India’s Minerva Academy create history with Helsinki Cup triumph
For Chandigarh-based academy, making headlines on European stage has become a tradition
As the football world remains captivated by the FIFA World Cup, Indian football had its own moment of celebration as Minerva Academy FC recently scripted another remarkable chapter in the country’s youth football history by winning the prestigious 2026 Helsinki Cup.
For the Chandigarh-based academy, making headlines on the European stage has become something of a tradition. Over the past two years, Minerva have consistently broken new ground for Indian football, and the Helsinki Cup triumph is yet another milestone in an extraordinary journey.
Big wins
At the weekend, Minerva clinched the title with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over tournament hosts and defending champions HJK.
Twelve months earlier, Minerva had become the first Indian team to reach the Helsinki Cup final, scoring 42 goals without conceding a single one before suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat to PK-35. Returning to Finland with unfinished business, they ensured history would not repeat itself, emerging champions.
The Indian stars dominated the tournament from start to finish, scoring more than 50 goals while barely giving their opponents a glimpse of goal.
Their campaign began with a commanding 6-1 victory over FC Valtti before they dismantled Helsingin Palloseura 9-1 and crushed EBK 11-0. The knockout stages brought more one-sided contests as Minerva thrashed Helsingin Ponnistus 19-0 in the Round of 32 before progressing to the Round of 16 via a walkover against Makati FC.
In the quarter-finals, Minerva demolished HJK 6-0 and followed it up with another emphatic display, routing Käpylan Pallo 9-0 in the semi-finals before edging defending champions HJK 1-0 in the title clash.
Star performers
Several players emerged as stars during the tournament. T. Kipgen’s six-goal performance against EBK was among the highlights of the competition, while Yohenba delivered consistently, scoring a hat-trick against EBK and netting the opening goal in the 6-0 quarter-final victory over HJK. Rimoson added a hat-trick against FC Kasiysi and maintained his scoring touch in the knockout rounds, while Haokip, Nongdren, Paikhomba, Wangshem and Donald all made significant contributions.
Earlier this year, Minerva stunned European football by thrashing Liverpool FC’s U-15 side 6-0 in the Round of 16 of the prestigious Mediterranean International Cup (MIC) in Spain. That followed a historic 2025 campaign in which Minerva became the first Indian side to win the Norway Cup, scoring an incredible 130 goals in just eight matches before sealing the title with a 14-1 victory in the final. They also lifted the Dana Cup in Denmark, becoming the first Indian team in 43 years to win the tournament after a record-breaking 15-0 triumph in the final.
With the Helsinki Cup now added to their growing collection of European titles, Minerva will no head to Sweden for the Gothia Cup – widely regarded as the World Youth Cup – where they will attempt to add yet another prestigious European title to an already historic run.
