“The Millmen” were founded in 1971 by Jagatjit Cotton and Textile Mills as JCT Mills FC, and are based in Phagwara, Punjab. They started gaining recognition when several players of the Leader Club of Jalandhar joined their ranks 1974 onwards. With the Leader Club going bust years ago, JCT now is the sole torch-bearer for football in the Punjab region.            

The club has a flourishing youth system in place, after the set up of the JCT Football Academy, Phagwara, in 2007, and also funds budding players’ college studies. They are also one of the clubs who have never been relegated from the top tier of Indian football.            

They began their tryst with the National League in style, by winning its inaugural edition in 1997. That was a golden period for JCT, who had done a cup treble in 1996 with victories in the Durand Cup, Federation Cup, and the IFA Shield. What followed, though, were a number of inconsistent seasons, with a best finish of 4th in 2003. The last two seasons have been more productive, with a runners-up spot in the NFL in 2007 preceding a 3rd place finish in the I-League in 2008. However, the absence of a national level trophy since 1997 is slowly piling on the pressure on the men from Punjab, who are now desperate to get their hands on some silverware.