Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament

Template:Short descriptionTemplate:Template other The Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament was an annual football tournament first held in Colombo, Ceylon. It was also alternatively known as Colombo Cup. Established in 1952 by the Ceylon Football Association as a part of the Colombo Fair, the national sides of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon) and Burma played each other in a round robin tournament. The tournament was last played in 1955. In 1953 it was hosted in Rangoon, Burma, in 1954 at Calcutta, India, and finally at Dacca, East Pakistan.

Background

File:Pakistan vs Burma, 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament.jpg

Pakistan vs Burma (in dark shirt) during the 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament

Established in 1952 by the Ceylon Football Association as a part of the Colombo Exhibition, it was Initially scheduled for March 1952 to coincide with princess Elizabeth II visit to Ceylon, the event was canceled due to the death of King George VI, which led to the cancellation of her visit.

The trophy awarded to the winner of the tournament was called the Colombo Cup. The competition featured four countries from the former British Raj: Burma, Ceylon, India, and Pakistan. It was commonly referred to as the Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament or sometimes simply the Quadrangular Tournament.

The success of the 1952 event led the four countries to agree to hold annual tournaments, with each country hosting in turn and additional trophies being awarded alongside the Colombo Cup. For example, the Burma Bowl was introduced in 1953, and the Pakistan Silver Cup in 1955.

However, after the fourth tournament in 1955, plans for the next edition in March 1957 in Ceylon fell through. The Ceylon government withheld funding, and the All-India Football Federation withdrew, arguing that the Olympic Games and the Asian Games already provided enough international competition. In January 1958, there was a proposal for Ceylon and India to continue the Colombo Cup competition alone, but India rejected the idea.

Results

Year	Host	Winner	Runner-up	3rd Place	4th place
1952 Details	Colombo, Ceylon	File:Flag of India.svg India File:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan (Trophy shared)	None	File:Flag of Ceylon 1951-1972.svg Ceylon File:Flag of Burma (1948–1974).svg Burma	None
1953 Details	Rangoon, Burma	File:Flag of India.svg India	File:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan	File:Flag of Burma (1948–1974).svg Burma	File:Flag of Ceylon 1951-1972.svg Ceylon
1954 Details	Calcutta, India	File:Flag of India.svg India	File:Flag of Ceylon 1951-1972.svg Ceylon	File:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan	File:Flag of Burma (1948–1974).svg Burma
1955 Details	Dacca, Pakistan	File:Flag of India.svg India	File:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan	File:Flag of Burma (1948–1974).svg Burma	File:Flag of Ceylon 1951-1972.svg Ceylon

Stadiums

Year	Stadium	Location
1952	Colombo Oval	Colombo, Ceylon
1953	Aung San Stadium	Rangoon, Burma
1954	Calcutta FC Ground	Calcutta, India
1955	Dacca Stadium	Dacca, East Pakistan

Statistics

Performance by nation

Team	Gold	Silver	Bronze
{{ Template:Yesno	alias = India	flag alias = Flag of India.svg	flag alias-1880 = British Raj Red Ensign.svg	flag alias-British = British Raj Red Ensign.svg	flag alias-1931 = 1931 Flag of India.svg	flag alias-civil = Civil Ensign of India.svg	flag alias-army = Flag of Indian Army.svg	link alias-army = Indian Army	flag alias-naval-1879 = Flag of Imperial India.svg	flag alias-naval-1884 = Flag of Imperial India.svg	flag alias-naval-1928 = Naval ensign of the United Kingdom.svg	flag alias-naval-1947 = Naval ensign of the United Kingdom.svg	flag alias-naval-1950 = Naval Ensign of India (1950–2001).svg	flag alias-naval-2001 = Naval Ensign of India (2001–2004).svg	flag alias-naval-2004 = Naval Ensign of India (2004–2014).svg	flag alias-naval-2014 = Naval Ensign of India (2014–2022).svg	flag alias-naval-2022 = Naval Ensign of India (2022).svg	flag alias-naval = Naval Ensign of India.svg	flag alias-air force-1950 = Air Force Ensign of India (1950–2023).svg	flag alias-air force = Air Force Ensign of India.svg	flag alias-coast guard = Indian Coast Guard flag.svg	link alias-coast guard = Indian Coast Guard	link alias-naval = Indian Navy	link alias-air force = Indian Air Force	flag alias-navy = Naval Ensign of India.svg	link alias-navy = Indian Navy	flag alias-military = Flag of Indian Armed Forces.svg	link alias-military = Indian Armed Forces	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	variant = }}	4 (1952, 1953, 1954*, 1955)
{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Pakistan	flag alias = Flag of Pakistan.svg	flag alias-army = Flag of the Pakistani Army.svg	flag alias-naval = Naval Ensign of Pakistan.svg	flag alias-navy=Naval Standard of Pakistan.svg	flag alias-air force = Air Force Ensign of Pakistan.svg	flag alias-military = Armed Forces of Pakistan Flag.svg	link alias-military = Pakistan Armed Forces	flag alias-civil = Civil Ensign of Pakistan.svg	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	variant = }}	1 (1952)	2 (1953, 1955)	1 (1954)
{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Sri Lanka	flag alias = Flag of Sri Lanka.svg	flag alias-army=Flag of the Sri Lankan Army.png	link alias-army=Sri Lanka Army	flag alias-air force=Air Force Ensign of Sri Lanka.svg	link alias-air force=Sri Lanka Air Force	flag alias-naval = Naval Ensign of Sri Lanka.svg	flag alias-navy = Naval Ensign of Sri Lanka.svg	size =	name =	altlink = national football team	variant = 1951 }}		1 (1954)	1 (1952)
{{ Template:Yesno	alias = Myanmar	shortname alias = Myanmar	flag alias = Flag of Myanmar.svg	flag alias-1937 = British Burma 1937 flag.svg	flag alias-1943 = Flag of Burma 1943.svg	flag alias-1948 = Flag of Burma (1948–1974).svg	flag alias-1974 = Flag of Myanmar (1974–2010).svg	flag alias-military = Flag of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) of Myanmar.svg	link alias-military = Tatmadaw	flag alias-naval = Naval Ensign of Myanmar.svg	link alias-air force = Myanmar Air Force	flag alias-army = Army Flag of Myanmar.svg	flag alias-air force = Air Force Ensign of Myanmar.svg	link alias-army = Myanmar Army	link alias-naval = Myanmar Navy	flag alias-navy = Naval Ensign of Myanmar.svg	link alias-navy = Myanmar Navy	flag alias-coast guard = Myanmar Coast Guard Ensign.svg	link alias-coast guard = Myanmar Coast Guard	flag alias-army 1948 = Former army flag of Myanmar.png	link alias-army 1948 = Myanmar Army	flag alias-navy 1948 = Naval Ensign of Burma (1948-1974).svg	link alias-navy 1948 = Myanmar Navy	flag alias-navy 1974 = Naval Ensign of Burma (1974–1994).svg	link alias-navy 1974 = Myanmar Navy	flag alias-air force 1948 = Air Force Ensign of Burma (1948-1974).svg	link alias-air force 1948 = Myanmar Air Force	flag alias-air force 1974 = Former Ensign of Myanmar Air Force.png	link alias-air force 1974 = Myanmar Air Firce	size =	name = Burma	altlink = national football team	altvar = football	variant = 1948 }}			3 (1952, 1953, 1954)

* = host

Top goal scorers by edition

File:P. K. Banerjee at the Rome Olympics.jpg

P.K. Banerjee of India scored the most number of goals in a single championship, 5 goals at the 1955 Quadrangular Tournament.

Years	Player(s)	Goals
1952	Template:Flagicon Sheoo Mewalal	4
1953	Template:Flagicon Samuel Gordon	4
1954	Template:Flagicon Puran Bahadur Thapa	4
1955	Template:Flagicon Pradip Kumar Banerjee	5

See also

• Football in Asia