Gangtok Himalayan SC

Formation and journey

Gangtok Himalayan FC (originally known as Sikkim Himalayan SC) was founded in 2012 in Gangtok, the capital city of the Indian state Sikkim, and affiliated with Sikkim Football Association (SFA). Since then, they have been participating in various domestic and amateur tournaments regionally. The club was founded by Tenzing Lamtha. In October 2014, Gangtok Himalayan participated in Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup and reached to the semi-finals, but their journey ended with a 2–1 defeat to ONGC FC. In September 2015, former India international Arjunan Shanta Kumar was appointed as manager of the club.

In January 2016, they were officially certified by the All India Football Federation to participate in the I-League 2nd Division, the second tier of football in India, after finishing 2nd in the Sikkim Premier Division League. This move began a new chapter for Gangtok-based side as they became one of first professional football clubs from the North East India. 2016 was the most successful season for Gangtok Himalayan, in which they participated in the I-League 2nd Division, Durand Cup, Sikkim Gold Cup and Sikkim Premier Division League. After finishing 2nd in the group A of the 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division, Gangtok Himalayan qualified for the 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division final round. There they finished as 5th and failed to qualify for the I-League.

In 2016 Durand Cup, the Himalayans finished 5th, behind Indian Navy in the group A with 6 points. In 2019, they reached to the final of 39th edition of the Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup final defeating Royal FC Siliguri 3–1, but lost the title winning match to Mohammedan Sporting by 2–1 margin. In that year, Gangtok Himalayan lifted Independence Day Football Tournament trophy defeating Sikkim Aacraman FC via penalty shoot-out.

I-League fate

The All India Football Federation were all set to invite bids for vacant spots in the I-League and Gangtok-based Sikkim Himalayan was one of the front-runners to join, but it was not materialized.

2020–present

In 2020, Gangtok Himalayan went to Nepal for participating in the 18th Aaha! Rara Gold Cup, but their journey ended after a 3–0 defeat to Three Star Club in quarter-finals.