Samaleswari Sporting Club, also known as Samaleswari Sporting, is an Indian professional football club based in Sambalpur, Odisha.[1] In January 2012 it was announced that they were to participate in the 2012 I-League 2nd Division, the then second tier (currently 3rd tier) of football in India.[2]

Samaleswari Sporting
Full nameSamaleswari Sporting Club
Founded2008; 16 years ago (2008) (as Sambalpur Football Academy)
GroundKalinga Stadium
Sambalpur FA Ground
Capacity55,000
Current season

History

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Sambalpur Football Academy

The club was founded on November 22, 2008, as the Sambalpur Football Academy in order to invest in grassroots in the State and nurture talent in the academy. The academy is located 15 km from the town of Sambalpur and is established on a large 18-acre property very close to the Hirakud Dam.[3]

Playing at district tiers, Samaleswari Sporting have played in state and regional level tournaments such as Churachand Singh Trophy,[4] All-India Knock-out Football Tournament,[5][6] Sambalpur Cup,[7] Biju Patnaik Memorial Trophy[8] etc

In January 2012 they were officially certified by the All India Football Federation to participate in the I-League 2nd Division. This move would begin a new chapter for Samaleswari Sporting Club as they would officially become professional.[2] After the group stage Samaleswari finished fifth in group A and thus did not qualify for the next round. In the 2013 I-League 2nd Division, Samaleswari won once, drew once, and lost six times in eight matches, which saw them place second last in Group A.

Samaleswari Sporting last participated at the state level in the Utkalika Cup in 2018.[9] Since then they mostly participate in local tournaments and also operate as the football academy.

Honours

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Regional

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  • All-India Knock-out Football Tournament
  • Sambalpur Cup
    • Runners-up: 2011
  • Biju Patnaik Memorial Trophy
    • Runners-up: 2011

References

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  1. ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava (5 March 2013). "Mumbai's Kenkre FC name squad for 2nd Division I-League". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b "5 city teams in the 2nd Division". Calcutta Telegraph. 2 January 2012. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Silent soccer revolution taking place in Sambalpur". The Hindu. 30 September 2012.
  4. ^ "Brothers win 5-0 - Poor show by Sambalpur Football Academy medios". The Telegraph. 14 December 2008.
  5. ^ "Samaleswari outs Ludhiana SC". Orisports. 27 February 2009.
  6. ^ "Oram hero in Samleswari victory". Orisports. 1 March 2009.
  7. ^ "Jammu & Kashmir Bank FC lift Sambalpur Cup". Orisports. 18 December 2011.
  8. ^ "BFC beat Samaleswari to lift Biju memorial football trophy". Orisports. 21 February 2011.
  9. ^ "FAO XI emerge Tata Utkalika Cup champions". Orisports. 8 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Samaleswari Sporting emerge champions". Orisports. 4 March 2011.