Panjab football team

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

Panjab

Association	Panjab Football Association
Confederation	ConIFA
Head coach	Manraj Singh Sucha
Most caps	Amarvir Singh Sandhu (18)
Top scorer	Amar Singh Purewal (10)
Home stadium	Hadley 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)
Biggest defeat
Ellan Vannin 8–1 Panjab  (Douglas, Isle of Man; 30 May, 2015)
ConIFA World Football Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 2016)
Best result	Runners-Up 2016
Website	Panjab Football Association

Background

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 Friendly	Panjab XI	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 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 Friendly	Panjab	9–1	Alderney	The Bowl, Douglas
	? ,		?

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

2016

20 February 2016 Friendly	Leicester City FC International Academy	2–2	Panjab	Belvoir Drive, Leicester
12:00 BST

20 March 2016 Friendly	Manchester International Academy	1–9	Panjab	Salford Sports Village, Salford
13:00 BST

24 April 2016 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 Anri Khagush Dmitriy Akhba Tarash Khagba Ruslan Shoniya Alan Khugaev Shabat Logua Vladimir Argun		Amar Purewal Radjpal Virk Terlochan Singh Karum Shanker Jhai Dhillon Aran Basi Amarvir Sandhu Aaron Minhas

2017

4 March 2017 Friendly	Leicester City FC International Academy	4–3	Panjab	Belvoir Drive, Leicester
13:00 GMT

23 April 2017 International Friendly	Jersey	0–2	Panjab	Springfield Stadium, Saint Helier
12:45 BST

28 May 2017 International Friendly	Panjab	1–2	England "C"	Aggborough Stadium, Kidderminster
15:00 BST

2018

8 April 2018 Friendly	Hashtag United F.C.	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

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 Zia Virk Dhillon K. Singh Jung		Riley Gregory J. Wilson Oldham Haddadi 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: Manraj Singh Sucha

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

Managers

Manager	Period	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Reuben Hazel	2014–2018	26	12	5	9	046.2
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

• Panjab FA