JCT Mills

Jagatjit Cotton and Textile Mills Football Club or JCT Mills Football Club has long been synonymous with football in Punjab and the rest of northern India. Like the other two institutional teams from the state, Border Security Force and Punjab Police, JCT have played a key role in lifting the standard of football in Punjab. Also known as Millmen, this football club has played an important role in grooming the raw football talent of the state into the players of international standard. Read on to explore more about the Jagatjit Cotton and Textile Mills Football Club based in Phagwara, Punjab.

History
JCT Football Club is a part of the flagship JCT group that was started by the late Karam Chand Thapar. JCT Football Club was founded in 1971 an Indian professional football club based in Phagwara, Punjab. However, the club got identification after 1974 when several players joined the club leaving the Leader Club of Jalandhar. Some of the famous player amongst them was Inder Singh, who captained the Indian national team in previous years and had the Arjuna Award in his kitty. Since the inception, the only aim of this football club has been developing professional standard of football in the state. JCT Limited has also been involved in the Punjab Football Association (PFA) for the last three decades. In 1997, the name of the club was changed from JCT Mills Football Club to JCT Football Club.

Current Status
Sponsored by the Jagatjit Cotton and Textile Mills under the leadership of Samir Thapar, the Jagatjit Cotton and Textile Mills Football team has emerged as one of the most successful Indian football clubs in recent years. They play in the national I-League and Punjab State Super League. JCT Limited has also set up the JCT Football Academy at Phagwara, Punjab in 2000 to skill the budding football players in the state. JCT Academy as well as Club is known for producing high quality skilled youth players for the national team of the country.

Achievements
In last 3 decades of its existence, the JCT is the first Indian team outside Kolkata to win the IFA Shield. Apart from this, the JCT Club have won many prestigious tournaments and brought laurels to the State of Punjab. They also won the opening edition of the National Football League in 1996. JCT Club has also been the winner of the Asain Club Championship and finished 3rd in the 2007-2008 season of the newly formed I-League. The team has been 8 times winner of the Punjab Football League and 5 times winner of the Durand club. The success and the constant good performance of the club is attributed to its owner, the Thapars who apart from being business moguls, have been in constant effort to enhance the bar of their club at all the levels.