United Sikkim F.C.
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| Full name | United Sikkim Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Snow Lions |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Chairman | Baichung Bhutia |
| League | I-League 2nd Division |
| 2014 | Final Round : 4th |
United Sikkim Football Club is an Indian football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. The club, which was founded in 2011, is the only club from Sikkim to play in the I-League and the second club from North East India. The club which was co-owned by Dubai based Fidelis World, former India football captain Baichung Bhutia, and Indian music singer Shankar Mahadevan, was founded in order to give the people of the Indian state of Sikkim a team.
The club was founded in 2011 by the Sikkim Football Association and Baichung Bhutia and would compete in the Sikkim Gold Cup and other All-India tournaments for the early years of their existence. Then on 22 March 2011 the club was launched as a professional club which would be co-owned by Dubai-based Fidelis World, former India football captain Baichung Bhutia, and Indian singer Shankar Mahadevan. The club then 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.
The club started their quest for the I-League on 27 February 2011 when the signed Liberian international Johnny Menyongar from NSC Minnesota Stars of the North American Soccer League in the United States. The club then played their first match of the 2011 I-League 2nd Division against Langsning F.C. on 31 March 2012 in which the club drew 2–2. United Sikkim then won their first match of the season five days later 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 in first place in Group A of the first round of the I-League 2nd Division and thus 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 the Final Round with three consecutive draws against Sporting Clube de Goa, Royal Wahingdoh, and Shillong Lajong before winning two matches in a row against Mohammedan and Southern Samity before a draw to Ar-Hima and a loss to Vasco officially knocked United Sikkim out of contention for promotion to the 2nd Division and forced them to settle for fifth place for the season.
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