Bengaluru FC wins Sportstar Aces Club of the Decade

With two I-League titles, two Federation Cups, an Indian Super League crown and a Super Cup, BFC was the most successful Indian football club of the last decade.

Published : Apr 01, 2021 17:37 IST

Bengaluru FC players with the Sportstar Aces club of the decade.

Bengaluru FC (BFC), Indian football’s leading light since it came into being in 2013, was named the Club of the Decade at the 2021 Sportstar ACES Awards.

“On behalf of Bengaluru FC, we want to thank Sportstar for nominating us for Club of the Decade. We want to thank the support from the journalists, staff and management of the club for always supporting us,” BFC’s Spanish midfielder Dimas Delgado said while accepting the award on behalf of the club.

You can watch the event live by visiting the following link - bit.ly/SSAATHG . There would be three more episodes on April 2, 3 and 4.

“It’s an honour for everyone involved with Bengaluru Football Club to be named the Club of the Decade. We are deeply indebted to all the journalists, news makers, television personalities and also our fans for the constant support throughout so many years. At BFC, we are always eager to raise the bar, and to be recognised for our efforts makes us really very happy,” said BFC chief executive officer Mandar Tamhane.

 

“In years to come, we want to make football bigger and better in our country. Through our various grassroots initiatives, we want to reach out to as many young children as possible so that they can take up the sport at a very young age. It is our endeavour at the football club that we create footballers not only for our first team, but also for the national team. We also want to give back to the community for all that it has given to us. I would also like to thank the team at Sportstar for this recognition.”

With two I-League titles, two Federation Cups, an Indian Super League crown and a Super Cup, BFC was the most successful Indian football club of the last decade. The side’s run to the AFC Cup final in 2016 remains the best performance by an Indian club on the continental stage in the recent past.

BFC has also set high standards off the field, be it in the kind of professionalism it has instilled in its footballers or the manner in which it has provided its coaches with the time and room to build winning units. Last July, the club’s grassroots development initiative was conferred two-star academy status by the Asian Football Confederation, making it the only professional club in India to gain the recognition.

The 2021 edition of the Sportstar ACES Awards honoured the Giants of the Decade in Indian sport, with the winners being assessing on their performance and consistency from 2011 to 2020. Eleven awards were presented under the popular choice category, which was open to public voting, along with 14 jury awards as well as special recognition awards under two new categories – Sports for Good and Giants off the Field – that recognise the work of organisations and individuals who have used sports for the betterment of society.

Watch the highlights from Day 1 of the Sportstar Aces Awards here