Jamshedpur FC

On 11 May 2017, Indian Super League organisers, Football Sports Development, invited bids for new teams (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Cuttack, Durgapur, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ranchi, and Siliguri) in order to expand the league in the upcoming season.[4] The bidding ended on 25 May 2017 and the external validator, appointed by the league, started scrutinizing the bids.[5] Two weeks later, on 12 June, it was officially announced that Bengaluru FC and Tata Steel had won the bids for the new teams Bengaluru and Jamshedpur respectively.[6]

After winning the bid, Tata announced on 14 July 2017 that the inaugural head coach for the Jamshedpur franchise would be Steve Coppell,[7] who led the Kerala Blasters to the final in the previous ISL season.[8] The team's official name, Jamshedpur FC, and logo were revealed nine days later, on 23 July, before the 2017–18 ISL Players Draft.[9] Being a brand new club, Jamshedpur FC had the very first pick during the players draft. India international Anas Edathodika was the club's first draft pick, thus the first player in Jamshedpur's history.[10]

Jamshedpur began playing in November 2017. The team played their first-ever match on 18 November 2017 against NorthEast United at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium. Despite being disadvantaged through defender André Bikey being sent off, Jamshedpur managed to hold on for a 0–0 draw.[11] After another goalless draw in their next match, Jamshedpur played their first official home match on 1 December against the reigning champions ATK. Over 23,000 fans came to support the side at the JRD Tata Sports Complex but once again, the team failed to do more than draw 0–0.[12] Finally, in their fourth match, away at Delhi Dynamos, Jamshedpur managed to earn their first victory. The club won 1–0 with Izu Azuka becoming the first-ever Jamshedpur goal scorer.[13]

By the halfway point of the season, Jamshedpur had only managed two victories in the season including four draws and three defeats. This meant the team was in seventh place, six points off the playoff spots.[14] Fortunes changed for Jamshedpur during the second half of the season and on 4 March 2018, the club played their final match of the Super League season at home against Goa with Jamshedpur needing a victory in order to qualify for the finals.[15] Unfortunately, despite having home advantage, Jamshedpur fell 3–0 and thus failed to qualify for the finals in their first season.[16]

Jamshedpur FC appointed Cesar Ferrando as their new head coach for the 2018–19 season and saw a host of changes in the squad. The club also made headlines by making one of the biggest signings in the league’s history as they roped in Tim Cahill to their roster. The team started the season with a bang as they won at Mumbai City and held Bengaluru FC at their own ground. The club was in the running to qualify for the play-offs through-out the season as new recruits Michael Soosairaj, Sergio Cidoncha, Carlos Calvo and Mario Arques took charge along with the old guard of Tiri, Memo, Subrata, and Farukh. However, towards the business end of the league, Jamshedpur narrowly lost out on the play-off spot to NorthEast United as they finished 5th just like their inaugural season. The squad went on to play the Hero Super Cup 2019 in Bhubaneswar where they were given a walkover against Gokulam Kerala in the knock-out 16 matches. Jamshedpur lost a thrilling encounter against eventual champions FC Goa 4–3 as they bowed out of the tournament.

Jamshedpur FC appointed Antonio Iriondo as their head coach for the 2019–20 season of the Indian Super League.

The club entered its third season of Indian Super League with a new roster including

• C.K. Vineeth (Forward),
• Aitor Monroy (Midfielder),
• Sergio Castel (Forward),
• Isaac Vanmalsawma (Midfielder),
• Jitendra Singh (Defender),
• Narender Gahlot (Defender),
• Amarjit Singh Kiyam (Midfielder),
• Niraj Kumar (Goalkeeper),
• Noé Acosta (Midfielder),
• Mobashir Rahman (Midfielder),
• Francisco Medina Luna (Midfielder),
• Keegan Pereira (Defender) and
• Joyner Lourenco (Defender).

Pre-season

Jamshedpur FC started their season with 5 pre-season matches as they prepared for the upcoming challenge of the 2019–20 Indian Super League.

Matches

Jamshedpur FC were unbeaten in their first 3 matches for the 3rd consecutive season of Indian Super League. They started their season at home (JRD Tata Sports Complex). Their first match was against Odisha FC where they scored 2–1 against them. In their second match against Hyderabad, they won 3–1. Their third home game was against Bengaluru FC where both teams finished with a goalless draw. The team faced their first defeat of the season at the hands of ATK in Kolkata with a score of 3–1. After the big break, Jamshedpur FC triumphed over FC Goa by 0–1 in Goa. The team then went through three back to back draws out of which two were at home (against NorthEast United FC and Chennaiyin FC). The third draw was against Kerala Blasters in Kochi followed by three back to back defeats against Mumbai City FC, Odisha FC, and Bengaluru FC. The club battled for the playoffs in the next few matches which saw plenty of ups and downs. In the end, the team couldn't qualify for the playoffs of ISL 2019–20 season.

Jamshedpur FC made major changes to their set up as they appointed Owen Coyle to the helm and signed a roster of new foreign and Indian players.[17] Jamshedpur FC had a squad overhaul in the summer, as they released a lot of Indian and foreign players and brought in some new faces.

After appointing Owen Coyle as head coach, the club roped in last season’s top scorer Nerijus Valskis. Furthermore, they also added the likes of Peter Hartley and Stephen Eze to solidify their defence. Meanwhile, midfielder Alex Monteiro and winger Nick Fitzgerald followed suit.

Among the Indian signings, former FC Goa winger Jackichand Singh’s move to Jamshedpur has to be the biggest surprise. Full-backs like Laldinliana Renthlei and Ricky Lallawmawma have also joined. Moreover, former Aizawl FC and Mohun Bagan forward William Lalnunfela was also roped in to add more depth in attack. In addition, Indian goalkeepers, TP Rehenesh and Pawan Kumar also joined the club.

Many players were released, while some moved to seek greener pastures. Indian custodians Subrata Paul and Rafique Ali both left for Hyderabad FC and SC East Bengal respectively. Last season’s top performer Farukh Choudhary joined Mumbai City FC, while Sumeet Passi joined RoundGlass Punjab. Among foreigners, the likes of Piti, Sergio Castel and Noe Acosta were released. While Tiri shifted allegiances to ATK Mohun Bagan and Memo joined Chennaiyin FC.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches during the 2020–21 season will be played behind-closed-doors across three venues in Goa.[5] The venues will be the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, and the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco da Gama. Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco da Gama was selected as the Host Venue of Jamshedpur FC.

Winter Transfer Activity

Arrival

• Len Doungel on loan from FC Goa (21 January 2021),
• Farukh Choudhary from Mumbai City FC (23 January 2021),
• Boris Singh Thangjam from ATK Mohun Bagan FC (5 February 2021),

Departure

• Jackichand Singh to Mumbai City FC (23 January 2021)
• Amarjit Singh Kiyam to FC Goa (3 February 2021)

The following are the sponsors of JFC (named "JFC Partners"):

Title Sponsor

• Tata Steel

Official Sponsors

• Tata
• Tata Motors
• Nivia
• Tata Pravesh
• TataMD Check

ISL 2020-21 Season

• Official Tyre Partner - CEAT
• Associate Partner - Tata Pravesh
• Official Healthcare Partner - TataMD CHECK
• Official Automobile Partner - Tata Motors
• Official Kit Partner - Nivia

As of 05 February 2021[21]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  IND Pawan Kumar 2 DF  IND Boris Singh Thangjam 5 DF  IND Narender Gahlot 6 MF  ESP Aitor Monroy 7 MF  BRA Alex Lima 9 FW  LTU Nerijus Valskis 10 FW  ESP David Grande 11 FW  IND Aniket Jadhav 13 MF  IND Isaac Vanmalsawma 14 DF  IND Joyner Lourenco 15 MF  IND Mobashir Rahman 16 DF  IND Ricky Lallawmawma 17 MF  IND Bhupender Singh

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  IND Len Doungel (on loan from FC Goa) 19 DF  IND Sandip Mandi 22 FW  AUS Nick Fitzgerald 23 GK  IND Niraj Kumar 26 DF  IND Laldinliana Renthlei 27 DF  IND Karan Amin 29 DF  ENG Peter Hartley (Captain) 31 GK  IND Vishal Yadav 32 GK  IND Rehenesh TP 33 DF  IND Jitendra Singh 49 FW  IND William Lalnunfela 66 DF  NGA Stephen Eze 77 FW  IND Farukh Choudhary

As of 16th September 2020

Position	Name[22]
Head Coach	Owen Coyle
Assistant coach	Sandy Stewart
Assistant coach	Noel Wilson[23]
Goalkeeping coach	Ezequiel Gómez León
Strength & Conditioning coach	Adrian Gregory Dias
Head of Youth Development and Grassroots	Kundan Chandra
First Team Analyst	Gaurav Khilari
First Team Head Physiotherapist	Vivek Nigam
First Team Assistant Physiotherapist	Arghya Basu

As of match played 6 April 2019

As of 8 February 2021

Name	Nationality	From	To	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Win%
Steve Coppell[24]	England	14 July 2017	18 June 2018	20	8	5	7	17	23	040.00
César Ferrando	Spain	21 July 2018	5 April 2019	19	6	9	4	32	25	031.58
Antonio Iriondo	Spain	26 July 2019	29 February 2020	18	4	6	8	22	35	022.22
Owen Coyle	Scotland	7 August 2020	Present	16	4	6	6	15	19	025.00

• Jamshedpur FC goalkeepers have won one Golden Glove award with Subrata Paul in 2017–18 ISL season.
• Jamshedpur FC holds the record of 1st highest average home attendance for Jamshedpur FC in 2018–19 ISL season.

Since its inception, Jamshedpur Football Club has made a commitment to developing football in the local region. Whether it be promoting grassroots football or establishing football schools, the goal has always remained the same which is to promote football and a healthy lifestyle in the community and bring forward local talent by establishing a strong foundation. The kids that train in these grassroots centres are of age 3 to 13 years old.

Jamshedpur FC has opened several football schools in the city’s vicinity.

• Mt. Litera Zee School, Mango
• Kerala Samajam Model School, Golmuri
• RVS Academy, Dimna
• DBMS Kadma High School
• Loyola School, CH Area
• Carmel Junior College, Sonari
• Hill Top School, Telco
• DAV Public School, Bistupur.
• Delhi World Public School

The club aims to kick-start more football schools in the coming months.

Jamshedpur FC along with TSRDS (Tata Steel Rural Development Society) also runs 22 Grassroots and Youth Development Centers of Kolhan Region in Jharkhand where over 2,000 kids from the age of 3 to 18 years old train daily.