | Vinit Rai |
| 17 | MF | IND | Manglenthang Kipgen |
| 19 | FW | IND | Omang Dodum |
| 20 | FW | GRE | Petros Giakoumakis |
| 23 | MF | IND | Ashis Pradhan |
| 24 | MF | CRO | Filip Mrzljak |
| 25 | DF | IND | Singamayum Shami |
| 26 | DF | IND | Rakesh Meitei (on loan from Kerala Blasters) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 27 | DF | IND | Tekcham Abhishek Singh |
| 28 | DF | IND | Denechandra Meitei |
| 29 | FW | IND | Muhammad Suhail F |
| 30 | FW | IND | Vishal Yadav |
| 31 | MF | IND | Leon Augustine |
| 33 | DF | CRO | Ivan Novoselec |
| 35 | DF | IND | Pramveer Singh |
| 44 | FW | IND | Ninthoinganba Meetei |
| 45 | DF | IND | Nitesh Darjee |
| 47 | GK | IND | Ayush Deshwal |
| 74 | DF | IND | Suresh Meitei |
| 77 | FW | IND | Nihal Sudeesh (on loan from Kerala Blasters) |
| 78 | GK | IND | Muheet Shabir |
| 99 | FW | SVN | Luka Majcen |
| — | MF | IND | Princeton Rebello |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | IND | Tejas Krishna (at Rajasthan United until 31 May 2025) |
| — | MF | IND | Samuel Kynshi (at Rajasthan United until 31 May 2025) |
| — | FW | IND | Ranjeet Pandre (at Gokulam Kerala until 31 May 2025) |

## Personnel
### Current Technical Staff

| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Panagiotis Dilmperis |
| Assistant coach | Konstantinos Katsaras |
| Indian Assistant coach | Sankarlal Chakraborty |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Manish Timsina |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Giannis Papaioannou |
| Team Manager | Kashif Kamran |
| Football Director | Nikolaos Topoliatis |
| Technical Director Youths | Giuseppe Cristaldi |

### Overall Performance

| Season | League | League | League | League | Super Cup | Durand Cup | Continental | Continental |
| Season | League | No. of Teams | Position | Play-offs | Super Cup | Durand Cup | Competition | Position |
| 2020–21 | I-League | 11 | 4th | — | — | — | DNQ | DNQ |
| 2021–22 | I-League | 13 | 5th | — | — | DNP | DNQ | DNQ |
| 2022–23 | I-League | 12 | 1st | — | Group Stage | DNP | DNQ | DNQ |
| 2023–24 | ISL | 12 | 8th | DNQ | Group Stage | Group Stage | DNQ | DNQ |
| 2024–25 | ISL | 13 | | | | Quarter Finals | DNQ | DNQ |

### League statistics

    As of 10 April 2024
| Season | Division | Division | Division | Division | Division | Division | Division | Division | Top scorer | Top scorer |
| Season | Division | Position | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Player | Goals |
| 2020–21 | I-League | 4th | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 15 | Chencho Gyeltshen | 7 |
| 2021–22 | I-League | 5th | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 33 | 29 | Kurtis Guthrie | 13 |
| 2022–23 | I-League | 1st | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 45 | 16 | Luka Majcen | 16 |
| 2023–24 | ISL | 8th | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 28 | 35 | Luka Majcen Wilmar Jordán | 8 |
| 2024–25 | ISL | | | | | | | | | |

### Managerial record

    As of the match played on 5 February 2025
| Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win% |
| Curtis Fleming | Ireland | 15 June 2020 | 23 April 2021 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 15 | 040.00 |
| Ashley Westwood | England | 21 July 2021 | 23 March 2022 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 8 | 050.00 |
| Ed Engelkes | Netherlands | 23 March 2022 | 31 May 2022 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 21 | 041.67 |
| Staikos Vergetis | Greece | 8 August 2022 | 12 June 2024 | 52 | 23 | 13 | 16 | 76 | 60 | 044.23 |
| Panagiotis Dilmperis | Greece | 29 June 2024 | present | 21 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 35 | 30 | 042.86 |

## Notable players

The following RoundGlass Punjab players have been capped at senior/youth international level. Years in brackets indicate their spells at the club.
* Chencho Gyeltshen (2020–2021, 2023)
* Kurtis Guthrie (2021–2022)
* Adnan Šećerović (2022–2023)
* Aleksandar Ignjatović (2022–2023)
* Kiran Chemjong (2022–2024)
* Luka Majcen (2022–)
* Filip Mrzljak (2024–)
* Mushaga Bakenga (2024–)
* Asmir Suljić (2024–)

## Honours
### Domestic

* I-League
** Champions (1): 2022–23

## Other department(s)
### Football: Reserves and academy

Club's youth section was at first incorporated from Minerva Academy players and started participating in various age-group competitions of the Hero Youth League. In December 2023, club's football academy gained an 'elite category' accreditation by the All India Football Federation.
Reserve side won its first Punjab State Super Football League title in 2022–23. Managed by coach Sankarlal Chakraborty, the club clinched 2024 Reliance Foundation Development League title defeating East Bengal in final, and qualified for the PL Next Gen Cup. Club's under-17 team won Administrator's Challenge Cup title in Chandigarh in 2022.
Apart from the reserve and academy sides, the club operates 15 grassroot football centres across Punjab, with plans to expand to 25 by the end of 2025.

#### Honours

* Punjab Super League
** Winners (1): 2022–23‡
* JSW U-18 Youth Cup
** Winners (1): 2022†
* JSW U-13 Youth Cup
** Winners (1): 2023†
** Runners-up (1): 2022†
* KBN Youth Cup
** Winners (1): 2022†
* Administrator's Challenge Cup
** Champions (1): 2022‡
* Premier League Next Gen Cup
** Third place (1): 2024
    $^‡$ Reserve team
    $^†$ Academy team

### Field hockey

The club also operates field hockey academy in Chandigarh, and its teams compete in various junior and sub-junior competitive events.

### Tennis

The club also run a tennis academy, with several players including Yuki Bhambri associated to them.