United Sikkim F.C.

Foundation

The professional club was founded in 2011 by the Sikkim Football Association (SFA), Baichung Bhutia, already competing in the Sikkim Gold Cup and other all-India tournaments in the early years of their existence. On 22 March 2011, the club was launched as a professional entity, co-owned by Dubai-based Fidelis World, former India national captain Bhaichung Bhutia and singer Shankar Mahadevan. The club revealed that they would compete in the 2011 I-League 2nd Division, in the quest for promotion to the I-League within the next three years.

2011–2012: 2nd Division seasons

The club started their quest for the I-League on 27 February 2011. The club played their first match against Langsning F.C. on 31 March 2012, in which they drew 2–2. United Sikkim won on 5 April 2011 against North Imphal Sporting Association at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Assam, by a score of 2–0. The club finished first in group A and qualified for the 2011 I-League 2nd Division final round, in which they only needed to finish in the top two for promotion. The club began final round with three consecutive draws against Sporting Clube de Goa, Royal Wahingdoh and Shillong Lajong, before winning against Mohammedan and Southern Samity. Next, a draw to Ar-Hima and a loss to Vasco officially knocked United Sikkim out of contention for promotion and forced them to settle at fifth place for the season. The season including the 2012 I-League 2nd Division did not start well for…

Note: The following list may not be complete

Stanley Rozario (March – December 2011) Philippe De Ridder (3 December 2011 – 13 November 2012) Bhaichung Bhutia (13 November – 13 December 2012) Nathan Hall (13 December 2012 – October 2013) Soibam Ekendra Singh (2013–2014) Kamal Bagdas (2023–present)

Domestic league

I-League 2 Runners-up (1): 2012 Sikkim Premier Division League Champions (3): 2013, 2017, 2018 Runners-up (1): 2014

Cup

Darjeeling Gold Cup Runners-up (1): 2011

Other achievements

Jigme Dorji Wangchuk Memorial Gold Cup Semi-finals: 2013 Bordoloi Trophy Semi-finals (1): 2016