Pune FC

Not to be confused with FC Pune City.

Pune
Full namePune Football Club
Nickname(s)Red Lizards
Short namePFC
Founded21 July 2007; 17 years ago (2007-07-21)
Dissolved2016; 8 years ago (2016)
GroundBalewadi Stadium
Pune, Maharashtra
Capacity10,900
OwnerAshok Piramal Group
Websitepunefc.com

Pune Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra.[1][2][3] The club competed in I-League,[4][5][6] then top flight of Indian football league system.[7][8] The club was one of the most professional clubs in Indian football history, known mainly for their focus on fanfare, professional playing set-up, and focus on youth development.[9][10] Pune was owned by Ashok Piramal Group.[11]

Founded in 2007,[12] the club managed to gain promotion to the I-League in 2009.[13] In their first season in the I-League, the club managed to finish in a very surprising third place[14] before having their best ever season during the 2012–13 season in which they finished in second place.[14]

Pune formerly participated in Chennai Football League.[15] The club used to have a rivalry with fellow Maharashtra club Mumbai FC, with whom it contested the "Maha derby".[16] The club was nicknamed "red lizards".[3][17][18] They pulled out of I-League earlier 2015–16 season.[19][20][21] The main club shut down its operations while Pune F.C. Academy was acquired by ISL club, FC Pune City.[22] It was dissolved in 2016.[23]

  1. ^ "Durand Cup 2013–14: Defender Costa to lead Pune FC". Pune Football Club. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  2. ^ George, Joseph (8 February 2014). "Pune FC Look To Recover From Their Alarming Dip In Form". www.thehardtackle.com. The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b Bera, Kaustav. "Mohammedan Sporting 1–3 Pune FC: Red Lizards kick-start their campaign in style". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  4. ^ "Pune FC logged their first win of the season with a 1–0 win over United Sikkim FC in a Group-D Federation Cup encounter". Pune Football Club. 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  5. ^ Ghoshal, Amoy (17 September 2011). "Federation Cup: East Bengal 1–1 Mohammedan Sporting — Red & Gold Brigade Held After Unconvincing Display". goal.com. Goal. Archived from the original on 29 October 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  6. ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava (3 December 2012). "Indian Football: Transfer Season 2012/13 Updated". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Federation Cup: Ten Men Pune FC Register Narrow Win Over Dempo". 17 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  8. ^ Noronha, Anselm. "Dempo SC 1–5 Pune FC: Derrick Pereira's side trounce the defending champions to end their unbeaten streak in Goa". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  9. ^ Bhutani, Rahul (27 April 2013). "Pune FC – I-League's Gift To Indian Football". The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  10. ^ "U20 I-League: Champions Pune FC sign off on all-win note, down Prayag Utd 3–1". Pune Football Club. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Pune FC not optimistic about IPL-style football: Rohan". Zee News. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  12. ^ Schöggl, Hans. "India — List of Foundation Dates". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  13. ^ Agarwal, Atishay. "I-League Crystal Ball Series: Pune FC". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  14. ^ a b "I-League 2012–13: Pune FC's best ever season". Pune Football Club. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  15. ^ Naveen (20 March 2013). "Football in Chennai – On a slippery surface". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Mumbai FC, Pune FC ready for 'Maha derby'". Western India Football Association. 9 February 2013. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  17. ^ Srivastava, Ayush. "Pune FC 1–0 Pailan Arrows: The Red Lizards edge past the toothless Kolkatan outfit". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  18. ^ Bera, Kaustav (24 May 2015). "Shillong Lajong FC 0–1 Pune FC: An early Ralte strike wins it for the Red Lizards". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  19. ^ "Pune FC likely to shut first team operations, Bharat FC's future up in the air". goal.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  20. ^ "Indian Super League – Luciano Sobrosa: 'Pune FC's closure is one step back for I-League and Indian football'". goal.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  21. ^ "OFFICIAL: Salgaocar and Sporting Clube De Goa pull out of I-League 2016–17". goal.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  22. ^ "FC Pune City takes over Pune FC's academy and outlines its plans for Football development". Indian Super League. 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 30 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  23. ^ "A look back into the dysfunctional clubs in the past decade of Indian football". The Bridge. 11 April 2019. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.