Odisha FC

Formation

In early 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and IMG-Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight or nine selected cities for the upcoming Indian Super League, an eight-team franchise league modeled along the lines of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. On 13-April-2014, it was announced that DEN Networks had won the bidding for the Delhi franchise. The team had entered an alliance with Dutch club Feyenoord which lasted one year.

2014−2019: Beginnings

The team started their inaugural Indian Super League campaign on 14 October 2014, with a 0–0 draw against FC Pune City at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. Dynamos did not experience the best of starts to their ISL campaign as they were placed last in the points table till the ninth game-week. But, against all odds, the team finished fifth with a five-match unbeaten run which included three wins and two draws. However, the team could not qualify for the semi-finals. In the 2015 season, Delhi Dynamos, for the first time, qualified for the semi-finals of the Indian Super League in 2015. In the 2016 season, the club finished third in the league stage with 21 points, but lost to Kerala Blasters FC in the semi-finals. In the 2017–18 season, the club finished eighth in the league stage with 19 points and couldn't qualify for semi-finals. In their last season under the Delhi Dynamos banner, i.e. the 2018–19 season, the club again finished eighth in the league round with 18 points and therefore, couldn't qualify for the semi-finals.

2019–2022: Rebranding and early seasons

Ahead of the 2019–20 Indian Super League, the club decided to relocate to a new base, the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha and rebrand itself as Odisha FC. In the presence of Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Odisha, and Tusharkanti Behera, the Minister for Department of Sports and Youth Services (DSYS), Government of Odisha, the Delhi Soccer Private Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Odisha, to facilitate the relocation of the club from the national capital New Delhi to the Odisha state capital Bhubaneswar. As per the MoU, it was mutually decided that the club's first team, youth teams, youth football development program and grassroots football development program will be based in Odisha.

Odisha played three of their initial home fixtures of the 2019−20 season at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune, due to unavailability of the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Odisha started off their season on 22-October-2019, with a 2−1 loss in an away match against Jamshedpur at the JRD Tata Sports Complex. Odisha secured their first ever win in their third fixture registering a 4−2 victory against Mumbai City at the Mumbai Football Arena. Odisha ended the season at the sixth spot with 25 points. Later, on 18-March-2020, due to the head coach's familial obligations, Josep Gombau left the club. Stuart Baxter replaced Josep Gomabau on 19 June 2020, as he was announced as the head coach of Odisha in a two-year contract.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the 2020−21 season was hosted behind closed doors across three venues in Goa, the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, and the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco da Gama. Due to inconsistent display throughout the season, Odisha FC ended up at the bottom of the league with twelve points. On 2 February 2021, Baxter was sacked for his comments in a post-match press conference.

On 6 May 2021, Odisha FC announced an association with former Spain international David Villa, who joined the club's Football Committee and was appointed Head of Global Football Operations. Villa's DV7 Group was brought in to assist with the club's footballing operations, including advising the coaching staff, player recruitment and development, and improving the club's Indian and youth players. Former Odisha FC head coach Josep Gombau and DV7 executive Víctor Oñate also joined club's Football Committee as part of the association. On 20 July 2021, Odisha announced the appointment of Kiko Ramírez as the head coach for 2021–22 Indian Super League along with the appointment of Assistant Coach and Head of Football Development, Joaquin "Kino" Garcia Sanchez. On 1 September 2021, the club entered into a 3-year international partnership deal with Premier League club Watford. On 4 November 2021, the club announced the finalisation of a strategic football and commercial partnership with Brazil's Avaí Futebol Clube as a part of OFC's Global Football Alliance initiative. Odisha began the 2021–22 season campaign win a historic 3–1 win over Bengaluru FC on 24-November. Odisha ended the season at the seventh spot with 23 points.