Aga Khan Gold Cup

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Aga Khan Gold Cup
Organising body
  • Mohammedan Sporting Club

    (3 titles)

The Aga Khan Gold Cup was a tournament played in Dhaka, Bangladesh which invited the top club sides from leading football playing nations of Asia to compete. Many renowned football pundits regard this competition as a predecessor of AFC Champions League (held for the first time in 1967), since it was the first organized international competition that involved club teams around Asia.[1][2][3] From the late 1950s to the early 1980s, it was a prestigious tournament among Asian clubs.

History

When Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini of

Aga Khan IV, visited Dhaka
in 1958, he expressed his interest in starting a major international football club tournament in the region.

With his highness providing the funding required for the Gold Cup, the football authorities of East Pakistan, in collaboration with Asian Football Confederation, decided to go ahead with the idea.

Dhaka, the football capital of the country, was the choice as the venue. The hope was to gradually develop this event into the main international club competition of Asia, with the winning team as (unofficial) Asian Champions.[1]

However, this tournament expectation was not reached, as various associations insisted on sending national selections (the team that was formed by top clubs players in the National League) rather than clubs, and the tournament was discontinued after the 1981–82 edition.

1958–1970

Karachi Kickers 1958 Aga Khan Gold Cup Winners

Teams from both East Pakistan and

Penang FA
won it.

In 1958, the

Dhaka League
title.

In 1960, it was another

Calcutta, who lifted the trophy. The final between the Calcutta giants and PSM Makassar from Indonesia is still regarded as one of the best matches ever played at Dhaka. The Indonesians went into the final as the favorites, but the Makran
players of Calcutta Mohammedan triumphed in the final, winning 3–1.

The following year, Indonesia triumphed with a 5–0 win in the final against

Asian Youth football. The team at Dhaka was a mixture of these teams, but it was officially regarded as the Indonesia XI
.

After two years of foreign domination, local pride was restored by Dhaka League inaugural champion,

Karachi Port Trust F.C.
shared the honor in 1964.

As Pakistan got involved in a war with India in 1965, no tournament was held that year. When the event restarted a year later, the

East Pakistani forward Golam Sarwar Tipu scored a brace as they defeated Ceylon
5–1.

After a break in 1969 due to political unrest, the 1970 final saw the Bargh Shiraz F.C. of Iran defeat the Persebaya Surabaya of Indonesia 2–1 in the final. This was the last Aga Khan Gold Cup in Pakistan, as the East was separated from West in 1971, with the eastern half emerging as the new independent nation of Bangladesh, with Dhaka as its capital.

After independence (1975–1982)

The nine-month long liberation war of Bangladesh devastated the region. There was widespread genocide and most of the Bengali football players had to flee to Calcutta (

Shadhin Bangla Football Team, under the leadership of Dhaka Mohammedan captain Zakaria Pintoo. Also included in the side was the budding striker Kazi Salahuddin, who became the greatest footballer from Bangladesh. On 28 April, 2008, he was elected as the president of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). Back in 1971, the Shadhin Bangla team had played a number of exhibition games against different teams of West Bengal
to increase the support for the independence of Bangladesh. After the war, the authorities gradually tried to rebuild the infrastructure of football.

The

Sepidrood Rasht lifted the 1977/78 season trophy, defeating an AIFF XI
3–0 in the final.

In October 1978, Dhaka hosted the

Asian Youth Football Championship
, meaning there would be no space on the football calendar for the tournament that year.

The next event took place in 1979, the biggest event (in terms of teams or matches) after independence. However, it was felt that two group stages were unnecessary, and there was a huge discrepancy among the strengths of the different sides. The Chinese team,

Liaoning Whowin FC
.

In 1981, the ten-team event proved much more successful. Good crowds gathered to watch the matches, despite the simultaneous

World Cup Hockey
tournament in Mumbai. However, some internal disputes among the football authorities of the country meant that this was the last edition of the cup.

For the second time since independence, two local teams made it to the semifinals. Three-time times winner

Dhaka Mohammedan, was joined by Brothers Union. Brothers won in an upset in the first semifinal, defeating the Oman XI Selection. In the other semifinal, Bangkok Bank FC won 3–1. The Bangkok side was the clear favorite for the finals, but having got so close, the Brothers Union side was determined to show their best and achieved a 1–1 draw. There was no provision for a penalty shoot-out and the two teams were declared join champions.[8]

In March 1981, Dhaka hosted the President's Gold Cup. The organizers of the new event declared their intention to make it a competition among the national teams of the region. However, very soon it was clear that the invited countries were sending their youth teams or club teams for the event. Two international club competitions in the same city was unnecessary, and BFF decided to continue with the President's Gold Cup, meaning the Aga Khan Gold Cup would be shut down. The President's Gold Cup itself became a start and stop affair before its axing in 1993.

A possible revival

Over the last two decades there has been a big change in the sporting culture of Bangladesh: Cricket had replaced football as the number one sport. In this situation, Kazi Salahuddin took over the Bangladesh Football Federation presidency in 2008. Salahuddin immediately took some steps to restore the image of football within the country. During the summer of 2009, there was some talk in the local media about the restarting the Aga Khan Gold Cup. There was interest among all the parties involved, and there was keen interest shown by TV channels as well. However, after the initial euphoria, the idea subsided.[9]

Champions

Below are the list of champions in Aga Khan Gold Cup tournament since 1958.[1]

Season Champion Country
1958 Karachi Kickers Pakistan West Pakistan
1959
Mohammedan Sporting Club
 Pakistan East Pakistan
1960 Mohammedan Sporting Club Kolkata India India
1961 Indonesia XI Indonesia Indonesia
1962
Victoria SC
 Pakistan East Pakistan
1963 Pakistan Railways Pakistan West Pakistan
1964
Karachi Port Trust
(shared)		 Pakistan East Pakistan
Pakistan West Pakistan
1965
Not held due to
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
1966 Indonesia U-23 Indonesia Indonesia
1967 PSMS Medan Indonesia Indonesia
1968
Mohammedan Sporting Club
 Pakistan East Pakistan
1969
Not held
1970 Bargh Shiraz Iran Iran
1971
1972–74
Not held
1975
Tournament abandoned
1976
Penang FA
 Malaysia Malaysia
1977 Sepidrood Rasht Iran Iran
1978
Not held
1979
Niac Mitra
 Indonesia Indonesia
1980
Not held
1981–82 Bangkok Bank
Brothers Union (shared)		 Thailand Thailand
Bangladesh Bangladesh

Performances by Country

Performances by nation[10][11][12][13]
Country Titles
 Bangladesh1 5
 Indonesia 4
 Pakistan2 3
 Iran 2
 India 1
 Malaysia 1
 Thailand 1

1 Includes four titles as East Pakistan.
2 Pakistan competed as West Pakistan.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Tom Lewis; Neil Morrison; Novan Herfiyana; Karel Stokkermans (2003). "Aga Khan Gold Cup (Dhaka, Bangladesh)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Aga Khan Gold Cup, Turnamen Tempat Wakil Indonesia Sering Juara" (in Indonesian). Indosport. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Emergence (1963–1970)". All Info Nepal. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Indonesia di Aga Khan Gold Cup" (in Indonesian). Novan Media Research. April 2010. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  5. ^ ব্রিটিশকে হারিয়ে ডুরান্ড জয়ী, পাকিস্তানকেও গোল দিয়ে চিরকালীন নজির মহামেডানের. Kolkata 24x7 (in Bengali). 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Football before the birth of Bangladesh". Dhaka Tribune. 4 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  7. ^ Rahman, Anisur (6 July 2018). "Bangladesh football: then and now". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  8. ^ ফিরে আসছে আগা খান গোল্ড কাপ!. Bangla News 24 (in Bengali). 22 November 2011. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  9. ^ 'ব্রাদার্সের সব অহংকার শেষ হয়ে গেল'. Prothomalo (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Abdul Ghafoor Majna (1938-2012) by Riaz Ahmed". Football Pakistan. 7 September 2012. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  11. ^ "Catatan Gemilang Indonesia di Aga Khan Gold Cup, Cikal Bakal Liga Champions Asia" (in Indonesian). Skor.id. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Mohammedan Sporting Club Adds a Gloomy 'First' to Its Glittering Past". Sports.ndtv(India). Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Former Penang player Boon Kheng dies at 76". The Star(Malaysia). Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2016.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aga_Khan_Gold_Cup&oldid=1218892780"