1996–97 National Football League (India)

The 1996–97 National Football League, also known as the Philips National League for sponsorship reasons,[3] was the inaugural season of the National Football League. The tournament began on 17 December 1996 and concluded on 16 March 1997.[1] Before the commencement, the All India Football Federation maintained that it would be a semi-professional tournament for the first two years.[4]

National Football League
Season1996–97
Dates17 December 1996 – 16 March 1997
ChampionsJCT Mills
1st NFL title
1st Indian title
RelegatedNA
Asian Club ChampionshipJCT Mills
Top goalscorerBhaichung Bhutia (14 goals)[1]
Biggest home winJCT Mills 6–1 Mahindra FC
(9 February 1997)[2]
Biggest away winMahindra 1–4 Indian Bank
(13 February 1997)
Highest scoringJCT Mills 6–1 Mahindra FC
(9 February 1997)

Philips India was the main sponsor for the tournament and a total prize money of ₹1.5 crore was announced; ₹35 lakh to the winner.[5] Twelve teams took part in the competition, which was played in two round robin stages: a preliminary group stage featuring two groups of six teams each played in Calcutta and Goa, and a main stage featuring the top four from each group played after a gap of three weeks following the first. East Bengal were the favorites to win the competition by virtue of their victories in the Federation Cup and the Calcutta League earlier that season.[4] However, in a closely fought second stage mostly between JCT Mills and Churchill Brothers, the former sealed the title on the final day with a win over Dempo, courtesy a hat trick by Bhaichung Bhutia.[1] Air India's Godfrey Pereira was named the best player of the league and JCT Mills' Sukhwinder Singh, the best manager.[6] JCT Mills also won the Fairplay Trophy, which carried a purse of ₹2.5 lakh.[7]

The bottom two clubs in each group would not take part in the next edition, although Mohun Bagan would play the following season.

Overview

The first match of the inaugural season of the National Football League kicked off at around 5:45 p.m. (IST), an hour after the scheduled time,[4] on 17 December 1996 between East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting at the Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta. It was inaugurated by then India's Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda. East Bengal defeated Mohammedan Sporting 2–1 with Raman Vijayan scoring a brace for his team; the first goal coming in the 10th minute.[8]

Teams

Stadia and locations
Locations of teams in the 1996–97 National Football League

Group stage
  • Top four advance to the Championship stage.

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 JCT Mills 5 3 2 0 9 3 +6 11 Qualify for Championship stage
2 East Bengal 5 3 2 0 6 2 +4 11
3 Salgaocar SC 5 2 3 0 2 0 +2 9
4 Indian Bank 5 2 0 3 3 5 −2 6
5 Mohammedan SC 5 1 0 4 3 6 −3 3 Eliminated
6 ITI 5 0 1 4 3 10 −7 1
Source: rsssf.com

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Dempo SC 5 4 0 1 7 1 +6 12 Qualify for Championship stage
2 Air India 5 3 1 1 7 6 +1 10
3 Churchill Brothers SC 5 2 1 2 7 6 +1 7
4 Mahindra United 5 2 1 2 6 7 −1 7
5 Mohun Bagan 5 1 3 1 6 5 +1 6 Eliminated
6 Kerala Police 5 0 0 5 3 11 −8 0
Source: rsssf.com

Championship stage
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 JCT Mills 14 9 3 2 26 8 +18 30 Champions
2 Churchill Brothers SC 14 8 5 1 20 10 +10 29
3 East Bengal 14 7 4 3 19 11 +8 25
4 Dempo SC 14 4 6 4 19 17 +2 18
5 Indian Bank 14 3 6 5 14 18 −4 15
6 Air India 14 3 6 5 11 16 −5 15
7 Salgaocar SC 14 3 4 7 8 13 −5 13
8 Mahindra United 14 1 0 13 10 34 −24 3
Source: rsssf.com
 Philips National League
champions 
JCT FC
1st title

Season statistics

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef.
Bhaichung Bhutia5JCT MillsMahindra FC6–1 (H)9 February 1997[2]
Bhaichung BhutiaJCT MillsDempo4–1 (A)16 March 1997[1]

5 Player scored five goals

Note: (H) – Home; (A) – Away

1996-97 Season Roll of Honour
Competition Winner Details
National Football League JCT FC 1st Championship
Federation Cup East Bengal Defeated Dempo SC 2:1
Super Cup East Bengal Defeated JCT FC 0:0 (4:2 Pens)
Santosh Trophy Bengal Defeated Goa 1:0
Governor's Gold Cup Air India Defeated Mohun Bagan 0:0 (4:3 Pens)
96th Rover's Cup Salgaocar SC Defeated Air India 1:0
102nd IFA Shield JCT FC Defeated Karkh Club (Iraq) 1:0
Bordoloi Trophy Mohun Bagan Defeated East Bengal 2:1
5th Scissors Cup Dempo SC Defeated Indian Bank 1:0
McDowell's Cup Mohun Bagan Defeated East Bengal 2:0
Airlines Gold Cup All Nepal FA XI Defeated East Bengal 2:1

References
  1. Menon, Ravi (17 March 1997). "JCT wins inaugural Philips NFL title". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 20 April 1997. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  2. Saxena, Siddharth (10 February 1997). "Bhutia slams 5 past Mahindras". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 April 1997. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  3. "India File -- Starry opening to National Soccer League". The Indian Express. 14 December 1996. Archived from the original on 22 April 1997. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  4. Bose, Saibal (17 December 1996). "National League all set for kick-off". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 22 April 1997. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  5. Vasudevan, K. V. (17 March 1997). "Shattered dreams for Churchill". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 April 1997. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  6. "East Bengal shoot out JCT for inaugural Super Cup triumph". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. Archived from the original on 21 April 1997. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  7. "Fairplay bonus for JCT". The Indian Express. 20 March 1997. Archived from the original on 21 April 1997. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  8. Bose, Saibal (22 April 1997). "Vijayan punishes Sporting with two goals". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 22 April 1997. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
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