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.
Beginnings in Delhi (2014−2019) 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.
Base Bhubaneswar (2019) Ahead of the
2019–20 Indian Super League, the club decided to relocate to a new base, the
Kalinga Stadium in
Bhubaneswar,
Odisha and rechristen 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 Football Club (2019−) , captained the
2023 AIFF Super Cup winning side that secured club's first silverware, and led the side to victory in the
Indian club qualifier for the 2023–24 AFC Cup, marking the club’s maiden Asian campaign. , all-time top scorer for Odisha in all competitions. 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 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. The
2022 Durand Cup kicked of the 2022–23 Indian football season, followed by the
Indian Super League season, and later ended with the
Super Cup. In the
2022 Durand Cup group stage, Odisha topped their group with four wins in four games, scoring 11 goals without conceding a single goal, and qualified for the
2022 Durand Cup quarter-finals. Odisha went down a.e.t. against Bengaluru in the quarter-finals 1–2, bowing out of the competition. In the
2022–23 Indian Super League season, Odisha finished 6th with 30 points on the table and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since rebranding into Odisha FC. However, they lost to Mohun Bagan 2-0 in the knock-outs. In the
2023 Indian Super Cup, Odisha began their campaign by drawing 1–1 against East Bengal. They then went on to win 3–0 against I-League side
Aizawl FC and a 2–1 win against Hyderabad FC to top their group and qualify for the Semi-final of the tournament. In the Semi-final, they beat the surprise team in the tournament
NortEast United 3-1 to qualify for their first ever Super Cup Final where they were up against
Bengaluru. On 25 April 2023, Odisha clinched their first ever silverware, the
Indian Super Cup title, defeating Bengaluru FC 2–1 in the
2023 Indian Super Cup final. They faced
2021–22 I-League champions
Gokulam Kerala in the
Indian club qualifiers for 2023–24 AFC competitions.
Diego Maurício's hat-trick helped Odisha cruise past Gokulam Kerala to qualify for the
AFC Cup. Odisha kicked-off their 2023–24 season with the
2023–24 AFC Cup, in which they were placed in the South Zone group alongside
Mohun Bagan SG from India,
Bashundhara Kings from Bangladesh, and
Maziya from the Maldives. Odisha finished as the
South Zone Winners, topping the group with 12 points from 6 games, qualifying for the inter-zonal play-off semi-finals. Odisha faced the Australian side
Central Coast Mariners in the
Inter-zone play-off semi-finals. They lost the first leg 0–4 away, and drew the second leg 0–0 at home, exiting the competition. In the
2023–24 Indian Super League season, the club finished 4th with 39 points from 22 games, qualifying for the play-offs. In the knock-outs, they defeated
Kerala Blasters 2–1, and reached the semi-finals for the first time in club history. In the two-legged semi-final, Odisha faced
Mohun Bagan SG. They won the first leg 2–1 at home, however, lost 0–2 away, exiting the league play-offs with an
aggregate score of 2–3. Odisha kicked of their 2024–25 season with the
2024 Bandodkar Trophy, a pre-season invitational tournament in
Goa. They topped their group, progressed through the knockout stages, defeating
Brisbane Roar 2–1 in the semi-finals, and reached the final. However, they lost the title match to
FC Goa 1–3 on penalties after a 3–3 draw and finished as runners-up of the trophy. In the
2024–25 Indian Super League, where the club under head coach
Sergio Lobera ultimately finished seventh in the league, with 8 wins, 9 draws, and 7 losses, narrowly missing out on a playoff spot in a tightly contested campaign. Immediately after the league, Odisha FC competed in the
2025 AIFF Super Cup, but were eliminated early in the
Round of 16, suffering a 0–3 defeat to
Punjab FC at the
Kalinga Stadium, ending their season without a cup run to salvage silverware. == Club crest and kits ==