Royal Wahingdoh F.C.

Royal Wahingdoh Football Club is a men's professional football club based in Shillong, Meghalaya that participates in the Indian I-League. Royal Wahingdoh F.C. holds the record for the highest number of consecutive Shillong Premier League titles, having won the finals in December 2010, 2011 and in 2012. They played in I-League 2nd Division for the 2013–14 season. They won the league by defeating Bhowanipore F.C. in the last match of the league and qualified to play for the 2014–15 season of the I-League.

Royal Wahinghdoh F.C.

Full name	Royal Wahingdoh Football Club
Nickname(s)	Royals
Founded	1946 (1946)
Ground	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,[1] Shillong
Capacity	24,000[2]
Owner	Royal Wahingdoh Sports Club Pvt. Ltd.
Chairman	Domnic Tariang
Manager	Santosh Kashyap
League	Shillong Premier League
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

History

1946–2010

Founded in 1946 as the Wahingdoh Sports Club, the club won numerous titles. However, with changing times and professionalisation, the amateur club began to face some amount of difficulty competing with younger clubs and it was then, that the decline began.

In 2007, Wahingdoh Sports Club was almost relegated to the 2nd Division League and as a result of inconsistent performance, the Wahingdoh community felt the need for a younger and more innovative approach.

In 2008, the club turned professional when it merged with Royal Football Club before being renamed Royal Wahingdoh FC under the able leadership of the club's owner Dominic Sutnga Tariang. With the club witnessing several dramatic changes, a new chapter was in the making and in the very same year, the club bounced back to claim Third spot in the 2nd Div Regional League, a sign that brought hope for a brighter future.

In the First Division 2009 season they established a record by winning all their games besides scoring 52 goals en route to lifting the title and along with it, an entry into the top tier of Meghalaya football, "The Shillong Premiere League."

Royal Wahingdoh FC is Shillong's Champion Club. In the 2010 season, they lifted the Shillong Premier League – in their debut season.[3]

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt Sponsor
2006–	Uhlsport	Imperial Blue

2011 season

In 2011, it was announced that Royal Wahingdoh FC would join the newly re-done I-League 2nd Division. The club appointed UEFA Pro Licence holder Volker Hofferbert as its head coach while Carlton Chapman and newly appointed coach from Manipur, Nandakumar Singh have been assigned the roles of assistant coaches.[4][5] They won their opening match 3–1. They won their second match against Chandini FC 3–0. They won the third match 2–1 and fourth match 3–1 against Vasco SC.[6] They won their fifth match in row against Eagles FC 3–2.Currently they have the longest winning streak in 2011 I-League 2nd Division. They won all their matches in Group C and qualified to 2011 I-League 2nd Division Final Round. Royal started their final round in by losing two and drawing one out of the 3 games played. After six rounds in final round, they won one match and lost 3 of them and are in 5th position with 5 points.

Royal Wahingdoh have also entered into the Federation Cup 2011 season, topping the group during the qualifying round with wins in all their matches and faced Mohan Bagan in their first match. RWFC beat Mohun Bagan 2–1 courtesy a brace from Chenco. This was followed by a 2–1 win over Churchill Bros FC. However, the Royals lost to local rivals Shillong Lajong FC in the final group match and though both Shillong teams ended up with 6 points, it was Lajong that progressed on the head-to-head rule.

2012 season

Royal Wahingdoh F.C. qualified for the final round of the 2012 I-league 2nd Division. During the preliminary phase, they won 5 matches and drew 2 of their games. In the final round, the team fielded four foreigners against ONGC F.C. which the club claimed was an 'honest' blunder. According to AIFF rules, no side can field more than three foreigners at a time. They won the match 4–1, but the game was eventually awarded 3–0 to ONGC F.C. .[7]

The 'Royals,' as they are fondly referred to by fans, secured their third successive Shillong Premier League title, which is a new record. The final was won 3–1 against Rangdajied United F.C. who fielded their first side including Babatunde, Jeribe, Enyinnaya and Argha. In the match, the scores were locked at 1–1 after regulation time with Beekay being RWFC's lone goal scorer. Babatunde headed in an equaliser in the second half to put his side in contention. However, it was the extra time goals by Chencho and Milancy that did it for the 'Royals' and in the process, hand them their third successive finals win.[8]

2014 season

Royal Wahingdoh won 2014 I-League 2nd Division and will be promoted to 2014–15 I-League. The club has also appointed Santosh Kashyap as their Manager for the upcoming I-League season[9]

2014–15 Season

Royal finished a 3rd in I-league. Giving India football team players like Jackichand Singh, Reagan Singh, Satiyasen Singh.

2015–16 Season

Though the club was granted national license to compete in 2015–16 I-League, they decided to pull out, citing lack of clear roadmap for the league as the reason. The club had earlier failed to comply with AFC licensing criteria as their home stadium did not adhere to the credentials.[10][11][12] The club continues to participate in other tournaments; State League and the AIFF organised youth league tournaments (U-15 & U-18 leagues).[13]

Players

Current squad

As of 31 March 2009[14]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  IND Nikhil Bernard 2 MF  IND Marlanki Suting 4 DF  IND Bowari Khongstia 5 DF  IND Ningthoujam Samananda 6 DF  IND C Lallawmzuala 7 MF  IND Malsawmtluanga 9 MF  IND Nabachandra Singh 10 FW  IND Jackichand Singh 11 FW  IND Satiyasen Singh 12 DF  IND Reagan Singh 13 MF  IND Loken Meitei 14 MF  IND Milancy Khongstia 15 MF  IND Sushil Meitei

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF  IND Konjengbam Singh 18 FW  LBR Bekay Bewar 19 DF  IND Lalchhawnkima 17 FW  IND Nagen Tamang 20 DF  NGA Loveday Enyinnaya 21 MF  TRI Densill Theobald 22 GK  IND Prem Kumar Singh 24 DF  IND Lalhmangaihsanga 25 FW  IND Nadong Bhutia 27 DF  IND Govin Singh 29 DF  IND Ngouba Singh 30 GK  IND Bishorjit Singh 32 DF  IND Naoba Singh

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Stadions – I-League – India – Resultaten, programma's, standen en nieuws – Soccerway". Nl.soccerway.com. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "Royal Wahingdoh FC appoint German coach Volker Hofferbert as head coach". Goal.com. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
5. "German coach for Wahingdoh". Telegraphindia.com. 23 June 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. "Shillong Premier League | Shillong Sports Association". Shillongsa.com. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
9. "ROYAL WAHINGDOH ARE SECOND DIVISION CHAMPIONS". I-League. 11 April 2014. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
10. "Royal mess: Wahingdoh too pulls out of I-League". indianexpress.com. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
11. "Shillong-based Royal Wahingdoh becomes third club to drop out of I-League". firstpost.com. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
12. "Royal Wahingdoh is the latest team to pull out of I-League". dnaindia.com. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
13. "Indian Football – Kushal Das: 'Facts misinterpreted by PIL litigants on closure of I-League clubs'". goal.com. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
14. "India – Royal Wahingdoh FC – Results, fixtures, squad, statistics, photos, videos and news – Soccerway". Int.soccerway.com. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2016.