[4][5] Founded in 1971, the club was sponsored by Jagatjit Cotton and Textile Mills under the leadership of Samir Thapar and participated in the National Football League which was later rebranded as I-League.

Included among these players was Inder Singh,[21] who captained the India national team in previous years, won the Arjuna Award in 1969,[22] and managed the club until 2001.

[23] The Leader Club, started by Lala Dwarka Das Sehgal had played a major role in popularizing football in Northern India in the 1960s and 1970s.

[24][25] In 1983, British coach Bob Bootland took charge of JCT and guided the team winning the Durand Cup same year.

[33][34] In that season, they clinched the prestigious IFA Shield title, defeating Iraqi Premier League side Al-Karkh SC by 1–0.

[35] In 2007, JCT announced an association with the English club Wolverhampton Wanderers, as part of the Wolverhampton-India Project launched at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

[41][42][43] In a statement, the club said, "Today football teams worldwide have become self-sustaining enterprises for which high exposure is needed to build viewership and spectators in the stadium.

JCT won the inaugural national league in 1996, where there was high quality TV exposure and widespread public interest.

It added, "JCT Limited, being a corporate, needs to justify to its stakeholders the effort vs visibility of the football team.

"[9] In 2014, reports said that the club was planning on a return to professional football through I-League 2nd Division the following season; however, it failed to materialize.

[44] Though the official club body maintained JCT's football-centric activities and academies, and trials until 2015, alongside acquiring services of Spanish UEFA A license holder coach Juan Jose Royan Balco.

[158] Later in 2022, JCT FC academy competed in Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Memorial Tournament in Banga.