NEROCA FC

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NEROCA FC
File:Official NEROCA FC Logo.png
Full nameNorth Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association Football Club[1]
Nickname(s)Orange Brigade[2]
Founded1965; 60 years ago (1965)
GroundKhuman Lampak Main Stadium
Capacity35,285
OwnerNEROCA Football Club Pvt. Ltd. under North Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association (NEROCA)
ChairmanArunkumar Thangjam
Head coachKhogen Singh[3]
LeagueTemplate:Indian football updater
Template:Indian football updaterTemplate:Indian football updater
WebsiteClub website
Current season

NEROCA Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Imphal, Manipur, that competes in the I-League, first tier of Indian football.[4][5] The club made its I-League 2nd Division debut in the 2015–16 season.[6] The club won the 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division and secured promotion to the I-League.[7] NEROCA is the only club from Northeast India to reach the final of the coveted Durand Cup.

History[edit]

Formation and early years[edit]

North Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association (NEROCA) was established in 1965 with the hope of improving quality in the field of cultural activities and sports in the Indian state of Manipur. It was registered under the Manipur State co-operative Society Registration Act bearing registration No. 1016 of 1972. NEROCA is a registered football club of Imphal East District Football Association and affiliated to All Manipur Football Association (AMFA). NEROCA has participated in the Manipur State League (MSL) since its inception and finished second-placed in the MSL 2007.[8]

2014–present[edit]

In the 9th Manipur State League 2014, NEROCA won the championship trophy.[9] With the aim of participating in the I-League 2nd Division, 2015–16 and as per the norms of All India Football Federation (AIFF), the nomenclature of NEROCA was changed to NEROCA Football Club and managed by a Private Limited Company, NEROCA Football Club Pvt. Ltd.

NEROCA competed in the 2015–16 and 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division.[10] They emerged as champions of the 2016–17 season with 26 points in 10 matches from the Final Round. They qualified for the 2017–18 season of the I-League.[11]

The biggest achievement of NEROCA is emerging as the runners-up in the 2017–18 I-League. Under the coaching of Gift Raikhan,[12] they finished campaign with 32 points from 18 matches.[13] In that season, NEROCA brought Vector X as their official shirt sponsor.[14]

In the 2020–21 I-League, NEROCA finished bottom of the Relegation Stage and got formally relegated, but were reinstated by AIFF after the viewing the situation of Covid-19 pandemic.[15]

On 4 July 2021, NEROCA signed Khogen Singh as their head coach for the 2021–22 I-League season.[3]

Crest and colours[edit]

The official colour of NEROCA is orange and green.[16] In team crest, there is map of Manipur in background and an anchor of sailing boat in foreground.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors[edit]

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2015—16 Glory Sports Classic Group of Hotels[17]
2016—17 Bee Athletic
2017—18 Vector X[14]
2018—19 Sqad Gear
2019–2020 Vicky Transform Living 3D
2020–2021 Ambition Sportswear[18] GMT[19]
2021–present Nivia Sports Ud chalo flights

Stadium[edit]

Main article: Khuman Lampak Main Stadium
File:Khuman Lampak Main Stadium.jpg
Khuman Lampak Stadium on a matchday

Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in Imphal, Manipur, is used as the home ground of NEROCA Football Club for all their home matches in both the domestic and regional leagues.[20][21] Opened in 1999, the stadium is owned by All Manipur Football Association and has a capacity of 35,285 spectators. Their first home match in the I-League was played on 15 December 2017 against Chennai City FC.[22]

Support and rivalry[edit]

Supporters[edit]

NEROCA had the 2nd highest average attendance for the 2018–19 I League season. In the 2017–18 season, NEROCA had the highest attendance in the I-League.

Rivalries[edit]

See also: Imphal derby and Northeast Derby (I-League)

NEROCA have participated in the Imphal derby with city rivals TRAU. The two clubs are the only two from Imphal to have played professional league football.

In the Northeast Derby (I-League), they have a rivalry with Mizoram-based club Aizawl FC.[23]

Players[edit]

As of 9 August 2021

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
26 GK India IND Prateek Kumar Singh
3 DF India IND Jonathan Cardozo
16 DF India IND Madan Saiprasad Ghogale
20 DF India IND Mohammad Abdul Salam
6 DF India IND Romtan Singh
15 MF India IND Vicky Meitei
9 FW Spain ESP Sergio Mendigutxia
10 MF Spain ESP Juan Mera
12 MF India IND Benjamin Lupheng
17 FW Lebanon LBN Mohamad Kdouh
No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK India IND Shubham Dhas
7 MF India IND Khaimithang Lhungdim
22 MF India IND TH Hrishikesh Namboothiri
23 DF India IND Kongbrailatpam Manjit Sharma
13 MF India IND Y. Sonam Chothe
33 DF India IND Seikhohao Haokip
18 FW India IND Sweden Fernandes (on loan from Hyderabad)
29 MF India IND Pukhrambam Manisana
14 MF India IND Jiteshwor Yumkhaibam
19 MF India IND Ayush Kumar Singh
— DF India IND Inban Udhyanidhi

On loan[edit]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW India IND Sweden Fernandes (on loan from Hyderabad)

Current technical staff[edit]

Position Name
Head coach India Khogen Singh[3]
Assistant coach India Sapam Premkanta Singh
Secretary India Leimapokpam
Goalkeeping coach India Sapam Premkanta Singh
Team manager India Laishram Rajiv Singh
Physio India Kshterimayum Karan Singh
Kit manager India Lairellakpam Shobha Singh

Team records[edit]

Season Div. Tms. Pos. Average attendance Federation Cup/Super Cup Durand Cup AFC CL AFC Cup
2015–16 I-League 2nd 10 3 – DNP DNP DNP DNP
2016–17 I-League 2nd 12 1 8,438 DNP Runners-up DNP DNP
2017–18 I-League 10 2 21,382 Quarter-finals DNP DNP DNP
2018–19 I-League 11 6 19,139 – DNP DNP DNP
2019–20 I-League 11 9 13,202 – DNP DNP DNP
2020–21 I-League 11 11 – DNP DNP DNP
Key
  • Tms. = Number of teams
  • Pos. = Position in league
  • Attendance/G = Average league attendance

Overall records[edit]

updated on 28 May 2017

Season Domestic Asia
Division P W D L GF GA P W D L GF GA
2015–16 2 18 8 5 5 20 16 Not qualified
2016–17 2 16 12 3 1 28 7 Not qualified
2017–18 1 18 9 5 4 20 13 Not qualified
2018–19 1 20 7 6 7 27 26 -
2019–20 1 20 -

Top scorer[edit]

updated on 16 August 2021

Season Player Goals
2015–16 Nigeria Ejiogu Emmanuel 3
2016–17 Nigeria Felix Chidi Odili 9
2017–18 Nigeria Felix Chidi Odili 7
2018–19 Nigeria Felix Chidi Odili 8
2019–20 Ghana Philip Adjah 9
2020–21 Trinidad and Tobago Judah García 4

Past and present internationals[edit]

See also: Category:NEROCA FC players.
  • The players below had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed, represented their countries before or after playing for NEROCA FC.[24]

India[edit]

Asia[edit]

Managerial records[edit]

updated on 21 June 2020

Name Nationality From To P W D L GF GA Win%
Gift Raikhan  India 2015[37] 2018 52 29 13 10 68 36 055.77

Manuel Retamero Fraile

 Spain 2018[38] 2019 20 7 6 7 11 7 035.00

Gift Raikhan

 India 2019[39] 2021 16 5 3 8 27 35 031.25

Khogen Singh

 India 2021[3] present 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—

Honours[edit]

League[edit]

Cup[edit]

  • Durand Cup
  • Tiddim Invitation Football Trophy
    • Champions (1): 2004[46]
    • Runners-up (2): 2005, 2007
  • Churachand Singh Invitation Trophy
    • Champions (1): 2000[47]
    • Runners-up (2): 2002, 2008[48]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ North Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association Football Club Archived 1 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine Soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 March 2021
  2. ↑ "Churchill Brothers vs Neroca - I-League 2019-20". www.besoccer.com. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "I-League – Former I-League winning coach Khogen Singh signs for NEROCA FC". IFTWC. 4 July 2021. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  4. ↑ I-League: Clinical NEROCA FC keep top 6 hopes alive with win over Sudeva Delhi aninews.in. Retrieved 1 March 2021
  5. ↑ NEROCA Football Club : I-League Archived 8 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 March 2021
  6. ↑ "I-League Core Committee Meets at AIFF Headquarters". I-League.org. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Club Nomination For 2nd Div I-League 2017-18 Starts Khel Now. Retrieved 28 July 2021
  8. ↑ "10th Manipur State League 2015 NEROCA FC, NISA win; SSU hold YPHU". The Sangai Express. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  9. ↑ List of Indian Manipur State League Champions rsssf.com. Retrieved 29 July 2021
  10. ↑ "I-League 2nd Division Fixtures". The Indian League. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "DEBUTANT NEROCA FC BOLSTER SQUAD FOR MAIDEN I-LEAGUE APPEARANCE". theindianleague.in. 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "Minerva Punjab presented with winners' trophy; NEROCA's Gift Raikhan named season's best coach". FirstPost. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "Minerva Punjab FC become King of the North with I-League crown". New Indian Express. 9 March 2018. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 FC, NEROCA (8 August 2017). "VECTOR X THE OFFICIAL KITS AND UNIFORM SPONSOR FOR NEROCA FC !!! Various official MERCHANDISE TO BE AVAILABLE FOR ALL OUR FANS SOON!!". @Nerocafc. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "AIFF likely to keep relegation on hold in I-League". The Times of India. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "For Manipur football, 8 World cuppers and I-League's Neroca can't hide the systematic rot setting in". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  17. ↑ "NEROCA FC official". Facebook.com. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  18. ↑ "NEROCA FC announce Ambition Sportswear as the kit sponsor for 2020-21 season". NEROCA FC on Twitter. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  19. ↑ "The launching pad is on!". Facebook.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  20. ↑ Khuman Lampak Main Stadium Khel Now. Retrieved 28 July 2021
  21. ↑ "Arrows vs Neroca FC". Espn. 20 January 2021. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  22. ↑ "Khuman Lampak to get floodlights". The Telegraph. India. 26 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  23. ↑ "NEROCA FC vs. Aizawl FC - Football Match Summary". Espn. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  24. ↑ NEROCA FC team profile, fixtures, statistics and players worldfootball.net. Retrieved 31 July 2021
  25. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Chencho Gyeltshen". www.national-football-teams.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  26. ↑ I-League 2017-18: NEROCA release Akhlidin Israilov, set to sign Australian Nick Ward Goal.com. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  27. ↑ "NEROCA FC announce the signing of Lebanon striker Mohamad Kdouh!". arunfoot.com. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  28. ↑ NEROCA FC sign Gourmangi Singh and Fabien Vorbe Archived 12 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine Goal.com. Retrieved 11 May 2021
  29. ↑ "NEROCA FC sign Trinidad & Tobago international Judah Garcia". Khel Now. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  30. ↑ "Gokulam Kerala FC signs Trinidad & Tobago player Nathaniel Garcia". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  31. ↑ "Sharp shooter: One on one with Defence Force striker Richard Roy". wired868.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  32. ↑ Sounak Mullick (1 April 2020). "Indian football transfers: NEROCA FC add six foreigners to their roster". www.sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  33. ↑ Bhubaneswar/PanchkulaFebruary 1, India Today Web Desk; February 1, 2019UPDATED; Ist, 2019 20:53. "I-League: Neroca FC win thriller against Indian Arrows". India Today. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  34. ↑ "NEROCA sign former East Bengal centre-back Eduardo Ferreira!". arunfoot.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  35. ↑ "We also signed Malian International midfielder Boubacar Diarra". NEROCA. 4 September 2019. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  36. ↑ "NEROCA FC complete signing of six foreigners for forthcoming I-League season". Goal. 4 September 2019. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  37. ↑ "Gift Raikhan as Head Coach". Aizawl FC (official Facebook page). 6 June 2018. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  38. ↑ "I-League: Manuel Retamero returns to India as head coach of NEROCA FC". Goal.com. 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  39. ↑ "I-League: Aizawl FC snap up Gift Raikhan from NEROCA FC". goal.com. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  40. ↑ 2017–18 I-League table and statistics Archived 18 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine i-league.org. Retrieved 1 March 2021
  41. ↑ "Delightful Neroca Desperate To Break Second Division Jinx". i-league.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  42. ↑ 9th Manipur State League 2014 : Prize Distribution at Mapal Kangjeibung, Imphal on 23 October 2014 Archived 3 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine e-pao.net. Retrieved 16 October 2015,
  43. ↑ "NEROCA FC crowned champions of 11th MSL". The Sangai Express. 26 November 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  44. ↑ "Army Green beat Neroca FC to win Durand Cup". Times of India. 11 September 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  45. ↑ "Durand Cup Football: Army Green Crowned Champions After Shoot-Out". NDTV. 11 September 2016. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  46. ↑ List of Winners/Runners-Up of the Tiddim Invitation Football Trophy: Manipur indianfootball.de. Retrieved 23 July 2021
  47. ↑ List of Winners/Runners-Up of the Churachand Singh Invitation Football Trophy indianfootball.de. Retrieved 23 July 2021
  48. ↑ 52nd Churachand Singh Invitation Football Trophy 2008: 16.November to 24.December 2008 in Imphal, Manipur Indianfootball.de. Retrieved 12 September 2021

External links[edit]

Template:NEROCA F.C.

Template:I-League Champions

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