Panjab national football team

Not to be confused with Punjab football team, the state football team of Punjab, India.
Panjab
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationFootball Association of Panjab
ConfederationConIFA
Head coachManraj Singh Sucha
Most capsAmarvir Singh Sandhu (18)
Top scorerAmar Singh Purewal (10)
Home stadiumHadley Stadium, Smethwick
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Ellan Vannin 8–1 Panjab 
(Douglas, Isle of Man; 30 May, 2015)
Biggest win
 Panjab 9–1 Alderney 
(Douglas, Isle of Man; 31 May, 2015)
 Panjab 8–0 Kabylia 
(Slough, England; 31 May 2018)
Biggest defeat
 Ellan Vannin 8–1 Panjab 
(Douglas, Isle of Man; 30 May, 2015)
ConIFA World Football Cup
Appearances2 (first in 2016)
Best resultRunners-Up 2016
WebsitePanjab Football Association

The Panjab Football Team is a representative football team formed in 2014 in the United Kingdom to represent the Punjabi diaspora. The team is governed by the Football Association of Panjab, this is not to be confused with the Punjab Football Association, which is the state governing body of football in the Punjab state of India.

Background

Panjab football team flag

The Panjab FA was founded in 2014 with the primary aim of establishing a team to represent the community of the Punjab across the world.[1] The Punjab region is an area that stretches across parts of eastern Pakistan and northern India, and the association has aligned itself within the boundaries of this area, as represented by the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the 19th century.[2] To this end, the association applied for membership of the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (ConIFA), an international body designed to allow nations, unrecognised states, minorities, stateless peoples and others ineligible to join FIFA to take part in competitive international football. The Panjab FA joined ConIFA on 7 April 2014.[3]

Following the establishment of the association and the confirmation of its membership of ConIFA, a series of trials was held in order to select the initial squad selection.[4] The first of these took place in December 2014,[5] with subsequent trials into 2015. On 22 December 2014, the first match organised by the Panjab FA saw a team of trialists take on the Sealand national "B" team, in which the Panjab XI won 4–1.[6][7]

In early 2015, the association continued the development of its structures, with the recruitment of coaches and scouts, and the first full training session of the initial national squad. In May 2015, it was announced that the team would participate in its first full international fixtures when it was invited to take part in the Niamh Challenge Cup in the Isle of Man, a four team tournament that would not only provide the first international opposition for the team, but also provide a route to qualify for the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup. The team was also due to participate in a second friendly tournament, the Benedikt Fontana Cup, held in Raetia, and which would provide a second opportunity to qualify for the WFC.[8] However, they subsequently pulled out of this tournament, to be replaced by the Chagos Islands,[9] the team will compete at the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup.

2016 ConIFA World Football Cup

Panjab was selected as one of the twelve participants in the 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup in January 2016.[10] At the subsequent draw, the team was placed in Group D alongside Sápmi and Somaliland. The team finished top of the group, before playing Western Armenia in the quarter-final, and Padania in the semi-final. Victory saw them face the hosts, Abkhazia in the final, where they led until the 88th minute before losing on penalties.[11]

2018 ConIFA World Football Cup

The team also competed at the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup, managed by Reuben Hazell.[12]

Matches

2014

22 December 2014 (2014-12-22) Friendly Panjab XI Panjab 4–1  Sealand "B" Hadley Stadium, Smethwick
14:00 GMT Aaron Singh Dhillon 33'
Tarlochan Singh 41'
Sukhraj Singh Nijjar 52'
Amarvir Singh Sandhu 72'		 Report 62' Dan Hughes

2015

30 May 2015 (2015-05-30) Niamh Challenge Cup Ellan Vannin  8–1  Panjab The Bowl, Douglas
15:00 BST Sean Quaye 11', 37'
Ciaran McNulty 15'
Conor Doyle 44'
Frank Jones 50', 55'
Furo Davies 67'
Liam Doyle 75'		 ? 28'
31 May 2015 (2015-05-31) Friendly Panjab  9–1  Alderney The Bowl, Douglas
? ,






?
20 December 2015 (2015-12-20) International Friendly Panjab  4–1  Chagos Islands Central Ground, Sutton Coldfield
15:00 BST

2016

20 February 2016 (2016-02-20) Friendly Leicester City FC International Academy 2–2  Panjab Belvoir Drive, Leicester
12:00 BST
20 March 2016 (2016-03-20) Friendly Manchester International Academy 1–9  Panjab Salford Sports Village, Salford
13:00 BST
24 April 2016 (2016-04-24) International Friendly Panjab  0–2  Jersey Aggborough Stadium, Kidderminster
15:00 BST Report Luke Watson 49'
Karl Hinds 80'
30 May 2016 ConIFA WFC Group D Sápmi  0–1  Panjab Daur Akhvlediani Stadium, Gagra
15:00 GET Report 8' Gurjit Singh
31 May 2016 ConIFA WFC Group D Somaliland  0–5  Panjab Daur Akhvlediani Stadium, Gagra
15:00 GET 30', 67', 80' Amar Purewal
38' Arjun Purewal
74' Gurjit Singh
2 June 2016 ConIFA WFC Quarter-Final Western Armenia  2–3  Panjab Dinamo Stadium, Sukhumi
20:00 GET
4 June 2016 ConIFA WFC Semi-Final Padania  0–1  Panjab Dinamo Stadium, Sukhumi
15:00 GET
5 June 2016 ConIFA WFC Final Abkhazia  1–1
(6–5 p)		  Panjab Dinamo Stadium, Sukhumi
20:00 GET Ruslan Shoniya 88' 57' Amar Purewal
Penalties
Anri Khagba soccer ball with check mark
Anri Khagush soccer ball with red X
Dmitriy Akhba soccer ball with red X
Tarash Khagba soccer ball with check mark
Ruslan Shoniya soccer ball with check mark
Alan Khugaev soccer ball with check mark
Shabat Logua soccer ball with check mark
Vladimir Argun soccer ball with check mark		 soccer ball with check mark Amar Purewal
soccer ball with check mark Radjpal Virk
soccer ball with check mark Terlochan Singh
soccer ball with red X Karum Shanker
soccer ball with red X Jhai Dhillon
soccer ball with check mark Aran Basi
soccer ball with check mark Amarvir Sandhu
soccer ball with red X Aaron Minhas

2017

4 March 2017 (2017-03-04) Friendly Leicester City FC International Academy 4–3  Panjab Belvoir Drive, Leicester
13:00 GMT
23 April 2017 (2017-04-23) International Friendly Jersey  0–2  Panjab Springfield Stadium, Saint Helier
12:45 BST
28 May 2017 (2017-05-28) International Friendly Panjab  1–2 England England "C" Aggborough Stadium, Kidderminster
15:00 BST

2018

8 April 2018 Friendly Hashtag United F.C. England 2–1  Panjab London, England
Rich Beck 4'
George Vallentyne 75'		 29' Stadium: White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre
Attendance: 20
29 April 2018 International Friendly Ellan Vannin  2–1  Panjab Sandbach, England
Stadium: Sandbach Community Football Centre
14 May 2018 Friendly Liverpool F.C. Under 23 4–1  Panjab Kirkby, Liverpool
Lewis 24'
Ángel 31'
Kane 75'
Adekanye 84'		 Report Bhandel 19' Stadium: Kirkby Academy Complex
19 May 2018 Friendly Panjab  1–1  Jersey Arbour Park, Slough
G. Singh 88' (p) Report Curtis 72'
27 May 2018 Friendly Panjab  8–0 Bangladesh Dhaka Akadash R.C. Arbour Park, Slough
31 May 2018 ConIFA WFC Group D Panjab  8–0  Kabylia Arbour Park, Slough
15:00 BST Sandhu 24', 53'
Purewal 45', 62'
G. Singh 51' (pen.), 90+3'
K. Singh 75', 82'		 Report
2 June 2018 ConIFA WFC Group D Panjab  0–1  Western Armenia Arbour Park, Slough
17:00 BST Report Militosyan 14' Referee: Kristian Michel
3 June 2018 ConIFA WFC Group D Panjab  1–1  United Koreans in Japan Arbour Park, Slough
18:00 BST Purewal 77' (pen.) Report Mun 90+4' Referee: David Murphy
5 June 2018 ConIFA WFC Quarter-Final Padania  2–0  Panjab Larges Lane, Bracknell
15:00 BST Innocenti 59' (pen.)
Pavan 90'		 Report Referee: Vitalii Mazin
7 June 2018 ConIFA WFC Placement Round 2 Barawa  0–5  Panjab Gander Green Lane, Sutton
15:00 BST Report K. Singh 8', 65', 72', 90+2'
Minhas 46'		 Referee: David Murphy
9 June 2018 ConIFA WFC Placement Round 3 Panjab  3–3
(4–3 p)		  Cascadia St Paul's Sports Ground, Rotherhithe
15:00 BST Virk 18'
Minhas 24', 34'		 Report Morales 45'
Ferguson 54', 60'		 Referee: Mariano Sasso
Penalties
Purewal soccer ball with red X
Zia soccer ball with red X
Virk soccer ball with check mark
Dhillon soccer ball with check mark
K. Singh soccer ball with check mark
Jung soccer ball with check mark		 soccer ball with red X Riley
soccer ball with red X Gregory
soccer ball with check mark J. Wilson
soccer ball with check mark Oldham
soccer ball with check mark Haddadi
soccer ball with red X Levock
18 November 2018 International Friendly Yorkshire  5–4  Panjab Ingfield Stadium, Ossett
16:00 GMT

2019

6 March 2019 Friendly Burton Albion F.C. Reserves 2–2  Panjab Lilleshall National Sports Centre, Lilyhurst
19:45 GMT
15 June 2019 Friendly Barry Town United F.C. 1–1  Panjab Jenner Park Stadium, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan
19:45 GMT
29 December 2019 Friendly Chagos Islands  0–6  Panjab Camping World Community Stadium, Horsham
12:00

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup. Caps and goals correct as of 21 May after the game against  Jersey.

Head Coach: England Manraj Singh Sucha

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
12 1GK Raajan Singh Gill (1993-08-15) 15 August 1993 (age 30) 12 0 England Newcastle Town
1 1GK Yousuf Butt (1989-10-18) 18 October 1989 (age 34) 3 0 Denmark Ishøj IF
6 2DF Jaskaran Singh Basi (1993-03-21) 21 March 1993 (age 30) 14 0 England Eccleshill United
3 2DF Jhai Singh Dhillon (1995-04-02) 2 April 1995 (age 28) 11 0 England Chesham United
5 2DF Arun Singh Purewal (1989-10-28) 28 October 1989 (age 34) 11 0 England Consett
15 2DF Glen Hayer (1998-02-02) 2 February 1998 (age 26) 6 0 England Clevedon Town
18 2DF Sufyan Zia (1997-05-10) 10 May 1997 (age 26) 4 0 England Bilston Town
11 3MF Amarvir Singh Sandhu (1995-12-10) 10 December 1995 (age 28) 18 3 England Leicester Road
2 3MF Umar Riaz (1991-04-25) 25 April 1991 (age 32) 15 2 England Burnham
8 3MF Aaron Minhas (1994-01-08) 8 January 1994 (age 30) 12 1 England Beaconsfield Town
16 3MF Terlochan Singh (1989-10-20) 20 October 1989 (age 34) 11 1 England Glebe
10 3MF Rajpal Singh Virk (1994-04-08) 8 April 1994 (age 29) 10 4 Unattached
4 3MF Camen Singh Bhandal (1994-04-15) 15 April 1994 (age 29) 6 1 England Punjab United
20 3MF Arjun Jung (1994-04-12) 12 April 1994 (age 29) 4 0 England Kings Langley
17 3MF Taimoor Hussain (1992-06-21) 21 June 1992 (age 31) 3 0 Unattached
9 4FW Amar Singh Purewal (1989-10-28) 28 October 1989 (age 34) 11 10 England West Auckland Town
14 4FW Gurjit Singh (1991-02-09) 9 February 1991 (age 33) 11 7 England Rushall Olympic
7 4FW Nathan Minhas (1997-09-16) 16 September 1997 (age 26) 5 0 England Maidenhead United
19 4FW Nikinder Uppal (1995-04-18) 18 April 1995 (age 28) 3 2 England Barnt Green Spartak
13 4FW Kamaljit Singh (1994-09-03) 3 September 1994 (age 29) 7 6 Germany Eintracht Nordhorn

Managers

Manager Period Played Won Drawn Lost Win %
England Reuben Hazel 2014–2018 26 12 5 9 046.2
England Manraj Singh Sucha 2018–present 4 1 2 1 025.0
Totals 30 13 7 10 43.33

References

  1. ^ "Mission Statement". Panjab FA. Panjab Football Association. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Background". Panjab FA. Panjab Football Association. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Panjab FA accepted as member of Conifa". Panjab FA. Panjab Football Association. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  4. ^ "National Team Trials". Panjab FA. Panjab Football Association. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  5. ^ "1st ever trial day for Panjab national football team". Twitter. Panjab Football Association. 14 December 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  6. ^ "PANJAB FA TRIALIST XI 4–1 SEALAND FA "B"". Panjab FA. Panjab Football Association. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  7. ^ PANJAB FA (22 December 2014). "Panjab national football team 4 - 1 Sealand national football team". Retrieved 19 November 2018 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "CONIFA Summer 2015". ConIFA. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Chagos ersetzt Panjab". FA Raetia (in German). 22 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  10. ^ "#Abkhazia2016 participants". ConIFA. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  11. ^ "#Abkhazia2016 Match Summaries – Day 8". ConIFA. 5 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Conifa: Panjab FA target World Football Cup glory on 'home soil'". 28 May 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.

External links