Top five players who emerged from Subroto Cup

Former Team India captain Bhaichung Bhutia rose to fame from the tournament's 1992 edition

The 62nd edition of the Subroto Cup will run from September 2023 to October 2023 in New Delhi and Bengaluru. Conducted by the Air Force Sports Control Board, it sees school football teams compete across sub-juniors (U-14) and juniors (U-17) categories. The tournament is named after the Indian Air Force Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Air Force.

Across many decades, the Subroto Cup has given a platform to budding Indian footballers. Thanks to the tournament, several gifted footballers have received recognition and went on to make a name for themselves in the sport professionally. 

As the excitement builds ahead of the 2023 edition of the Subroto Cup, here is a glance at the top five players who were discovered because of the tournament:

Nirmal Chettri

Nirmal Chhetri was identified due to the search for the next Bhaichung Bhutia of the country, quite literally. Sikkim government’s Search for More Bhaichung's campaign discovered Chhetri and he began his football journey with Namchi Sports Hostel in 2000. The former Indian national player took Namchi Sports Hostel to the final of the Subroto Cup in 2002. 

Nirmal Chhetri went on to play for legacy clubs like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. He also signed for Indian Super League clubs such as Kerala Blasters and FC Goa. He last played for Southern Samity in the Calcutta Football League.

Bruno Coutinho

Bruno Coutinho commands a lot of respect in Goan football. He won the coveted Arjuna Award in 2001 for his excellence in the field of sports. The striker came to fame after winning the Subroto Cup with Monte De Guirim.

Bruno Coutinho captained the Indian national team. He spent a large part of his career playing for Salgaocar FC. He won the SAFF Championships twice with the Blue Tigers in 1997 and 1999.

Robin Singh

Robin Singh is still actively playing football. Today, he competes with SC Bengaluru in the Bangalore Super Division. However, the striker found his feet in Indian football thanks to his stellar performance in the Subroto Cup for the Chandigarh Football Academy.

Robin Singh went on to sign for clubs like East Bengal FC, Bengaluru FC, FC Goa, ATK, etc. He also made 30 appearances for the Indian national team, bagging five goals.

Shyam Thapa

Shyam Thapa has an incredible legacy and a huge stature in Indian football. He won the bronze medal with the Blue Tigers at the 1970 Asian Games. He scored the winning goal for Gorkha Military Higher Secondary School (HSS) against Anjuman Islam Higher Secondary School, Mumbai in the 1964 edition of the Subroto Cup which led to his discovery.

Shyam Thapa joined East Bengal later on and scored a hat trick on his Calcutta Football League debut. He went on to sign for Mohun Bagan as well. The striker played for the Indian national team for over seven years. At the club level, he won trophies like the Federation Cup and IFA Shield with Mohun Bagan and East Bengal respectively. 

Bhaichung Bhutia

Bhaichung Bhutia is regarded as one of the best footballers produced by India. The legendary player came to fame through the Subroto Cup after winning the Best Player award at the 1992 edition. Bhaskar Ganguly, the former Indian goalkeeper, took him to Kolkata to pursue a career in football.

Bhaichung Bhutia signed for East Bengal as a 16-year-old before signing for JCT Mills and winning the Indian National Football League with them. The list of accolades that Bhutia achieved in his career is massive, including winning the coveted Arjuna Award, the Padma Shri and being the first Indian footballer to sign a contract with a European club when he signed for Bury FC in 1999.