Pune Football Club is a football club from India based in Pune. The club was set up in the year 2007 and gained promotion to the I-League in the 2009-2010 seasons. It is a popular football club and is known as one of the first football teams to not go by the Institutional Football format that was seen more in I-League. They have a rivalry with the Mumbai F.C team, and the match, played between these two teams is often highly cheered by the fans and crowds. But in the recent years however Pune FC fans have started to consider Kingfisher East Bengal F.C. as their main rivals.

History of Pune FC
One of the youngest clubs in the I-League circuit, Pune FC was set up in the year 2007 by Ashok Piramal Group. It is based in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, and plays their home matches at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex. The main intention of the club has been to put the city of Pune in the sports map of India.

The first campaign of I-League for the Pune FC was a huge success and the team finished in the 3rd place in the 2009-10 seasons. But the following season was not as good as the previous one for the Pune FC team. In the 2010-11 seasons the team dropped in the rank table to 5th spot, after starting the season with one win out of eleven which saw Pune FC in the relegation zone. The club soon came back into winning ways once their ace goalkeeper and Captain Subrata Pal returned to the squad.

Pune FC, on September 25, 2011, announced that they will play against Premier League side Blackburn Rovers at Balewadi Sports Complex on October 7, 2011.

Stadium of Pune FC
Pune FC plays all their matches at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex. Since Pune made their debut in the I-League they have always played at the Balewadi Sports Complex which is located in Balewadi, a suburb of Pune. The stadium was also the site of the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games.

Ownership and Finances of Pune FC
The Pune FC is a new generation football club which is promoted by the corporate groups. The Ashok Piramal Group, that has varied business interests, established Pune FC in August 2007.

Uncertainity in Pune FC
Two I-League sides from Pune, Bharat FC and Pune FC, are seriously considering the option of discontinuing their first team operations. While Pune are disillusioned that there seems to be no long-term vision to run the I-League, Bharat are having second thoughts after a miserable debut season, where they finished at the bottom despite investing heavily. Both teams do not see I-League as an economically viable investment anymore. Pune, however, are likely to continue with their youth teams.

All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel has urged the two sides to join hands and operate under one banner. But there has been no progress on the proposal as well. The club owners were scheduled to meet Patel on Tuesday but the meeting had to be postponed as he is abroad.

Present First Team Squad of Pune FC
The present members of the club has players like Amrinder Singh, Luciano Sabrosa, Matthew Gonsalves, Yumnam Raju, Bineesh Balan, Arata Izumi (captain), Edgar Marcelino, Ryuji Sueoka, Zohmingliana Ralte, Denechandra Meitei, Anas Edathodika, Velington Rocha, Dhanpal Ganesh, Nawab Zeeshan, Nikhil Kadam, Prakash Thorat, Anthony D`Souza, Arup Debnath, Srikanth Ramu, Fanai Lalrempuia, Snehasish Chakraborty, Thongkhosiem Haokip, Syed Shoaib Ahmed, Avilash Paul, Moniruzzaman Ansari, Surojit Bose, Munmun Lugun, Henry Monsang, Jessel Carneiro and Lalram Luaha.

The players are being coached by Karim Bencherifa and assisting him is Gift Raikhan.