NorthEast United FC

Formation

In early 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and IMG-Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of nine selected cities for the upcoming Indian Super League, an eight-team franchise league modeled along the lines of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. On 13 April 2014, it was announced that the Bollywood actor John Abraham and Shillong Lajong Football Club had won the bidding for the franchise. On 16 July 2014, the club signed Joan Capdevila, a European Championship and World Cup winning defender with Spain, as its marquee player. He said: "India is a huge country and it should be a privilege for me to be a small part in popularizing this global game here and working with the young talented footballers of North East India". On 19 August the club hired its first manager, New Zealander Ricki Herbert, who had represented his nation at the 1982 World Cup and managed New Zealand at the 2010 World Cup.

2014 season: Inaugural season

On 13 October 2014, the team won their first ISL match at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, with Spaniard Koke scoring the only goal of the game to defeat Kerala Blasters. The team did not make the end-of-season play-offs, finishing in last place among the eight teams.

2015 season: Narrowly missed play-offs

For their second season, NorthEast United signed former Portugal international Simão Sabrosa as their new marquee…

Domestic

Durand Cup Winners (2): 2024, 2025 Sikkim Gold Cup Winners (1): 2024 Bordoloi Trophy Runners-up (1): 2025