Nike Premier Cup
| Founded | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Country |  India |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Current champions | Minerva Punjab (3rd title) (2018) |
| Most championships | Minerva Punjab (3 titles) |
 2018 Nike Premier Cup | |
The Nike Premier Cup is a national finals competition for the U15 level of youth football in India. It is contested between the under-15 sides of the I-League teams, Indian Super League teams, as well as other youth teams. From 2018, 16 teams are qualifying from Youth League U15 for this competition to get to the Nike Premier Cup. The most successful team currently is Minerva Punjab, who won all the previous seasons.[1]
History
After the success of Youth League U18, the All India Football Federation proposed a U15 youth league which was kicked off in September 2015. The announcement came during the I-League workshop held at AIFF headquarters, Football House, on July 7.[2] After the inaugural season, it was remodelled as a U16 youth league primarily to handpick more talents ahead of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The World Cup was the first of its kind hosted by India, and expectations were spiralling up around the competition.[3] It is contested in two phases. In the first phase, more than 50 teams compete in the Youth League U15 for qualification to the national finals, which is known as the Nike Premier Cup.
Current Participants
The following 16 teams participated in 2018 Nike Premier Cup:-
- Bengaluru FC
- MSP Football Academy
- SAI Guwahati
- FC Goa
- Aizawl F.C.
- Reliance Foundation Young Champs
- Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools
- Real Kashmir F.C.
- Minerva Punjab F.C.
- Churchill Brothers S.C.
- Football Club of Mumbaikars
- Chennaiyin FC
- DSK Shivajians F.C.
- East Bengal F.C.
- Raman Vijayan Sports School
- SAG Football Academy
Current Structure
All teams play each other in their respective groups twice – home and away. At the end of the group stages, the top two teams go through to the final phase from Chennai, Maharashtra, and Goa zones, and one team each qualifies for the finals from Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Gujarat, and Shillong-Guwahati zones. In addition to this, teams from the rest of the country were divided into six groups. The teams who performed there had to further negotiate a playoff stage. A total of five teams qualify from the rest of India zone for the finals after their performance in the playoffs.[4] In the final phase, 16 teams have been divided into four groups, and the group winners progress to the semifinals, from where the finalists who will battle for the top honour will be determined.[5]
Past Winners
| Nike Premier Cup | |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Minerva Punjab |
| 2017 | Minerva Punjab |
| 2018 | Minerva Punjab |
List of winners
| Team | Nike Premier Cup U16 | Nike Premier Cup U15 |
|---|---|---|
| Minerva Punjab | 1 | 2 |
See also
References
- ↑ "u15 youth league kicks off tomorrow". www.i-league.org.
- ↑ "AIFF launches u15 youth league". www.i-league.org.
- ↑ "U16 Youth league". www.i-league.org.
- ↑ "Nike premier cup". www.goal.com.
- ↑ "Nike premier cup". www.goal.com.
External links
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