Hyderabad City Police FC

Hyderabad City Police FC, also known as City Afghans, were the most famous team in the . They were associated with the Hyderabad City Police during the reign of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The team had a series of achievements in the pre-Independence era. The first major success came in 1943 when the team win Ashe Gold Cup final against Bangalore. The club established its legendary performance on national level when it won the prestigious Durand Cup against Mohun Bagan, the cup was held after a break of 8 years and first time after Indian Independence; it won total 4 Durand Cups, including one as Andhra Pradesh Police after 1959. The club won Rovers Cup consistently for five years from 1950 to 1954,^[1] and state league championships for 11 consecutive years.

It was N. A. Fruvall who shaped the club in his captainship early from 1940s, and by 1950 the team was transformed into the national champions. In 1951 Syed Abdul Rahim took over Hyderabad City Police club as a coach and served until his death in 1963.^[2][3][4]

The team underwent a change in name in the 1960s after the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed and Hyderabad became its capital, with the change in name of the police force to Andhra Pradesh Police. They continued to play as Andhra Pradesh Police football club and won tournaments like Rovers Cup in 1960 and DCM Trophy in 1965.^[5]

Honours[]

• Durand Cup
  • Champions (4): 1950–51, 1954, 1957–58, 1961
  • Runners-up (3): 1952, 1956–57, 1963

• Rovers Cup
  • Champions (9): 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1962*, 1963–64

• DCM Trophy
  • Champions (2): 1959, 1965
  • Runners-up (2): 1964, 1970

(*) joint winners with East Bengal

References[]