Indian Arrows
Full nameIndian Arrows Football Team[1]
Founded2010 (2010) (as AIFF XI)
Dissolved21 September 2022 (2022-09-21)
GroundKalinga Stadium
Capacity15,000
OwnerAll India Football Federation
LeagueI-League
2021–22I-League, 10th of 13

Indian Arrows (formerly known as Pailan Arrows) was an Indian developmental football club that competed in the I-League.[2][3] The club was formed by the All India Football Federation in 2010, with a main goal of nurturing young Indian football talents.[4]

After disbanding in 2013, the project was revived as Indian Arrows in 2017. In September 2022, the technical committee of All India Football Federation decided to discontinue the participation of the Indian Arrows in the I-League because of the difficulty in fulfilling the AFC licensing criteria. Instead, the funding was decided to invest in the youth competitions such as Reliance Foundation Development League.[5]

History

AIFF XI (2010–2011)

2010–11 season

The club was founded as the AIFF XI in 2010 under the recommendation of then India head coach Bob Houghton and All India Football Federation president Praful Patel after Bob noticed that almost all the India U19 and India U23 players were on the bench during the I-League season and were never getting any game time.[6] The club was originally slated to join the I-League 2nd Division but after the disbanding of Mahindra United the AIFF allowed AIFF XI into the I-League automatically.[7] The club participated in their first competition in 2010 which was the Federation Cup and played their first ever professional match on 21 September against JCT FC, in which AIFF XI won 1–0 with Malsawmfela scoring the first goal in the team's history.[8] The team finished third in the group in the end, missing out on going to the next round by four points.[9] The club then participated in their first I-League match on 3 December 2010 against Chirag United in which the club lost 1–2 and with Lalrindika Ralte scoring the first goal for the club in the league.[10] The club then earned their first points on 8 December 2010 against ONGC F.C. after drawing 1–1.[11] On 11 January 2011 it was announced that AIFF XI would change their name to Indian Arrows which would take effect on 1 February 2011.[12] Arrows finished the 2010–11 I-League season in 9th place.

Pailan Arrows (2011–2013)

2011–12 season

The summer of 2011 would be a busy one for the club. The club changed their name to Pailan Arrows[13] on 15 June 2011 after the All India Football Federation reached an agreement with Pailan Group to sponsor the team.[14] With the deal Pailan Arrows was also relocated to Kolkata and the Salt Lake Stadium. Then on 13 August 2012 head coach Desmond Bulpin was sacked by the club due to his "style of football" while former India national football team coach Sukhwinder Singh was signed to take over the club.[15] The club also lost many of the stars of the previous season like Lalrindika Ralte, Jeje Lalpekhlua (top scorer for Pailan and among Indians in 2010–11), Manandeep Singh and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The club again participated in the Federation Cup in 2011 where Pailan won two matches but lost one which meant that they would finish 2nd behind Salgaocar and thus meant Pailan were knocked out in the group stage again.[16] Pailan Arrows then began the 2011–12 I-League campaign against Mohun Bagan at the Salt Lake Stadium on 23 October 2012 in which they lost 1–3 after Lalrozama Fanai gave them the early lead.[17] On 7 February 2012 Sukhwinder Singh resigned as coach of Pailan Arrows due to personal reasons, at this point also Pailan had not won a single match in I-League and had only managed eight draws in 17 matches.[18] Assistant coach Sujit Chakravarty took over the reins as head coach for the remainder of the season.[18] Towards the end of the season Pailan managed to win two matches, one against Chirag United Club Kerala and another against HAL to finished the season in 13th place out of 14 teams but since they are a developmental team, Pailan were not relegated.[19][20]

2012–13 season

After the disastrous season Pailan endured, the club and All India Football Federation signed Australian Arthur Papas as the new permanent head coach of the India U23 and Pailan Arrows on 24 May 2012.[21] Papas came to the club after coaching his former club, Oakleigh Cannons FC, to the 2011 Victorian Premier League runners-up title.[21]

Disbanding

On 29 August 2013 it was announced that Pailan Arrows had been disbanded by the All India Football Federation as the club sponsors, Pailan Group, could not financially support the team.[22]

Revival as Indian Arrows (2017–2022)

After successful hosting of 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, AIFF revived the project as Indian Arrows with the aim of giving regular game time to U–17 world cup players as a team, and fielded the team in 2017–18 I-League.[23] They were immune from relegation. Despite being praised for their competitive showings in 2017–18 I-League season, they finished bottom of the league with 15 points from 18 games.[24] In the 2018–19 I League, with six wins and three drews, the Arrows finished eighth in the table among 11 teams. They qualified for the 2019 Super Cup by defeating Kerala Blasters 2–0.[25] Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the 2019–20 season was cancelled after 16 matches and the Arrows were placed at the bottom.[26] In the 2021–21 I League season, they were placed tenth in the league.

Disbanding

In September 2022, the AIFF executive committee accepted the recommendation of its new technical committee, to discontinue Indian Arrows because of the difficulty in fulfilling the AFC Licensing criteria.[27][28] They also announced that the finances used for the Indian Arrows will be invested in creating a new Elite Youth League in the country.[29]

Crest and colours

The club's colours were blue and white, just like the India national football team. During the first season Pailan Arrows started with a dark blue kit[30] but eventually during the 2010–11 season the club started using a normal blue kit with black shorts.[31] For the 2011–12 season Pailan used a dark blue jersey[32] and a white kit with black or red socks.[33]

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2010—2011 Nike None
2011—2013 POTO Potato Flakes
2017—2018 None
2018—2022 Six5Six Hero[34]

In october 2018, Government of Odisha signed Rs.50 million sponsorship deal with AIFF for the Arrows. The sponsorship deal will also cover India's under-15 football team. As part of the deal, the state government will host the Arrows and under-15 national team at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.[35] The deal also covers the two teams’ stay in Bhubaneswar, providing them with the ground facility as well as boarding/lodging during the I-league and off-season.[36]

Stadium

For the 2010–11 I-League season the club played at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Gurgaon, Haryana when they were originally due to play at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi but due to the pitch condition the club was moved to Gurgaon.[37] After relocating to Kolkata the club started to play at the Salt Lake Stadium which is also home to East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Prayag United.[38] In 2017–18, the team played in Goa and Delhi. In 2018–19, they used the Barabati Stadium and Kalinga Stadium. Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha were the last home base of the Indian Arrows before getting disbanded in September 2022.[35]

Notable former players

For all former or notable Indian Arrows players with a Wikipedia article, see: Indian Arrows players.

Final staff

Position Name
Head coach India Shanmugam Venkatesh
Team manager India Shalak Patade
Assistant coach India Mahesh Gawli
Goalkeeping coach India Abhijeet Mondal
Team analyst India Prashanth Murthy
Physiotherapist India Neeraj Churi

Team records

Overview

Season Division Teams Position Attendance Super Cup Durand Cup IFAShield
2010–11 I-League 14 8 — Group stage DNP DNP
2011–12 14 13 — Group stage DNP DNP
2012–13 14 12 — Group stage Group stage DNP
2017–18 10 10 — Qualification round DNP DNP
2018–19 11 8 — Round of 16 DNP DNP
2019–20 11 11 — DNP DNP DNP
2020–21 11 11 — DNP DNP GS
2021–22 13 10 — DNP DNP GS

Overall records

Season Division Continental Top scorer
Division P W D L GF GA P W D L GF GA Player Goals
2010–11 I-League 26 7 8 11 31 49 Not qualified India Jeje Lalpekhlua 13
2011–12 26 2 10 14 17 40 Not qualified India Chinadorai Sabeeth 9
2012–13 26 6 5 15 45 40 Not qualified India Halicharan Narzary

India Milan Singh

 5
2017–18 18 4 3 11 13 24 Not qualified India Abhijit Sarkar 4
2018–19 20 6 3 11 19 28 Not qualified India Rohit Danu 4
2019–20 16 2 3 11 7 20 Not qualified India Vikram Pratap Singh 4
2020–21 10 1 1 8 6 31 Not qualified India Harsh Patre 3
2021–22 2 1 1 0 2 1 Not qualified India Parthib Gogoi 1

Head coaching history

This is a full list of Indian Arrows's coaches and their records, from 2010 until they were disbanded in 2022.

Only competitive matches are counted. Wins, losses and draws are results at the final whistle; the results of penalty shoot-outs are not counted.

NameNationalityFromToPWDLGFGAWin%
Des Bulpin  Scotland August 2010 August 2011 26 7 8 11 31 49 026.92
Sukhwinder Singh  India 15 August 2011 7 February 2012 17 0 8 9 8 28 000.00
Sujit Chakravarty  India 8 February 2012 7 May 2012 9 2 2 5 9 12 022.22
Arthur Papas  Australia 22 May 2012 28 May 2013 27 6 6 15 27 47 022.22
Sanjoy Sen  India 20 July 2013 29 August 2013 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Luís Norton de Matos  Portugal 17 August 2017 18 July 2018 19 4 3 12 14 26 021.05
Floyd Pinto  India 25 July 2018 29 November 2019 22 7 3 12 21 31 031.82
Shanmugam Venkatesh  India 29 November 2019 April 2022 31 5 5 21 18 58 016.13

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mukherjee, Soham (1 February 2019). "I-League 2018-19: Katsumi Yusa's brace helps NEROCA do the double over Indian Arrows". www.goal.com. Goal. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "Young Indian Goalkeepers Look to Make a Mark in SAFF U20 Championship". www.news18.com. Bhubaneswar, Odisha: CNN News18. 20 July 2022. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  3. ↑ "Hero I-League 2021–2022 TABLE". footballdatabase.com. FootballDatabase. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  4. ↑ Sharma, Siddharth. "Vital steps to improve the Indian U23 football team". Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "IM Vijayan chairs Technical Committee meeting in Kolkata". www.the-aiff.com/. Kolkata, West Bengal: AIFF. 18 September 2022.
  6. ↑ Bali, Rahul. "Why Pailan Arrows isn't India's best bet for talent but the rest of the clubs are". goal.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "I-League to start in November with 14 teams". Tha Indian. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Federation Cup results". Sam80dev3. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  9. ↑ Sengupta, Rahul. "Federation Cup: Group C Match Day Three – JCT Hold Dempo, ONGC Bow Out With A Win". goal.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "Chirag United 2–1 AIFF XI". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "AIFF XI open account in I-League". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "AIFF XI rechristened as Indian Arrows". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  13. ↑ Williams, Joe (25 September 2017). "The Goa and Maha Derby: A thing past in I-League". khelnow.com. Khel Now News. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "I-League: Kolkata Based Pailan Group Are The New Sponsors Of Indian Arrows". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  15. ↑ "Football coach Desmond Bulpin sacked by AIFF". Zee News. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  16. ↑ "Salgaocar beat Pailan Arrows to enter Federation Cup semis". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  17. ↑ lahiri, Debjit. "I-League: Pailan Arrows 1–3 Mohun Bagan AC – Odafa Okolie Hat-trick Powers A Second Half Bagan Rally". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  18. 1 2 Bali, Rahul. "I-League: Sukhwinder Singh resigns from Pailan Arrows". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  19. ↑ Noronha, Anselm. "Chirag United Kerala 0–3 Pailan Arrows: CS Sabeeth's hat-trick sinks his former side into second division". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  20. ↑ Noronha, Anselm. "HAL Bangalore 1–2 Pailan Arrows: Allwyn scores late in his side's second successive win". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  21. 1 2 "Arthur Papas to coach India U-23 football national team". DNA India. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  22. ↑ Bali, Rahul. "AIFF decide to shut down Pailan Arrows". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  23. ↑ "I-League: Arrows project to be reinstated this season | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  24. ↑ "How I-League clubs with an all-Indian squad have fared in the past! | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  25. ↑ "Kerala Blasters v Indian Arrows Match Report, 15/03/19, AIFF Super Cup | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  26. ↑ "Remaining I-League matches cancelled in view of COVID-19 lockdown | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. PTI. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  27. ↑ Mergulhao, Marcus (27 September 2022). "AIFF set to ban foreign players from lower leagues". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Panaji, Goa. TNN. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  28. ↑ Mukherjee, Sayan (27 September 2022). "Six foreigners recommended for matchday squads as I-League returns on Oct 29". www.news9live.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  29. ↑ "No Longer Part of I-League, Indian Arrows Players to Not Play Football Till January". News18. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  30. ↑ http://www.the-aiff.com/siteadmin/uploads/1285427823ONGC-%26-India-XI-match-in-Ludhiana-2.jpg Pailan vs. ONGC 2010
  31. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PahsMF7fw5I Archived 24 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Pailan vs Pune as Indian Arrows
  32. ↑ http://footballkerala.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Pailan-Arrows-striker-CS-Sabeeth-dribbles-past-a-horde-of-Chirag-Kerala-defenders-500x275.jpg Archived 13 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine Pailan vs Chirag United 2011–12
  33. ↑ http://www.chrispd.de/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/20111022-2-650x291.jpg Archived 13 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine Pailan in the white kit 2011–12
  34. ↑ Zaidi, Waseem (21 January 2022). "I-LEAGUE: Introducing shirt sponsors of every I-league club for 2021-22 season". www.khelnow.com. Khel Now. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  35. 1 2 "Odisha AIFF sign MoU for football development, state becomes home of Indian Arrows". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  36. ↑ "Odisha Government to sponsor I-league team Indian Arrows". Times of India. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  37. ↑ "Wedding reception at Ambedkar stadium spoils turf, forces AIFF XI to shift base to Gurgaon". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  38. ↑ "Pailan Arrows muff chances, settle for a draw". The All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
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