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Nandajhar Chatra Samaj of the Siliguri zone and Murshidabad Ramnagar CC of the Krishnanagar zone were crowned men's and women's champions, respectively, at the CIL Cup 2026 Grand Finale at MSA Ground in Purulia on Wednesday.
Supported by Coal India Limited, the grassroots football tournament concluded with two closely contested title matches, as teams from different zones competed for honours in both categories. Jyotirmay Singh Mahato, Member of Parliament from Purulia, graced the occasion, according to a press release from CIL. In the men's final, Nandajhar Chatra Samaj defeated Canning Dishehara of the Howrah zone 5-4 in a penalty shootout to lift the title. With the tie-breaker failing to produce a winner, goalkeeper Dip Sarkar ultimately decided the match in sudden death. The contest was decided by goalkeeper Deep Sarkar, whose crucial save denied Canning Dishehara's Biswajit Das and secured the championship for Nandajhar Chatra Samaj. Sarkar's decisive intervention also earned him the Player of the Match award. The victory capped an impressive run for the Siliguri zone side, which had booked its place in the final with a 10 win over Durgapur zone's Kuchia XI FC in the semifinals. Canning Dishehara had reached the title clash after beating Krishnanagar zone's Kalpana Trust 20 in the other semifinal. The final brought the two teams together for the last contest of the men's competition, with Nandajhar Chatra Samaj emerging as champions after the shootout. The women's final also delivered a closely contested match, with Murshidabad Ramnagar CC of the Krishnanagar zone securing a 10 victory over Siliguri zone's Vivekananda School to claim the championship. Lakhimoni Hansda scored the winning goal for Ramnagar CC, while her teammate Rupali Bauri was named Player of the Match. Murshidabad Ramnagar CC had earned its place in the final after defeating Durgapur zone's Pakbirra Bhairab Academy 10 in the semifinals. Vivekananda School had advanced with an identical 10 victory over Howrah zone's GB Dham FC. The Grand Finale brought together two sides that had navigated closely fought semifinal matches, with Ramnagar CC converting its opportunity to secure the women's title. The champions in both categories received prize money of Rs 2 lakh each, while the runners-up were awarded Rs 1 lakh each. The teams finishing third and fourth in each category received Rs 50,000 each, taking the tournament's total prize money to Rs 8 lakh. The Grand Finale marked the culmination of a tournament that provided men and women footballers with a platform to compete across multiple zones and progress through successive stages. Supported by Coal India Limited, the CIL Cup brought grassroots teams together in a structured competition, creating opportunities for emerging players to test themselves against opponents from different regions. The conclusion of the 2026 edition in Purulia celebrated the achievements of the champions and the teams that competed throughout the tournament. (ANI)
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