2025–26 Punjab FC season

Punjab FC
2025–26 season
Owner	RoundGlass Sports Pvt. Ltd.
Director of Football	Nikolaos Topoliatis
Head coach	Panagiotis Dilmperis
Stadium	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi
Indian Super League	Pre-season
Durand Cup	Group stage
Super Cup	Semi-final
Top goalscorer	League: ; All: various
Biggest win	3–0 Gokulam Kerala; (27 October 2025, Super Cup); 3–0 Mohammedan; (1 November 2025, Super Cup)
Biggest defeat	1–3 East Bengal; (4 December 2025, Super Cup)

The 2025–26 season is the sixth season in Punjab FC's existence, the club's third consecutive season in Indian football's top-flight, and fifth overall. In addition to the league, the club will also take part in the 2025 Durand Cup and the 2025–26 Super Cup.

Background

Punjab finished eighth in the 2024–25 Indian Super League. After the completion of the 2024–25 season, the club chose not to renew the contracts of any of their foreign players and opted for an overhaul in the foreign contingent. The club became active right after the end of the previous season, roping in Muhammad Uvais from Jamshedpur FC^[1] and Bijoy Varghese from Inter Kashi^[2] to strengthen the defence after departures of Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Melroy Assisi and the Croatian centre-back Ivan Novoselec. Punjab also renewed the contract of head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis for one more season keeping him at the club till the end of the 2026–27 season.^[3] The main highlight of the window for Punjab FC was the sale of fullback Abhishek Singh Tekcham to Mohun Bagan SG in a multi-crore rupees deal.^[4] Punjab bolstered their squad with the signing of 3 foreigners - Dani Ramírez, Samir Zeljković and Effiong Nsungusi. All three players have completed their medicals, penning one-year contracts after arriving on free transfers.^[5]

On 31 July, Punjab FC unveiled their new club crest, a face of a lion from front with the words "Punjab FC" below it.^[6] Nikhil Prabhu was appointed team captain before the start of the Durand Cup.^[7]

Squad

First team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
2	DF	IND	Muhammad Uvais
3	DF	IND	Bijoy Varghese
4	DF	IND	Nikhil Prabhu (captain)
6	MF	IND	Ricky Shabong
7	FW	IND	Ninthoinganba Meetei
8	MF	BIH	Samir Zeljković
9	FW	NGA	Effiong Nsungusi
10	MF	ESP	Dani Ramírez (Vice-captain)
11	MF	IND	Princeton Rebello
12	DF	IND	Khaiminthang Lhungdim (fourth captain)
13	GK	IND	Arshdeep Singh
14	FW	IND	Vishal Yadav
16	MF	IND	Vinit Rai
17	FW	IND	Muhammad Suhail F (third captain)
19	MF	IND	Manglenthang Kipgen


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
20	FW	IND	Omang Dodum
21	FW	IND	Singamayum Shami
22	DF	IND	Manav Singh
23	MF	IND	Ashis Pradhan
24	FW	IND	Ranjeet Pandre
27	DF	BRA	Pablo Santos
28	MF	IND	Rishikanta Meitei
30	DF	IND	Usham Thoungamba Singh
31	MF	IND	Leon Augustine
33	FW	IND	Sanathoi Singh
35	DF	IND	Pramveer
37	GK	IND	Ayush Deshwal
40	FW	NGA	Bede Osuji
74	DF	IND	Suresh Meitei
78	GK	IND	Muheet Shabir
—	DF	IND	Rakesh Meitei Likmabam (on loan from Kerala Blasters)
—	FW	IND	Bikash Singh Sagolsem

Transfers

In


Date	Player	Position	From	Transfer Fee	Ref.
15 June 2025	Muhammad Uvais	DF	Jamshedpur FC	Free transfer	^[8]
15 July 2025	Bijoy Varghese	DF	Inter Kashi FC	Free transfer	^[9]
6 October 2025	Dani Ramírez	MF	Manisa F.K.	Free transfer
6 October 2025	Samir Zeljković	MF	FK Radnički 1923	Free transfer
6 October 2025	Effiong Nsungusi	FW	FC UTA Arad	Free transfer
21 October 2025	Pablo Santos	DF	FC Noah	Free transfer
24 October 2025	Bikash Singh Sagolsem	DF	Kerala Blasters	Free transfer
24 October 2025	Arshdeep Singh	GK	Hyderabad	Free transfer
25 November 2025	Bede Osuji Amarachi	FW	Manisa F.K.	Free transfer

Out


Date	Player	Position	To	Transfer Fee	Ref.
5 June 2025	Petros Giakoumakis	FW	Niki Volos F.C.	Free transfer
6 June 2025	Filip Mrzljak	MF	FC Ufa	Free transfer
7 June 2025	Ivan Novoselec	DF	Duhok SC	Free transfer
8 June 2025	Denechandra Meitei	DF		Free transfer
17 June 2025	Asmir Suljić	MF	Szeged-Csanád GA	Free transfer
19 June 2025	Luka Majcen	FW	Diamond Harbour FC	Free transfer
20 June 2025	Melroy Assisi	DF	Diamond Harbour FC
9 July 2025	Ezequiel Pulga Vidal	FW	PSIM Yogyakarta	Free transfer
24 July 2025	Abhishek Singh Tekcham	DF	Mohun Bagan Super Giant		^[10]
11 November 2025	Samuel Kynshi	MF	Gokulam Kerala
11 November 2025	Tejas Krishna	DF	Thrissur Magic FC
4 February 2026	Ravi Kumar	GK	Jamshedpur FC	Free transfer

Preseason and Friendlies

Punjab played 2 friendly matches – against Namdhari and Delhi on 5 October and 19 October respectively. Punjab won both the matches comfortably by 2–1 and 4–1. Suresh Meitei and Kipgen scored for Punjab in the 2–1 victory against Namdhari. Kipgen, Ninthoi, Nikhil Prabhu and Omang scored for Punjab in the 4–1 victory against Delhi. In January the team played two more friendlies against the same opponents as the start of the league season was delayed.

Matches

5 October 2025 Friendly	Punjab	2–1	Namdhari	Sri Bhaini Sahib
10:00 IST	Suresh 79' (pen.) Kipgen 82'		Guilherme 65'	Stadium: Namdhari Football Ground Attendance: 0^[A]

19 October 2025 Friendly	Punjab	4–1	SC Delhi	Delhi
10:00 IST	Kipgen 36' Ninthoi 42' Nikhil 50' Omang 85'		Saji 54'	Attendance: 0^[A]

10/11 January 2026 Friendly	Punjab FC	7-1	Namdhari FC
				Attendance: 0

19 January 2026 Friendly

Punjab FC

2–0

SC Delhi

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Durand Cup	3 August 2025	9 August 2025	Group stage	Group stage	3	1	1	1	2	2	+0	033.33
Super Cup	27 October 2025	4 December 2025	Group stage	Semi-final	4	2	1	1	7	3	+4	050.00
Indian Super League					0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	!—
Punjab State Super League^[B]	1 August 2025	30 October 2025	Matchday 1	Champions	18	12	3	3	32	13	+19	066.67
Total					25	15	5	5	41	18	+23	060.00

Last updated: 4 December 2025
Source: Soccerway

Durand Cup

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	PUN	ITB	KMS
1	Bodoland (H)	3	3	0	0	7	1	+6	9	knockout stage	1–0	4–0	2–1
2	Punjab	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4			0–0	2–1
3	ITB Police	3	1	1	1	2	5	−3	4				2–1
4	Karbi Anglong Morning Star	3	0	0	3	3	6	−3	0

Source: DFTS
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

Matches

3 August 2025 Group stage	Morning Star	1–2	Punjab FC	Kokrajhar, Bodoland, Assam
16:00 IST	Olaleye 69'	Report	Pramveer 73' Sanathoi 90+2'	Stadium: SAI Stadium Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Harish Kundu Man of the Match: Pramveer Singh (Punjab)

6 August 2025 Group stage	ITBP FT	0–0	Punjab FC	Kokrajhar, Bodoland, Assam
16:00 IST		Report		Stadium: SAI Stadium Attendance: 1,400 Referee: Jarvish Macwan Man of the Match: Donborlang Nongkynrih (ITBP)

9 August 2025 Group stage	Punjab FC	0–1	Bodoland	Kokrajhar, Bodoland, Assam
16:00 IST		Report	Blandon 69'	Stadium: SAI Stadium Attendance: 12,545 Referee: Surojit Das Man of the Match: Robinson Blandon (Bodoland)

Super Cup

Punjab will participate in the Super Cup and was grouped into Group C alongside Bengaluru, Mohammedan and Gokulam Kerala.^[11]

Group stage

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	BFC	GOK	MDS
1	Punjab	3	2	1	0	6	0	+6	7^[a]	Advance to knockout stage	0–0	3–0	3–0
2	Bengaluru	3	2	1	0	6	0	+6	7			4–0	2–0
3	Gokulam Kerala	3	1	0	2	3	7	−4	3				3–0
4	Mohammedan	3	0	0	3	0	8	−8	0

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group; 7) Disciplinary points; 8) drawing of lots
Notes:

^ Punjab qualified after winning the penalty shoot-out.

Bracket

Semifinals			Final

A1	East Bengal	3

C1	Punjab	1
			SF1	East Bengal	0 (5)

			SF2	Goa (p)	0 (6)
B1	Goa	2

D1	Mumbai City	1

Matches

27 October 2025 (2025-10-27) Group stage	Punjab	3–0	Gokulam Kerala	Bambolim
16:30 IST	Suhail 2' Prabhu 10' Princeton 43'	Report		Stadium: GMC Athletic Stadium Attendance: 189 Referee: K Ramdasan

1 November 2025 Group stage	Mohammedan	0–3	Punjab	Bambolim
16:30 IST		Report	Ninthoi 27' Zeljković 43' Kipgen 73'	Stadium: GMC Athletic Stadium Attendance: 123 Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar

5 November 2025 Group stage	Bengaluru	0–0 (4–5 p)	Punjab	Fatorda
16:30 IST		Report		Stadium: Fatorda Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Ashwin Man of the Match: Muheet Shabir (Punjab)
	Penalties
	Wangjam Bheke Williams Chhetri Sánchez		Nsungusi Rebello Zeljković Augustine V. Rai

4 December 2025 Semi-final	East Bengal	3–1	Punjab	Fatorda
16:30 IST	Rashid 12' Kevin 45+3' Saúl 70'	Report	Ramírez 34' (pen.)	Stadium: Fatorda Stadium Attendance: 300 Referee: Ashwin

Punjab State Super League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	RGP	SPS	RCF	BSF	DFC	NFC	IFC	PP	OJS	YFC
1	Punjab FC (C)	18	12	3	3	32	13	+19	39	Champions		2–3	1–0	3–0	1–3	4–0	0–0	1–0	2–0	3–0
2	Sher-e-Punjab SC (Q)	18	10	4	4	36	27	+9	34	Qualification for I-League 3^[a]	0–0		0–0	1–1	4–3	1–1	3–1	6–3	3–2	4–1
3	RCF FC	18	7	8	3	28	19	+9	29		2–2	4–0		2–0	2–2	0–0	3–2	0–0	1–3	0–0
4	BSF FC	18	9	2	7	25	23	+2	29		0–2	3–1	2–1		1–2	0–2	0–1	3–0	1–2	3–1
5	Dalbir FA	18	7	5	6	25	23	+2	26		0–1	1–2	0–3	3–1		0–0	2–1	0–0	0–1	1–0

Updated to match(es) played on 28 December 2025. Source: The Away End
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) fair play ranking; 8) drawing of lots
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

^ If the top teams are already playing in national leagues, then the next highest ranked team(s) would be eligible for I-League 3.

Indian Super League

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	L	GA	GD
8	Mumbai City	0	0	0	0
9	Odisha	0	0	0	0
10	Punjab	0	0	0	0
11	Mohammedan	1	1	1	−1
12	Delhi	1	1	2	−2

Updated to match(es) played on 16 February 2026. Source: Indian Super League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) head-to-head points; 5) head-to-head goal difference; 6) head-to-head goals scored; 7) fair play ranking; 8) drawing of lots
(Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played).

Matches

16 February 2026 Round 1	Odisha FC	Postponed	Punjab FC
5:00 PM IST

21 February 2026 Round 2	Jamshedpur FC	v	Punjab FC	Jamshedpur
7:30 PM IST				Stadium: JRD Tata Sports Complex

27 Februaru 2026 Round 3	Bengaluru FC	v	Punjab FC	Bengaluru
7:30 PM IST				Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium

9 March 2026 Round 4	Punjab FC	v	NorthEast United	New Delhi
7:30 PM IST				Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi

16 March 2026 Round 5	Punjab FC	v	FC Goa	New Delhi
				Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi

21 March 2026 Round 6	Kerala Blasters	v	Punjab FC	Kochi
7:30 PM IST				Stadium: Kaloor Stadium

3 April 2026 Round 7	Punjab FC	v	Mohammedan SC	New Delhi
7:30 PM IST				Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi

Summary

August 2025

Punjab FC started their Durand Cup campaign on 3 August against Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC in Kokrajhar, Assam with an all-domestic lineup. The match ended in a 2-1 win for Punjab, courtesy goals by Pramveer and Sanathoi.^[13] Punjab then played against ITBP FT and were held to a goalless draw.^[14] In the third match on 9 August, Punjab faced resilient Bodoland FC and were handed a tough loss by them which brought an end to Punjab's Durand Cup campaign.

October-November 2025

The AIFF decided to organise the 2025-26 Super Cup before the Indian Super League due to administrative problems between the federation and their commercial partners.

Statistics

Squad appearances and goals

Most Goals


Sl. No.	Player	Durand Cup	Super Cup	Total goals
1	Pramveer Singh	1	0	1
	Konsam Sanathoi Singh	1	0	1
	Muhammad Suhail F	0	1	1
	Nikhil Prabhu	0	1	1
	Princeton Rebello	0	1	1
	Samir Zeljković	0	1	1
	Ninthoinganba Meetei	0	1	1
	Manglenthang Kipgen	0	1	1

Most Assists


Sl. No.	Player	Durand Cup	Super Cup	Total assists
1	Singamayum Shami	1	0	1
	Muhammad Uvais	1	0	1
	Princeton Rebello	0	1	1
	Muhammad Suhail	0	1	1
	Dani Ramírez	0	1	1
	Ninthoinganba Meetei	0	1	1
	Leon Augustine	0	1	1

Cleansheets


Sl. No.	Player	Matches played	Cleansheets kept	Cleansheet %
1	Muheet Shabir	3	3	100
2	Ravi Kumar	3	1	33.3

Notes

^ ^a ^b Closed door friendly match.
^ Punjab FC fielded mostly their Reserve team for the tournament.

References

^ "ISL Transfers: Punjab FC Announces the Signing of Defender Muhammed Uvais". The Bridge. 15 June 2025.
^ "Punjab FC sign defender Bijoy Varghese". The Print. 15 July 2025.
^ "Punjab FC extends contract of head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis". Sportstar. 10 June 2025.
^ "ISL champions Mohun Bagan set to sign Tekcham Abhishek Singh in ₹8 Crore+ deal".
^ Bhattacharjee, Neeladri (6 October 2025). "Punjab FC strengthens overseas roster before Super Cup, signs Zeljkovic, Ramirez and Effiong". Sportstar.
^ "Fans react to Punjab FC's new logo".
^ "Punjab FC appoint Nikhil Prabhu as captain for Durand Cup". NewKerala.
^ "Muhammad Uvais joins the Shers".
^ "Punjab FC announces signing of defender Bijoy Varghese".
^ "Mohun Bagan announces signing Abhishek Tekcham from Punjab FC till 2029". 24 July 2025.
^ "Group stage draw for Kalinga Super Cup 2023-24 conducted". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024.
^ "AIFF Super Cup 2025/26: FC Goa three-time champions". AIFF. 7 December 2025.
^ Durandfootball (3 August 2025). "Punjab FC start their Durand Cup campaign with late win over Karbi Anglong". Durand Cup.
^ "ITBP holds Punjab FC to goalless draw". Sportstar. 6 August 2025.

[table_hth_PFC0.51384827704814-14] Punjab qualified after winning the penalty shoot-out.

[15] If the top teams are already playing in national leagues, then the next highest ranked team(s) would be eligible for I-League 3.

[CD-11] Closed door friendly match.

[12] Punjab FC fielded mostly their Reserve team for the tournament.

[1] "ISL Transfers: Punjab FC Announces the Signing of Defender Muhammed Uvais". The Bridge. 15 June 2025.

[2] "Punjab FC sign defender Bijoy Varghese". The Print. 15 July 2025.

[3] "Punjab FC extends contract of head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis". Sportstar. 10 June 2025.

[4] "ISL champions Mohun Bagan set to sign Tekcham Abhishek Singh in ₹8 Crore+ deal".

[5] Bhattacharjee, Neeladri (6 October 2025). "Punjab FC strengthens overseas roster before Super Cup, signs Zeljkovic, Ramirez and Effiong". Sportstar.

[6] "Fans react to Punjab FC's new logo".

[7] "Punjab FC appoint Nikhil Prabhu as captain for Durand Cup". NewKerala.

[8] "Muhammad Uvais joins the Shers".

[9] "Punjab FC announces signing of defender Bijoy Varghese".

[10] "Mohun Bagan announces signing Abhishek Tekcham from Punjab FC till 2029". 24 July 2025.

[SuperCup2025Draw-13] "Group stage draw for Kalinga Super Cup 2023-24 conducted". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024.

[16] "AIFF Super Cup 2025/26: FC Goa three-time champions". AIFF. 7 December 2025.

[17] Durandfootball (3 August 2025). "Punjab FC start their Durand Cup campaign with late win over Karbi Anglong". Durand Cup.

[18] "ITBP holds Punjab FC to goalless draw". Sportstar. 6 August 2025.

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