Is there a national football league in India?

India's current top domestic league, I-League, was formed in 2007 in an attempt to professionalize domestic football and in 2013 the Indian Super League was formed with 8 teams to promote Indian football to the country and world. Also contested is Santosh Trophy, a knock-out competition between states (provinces) and government institutions. The current captain of the Indian national team is Sunil Chhetri and the team is coached by Stephen Constantine. India is currently ranked 96 among the FIFA World Rankings.

Football in India

Football is a popular sport in India. Football has enjoyed popularity in Kerala, West Bengal, Goa and north-eastern India which consists of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was hosted by India in the month of October in 2017 and the first time the country had hosted a FIFA event.The tournament was touted as the most successful FIFA U-17 World Cup ever, with the attendance being a record 1,347,133 surpassing China's 1985 edition where it was 1,230,976. Owing to this, India has also bid to host the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup and is considering a bid for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

The origin of football in India can be traced back to mid-nineteenth century when the game was introduced by British soldiers. Initially, games were played between army teams. However, clubs were soon set up around the country. Calcutta FC was the first club to be established in 1872, though reports suggest that they were initially a rugby club and switched their attentions to football as late as 1894. Other early clubs include Dalhousie Club, Traders Club and Naval Volunteers Club. Several other football clubs like Sovabazar, Mohun Bagan and Aryan Club were established in Calcutta around the 1890s. Calcutta, then capital of British India, soon became the hub of Indian football. Tournaments like Gladstone Cup, Trades Cup and Cooch Behar Cup was also started around this time. The Durand Cup and IFA Shield were both started in late nineteenth century.

The first Indian team to achieve success was Sovabazar Club, which won the Trades Cup in 1892. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club was set up in what is now West Bengal in 1889. The club became famous in 1911 when it became the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. It defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment 2–1 in the final of the tournament in a victory that is still regarded by many as the greatest win by an Indian team before Independence.

The Indian Football Association (IFA) was established in Calcutta in 1893, but did not have a single Indian on its board until the 1930s. The All India Football Federation, which runs the game in India, was formed in 1937, but took more than a decade to get affiliated with FIFA. India also insisted on playing barefoot when other nations were putting their boots on and the game was changing fast.

India qualified by default for the 1950 FIFA World Cup as a result of the withdrawal of all of their scheduled opponents. But lack of foreign exchange, the prospects of a long sea journey and an insistence on playing barefoot meant that the team never made it to Brazil. Although FIFA imposed a rule banning barefoot play following 1948 Olympics where India had played barefoot. The myth that Indians refused to play because they were not allowed to play barefoot is not entirely true, according to the then Indian captain Shailen Manna, it was just a story to cover up the disastrous decision of the AIFF. The team has never since come close to qualifying for the World Cup.

India even picked up the gold in football in the first Asian Games in 1951, beating a "booted" Iran by a solitary goal. In 1956, after having put on its boots, India reached the semi-final in Melbourne Olympics football, the first Asian country to do so. It stood fourth in the tournament. In 1962, India again picked up the football gold in the Asian Games. 1951–1962 is usually considered as "golden phase" of Indian football. The National team won numerous titles in this era under the coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim. Other than success in Asian Games football, India also won Merdeka Cup and Quadrangular Tournament while East Bengal garnered rave reviews after its tour of Romania. Rahim's death in the early 1960s pegged Indian football back after a successful period. The foremer FIFA president Mr. Sepp Blatter believes India is 'the sleeping giant of World Football'.

India never qualified for the Olympics after 1960. India did qualify for its first Asian Cup in 1964 but failed to capture the title. India's last important performance in an international tournament was in 1970 Asian Games, when it won the bronze medal by defeating Japan 1–0. In the mid-70s, Indian youth team jointly won the Youth Asian Cup with Iran. 24 September 1977, was a golden day for Indian Club football, when Mohun Bagan managed to hold on for a memorable 2–2 draw at the legendary Eden Gardens stadium in Calcutta, against a Pele led New York Cosmos. Mohun Bagan would have gone on and won the tie, had it not been for a controversial penalty awarded to the visitors that ensured the spoils were shared. The next day, the Ananda Bazar Patrika described Goutam Sarkar as "India's very own Beckenbaur". Indian football would however go through a barren phase in 70s, 80s and 90s, gradually losing its foothold as a top Asian team.

In August 2007, the Indian national team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1–0. In August the following year, India defeated Tajikistan 4–1 to lift the AFC Challenge Cup and in turn qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. In August 2009, India again won the Nehru Cup beating Syria in penalty (6–5).

In January 2011 India played in the 2011 Asian Cup which was the first time India has played in the Asian Cup for 24 years. India were knocked out in the group stage which contained South Korea, Australia, and Bahrain.

Ever since the 2011 Asian Cup the All India Football Federation has been working very hard on Indian Football. For instance they allowed former coach Bob Houghton coach the Indian side in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. After going first in there AFC Challenge Cup group Bob Houghton was sacked and replaced by Wim Koevermans. Meanwhile, the India national under-23 football team won the first round of the 2012 Olympics qualifiers against Myanmar but were knocked out by Qatar. India played their next official matches against United Arab Emirates in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which India lost on aggregate 5–2.

In 2014, India hosted the first-ever Unity World Cup in Goa, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

India has participated for the first time in FIFA U-17 World Cup as hosts in the 2017 edition of the tournament. This was the first time ever  that a team representing India participated in the finals of a FIFA-organised world tournament. India was placed in Group A along With, U.S.A, Ghana and Columbia. On 6 October 2017, India played their First Ever match in FIFA-U17 World Cup history in front of 47000 people against U.S.A.But unfortunately, India lost the match by 3–0. India played their Second match against Colombia. In 82nd minute Jeakson Singh Thounaojam became the First Indian Goal Scorer in any FIFA Tournament. For the third match of group stage, India faced Ghana where they went down to lose 4–0, finishing bottom of the group A.

Recently in 2018, Indian football has reached another level, by defeating Argentina U20 2–1 in 2018 Cotif Cup and Iraq U16 the defending champions of AFC U-16 Championship by 1–0.

The game in India is administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which is affiliated with the regional Asian Football Confederation, as well as with the worldwide body FIFA. The Indian national team has entered into the regional Asian Cup but has never competed in any World Cup. The Indian women's national team has also played in various competitions; moreover, women's football has its own separate inter-state and state competitions. Youth football is administered by the governmental Sports Authority of India.

The India national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for world football. In 1954, AIFF became one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

At the peak of its success during the 1950s and 60s, the team was automatically advanced to play in the 1950 FIFA World Cup (all the other Asian teams withdrew), but ultimately they did not go to the tournament in Brazil due to the cost of travel, lack of practice time, team selection issues, the issue of the AIFF valuing Olympics over the World Cup, and, unusually, their instance on playing barefoot when FIFA required all players to wear football boots. They won gold medals at two Asian Games, and held the record for the best performance by an Asian football team at the Olympics.

There are also a number of other national teams from the Under-23 team to the Under-17 team, the under-23's is considered to be a feeder team for the national team.

The Indian Super League, a tournament just recently recognized by AFC or FIFA, was founded in 2013 in an effort to make football a top sport in India and to make Indian football a major player worldwide. The league operates along the lines of the Twenty20 cricket Indian Premier League, and Major League Soccer of the United States. Unlike the vast majority of football leagues around the world, the ISL does not use the promotion and relegation system. Instead, it uses an American style franchise system in which ten teams were specifically created to participate in the league. Each team in the ISL is composed of players from I league or state league, apart from the foreigners who may or may not be a part of the I league. Recently it was recognised as the second national league in India, which means ISL champions from 2017–2018 leagues will be eligible for an AFC Cup qualifying slot

National Football League, established in 1996 by governing body All India Football Federation (AIFF) was the first "semi-professional" football league in India.
The League was renamed and restructured and the I-League was founded in 2006 after India's former top league the National Football League disbanded in a successful effort aimed at increasing the game in India. Links with clubs that were not in the I-League were maintained, and each season the bottom two clubs are relegated from the I-League and replaced by two from the I-League 2nd Division. The I-League is currently contested between 11 clubs. The Kolkata Derby in the I League (and other tournaments) played between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal is one of the most fierce rivalries in the world (featured in FIFA website) and one of the oldest derbies in the world (90 years). An average 80, 000 to 100, 000 supporters throng the stadium in this special fixture.

The I-League 2nd Division ranks second in the hierarchy of Indian football since the disbanding of India's top league in 2005. The I-League 2nd Division has 16 member clubs divided among three divisions for the 2018-19 seaso. Promotion and relegation of clubs takes place between the I-league and the I-League 2nd Division.

Right now the official youth leagues in India are I-League U18, U15 Youth league and U13 Youth league. I league U18 started as U19 tournament in 2011. 2017–18 season U18 champions are Shillong Lajong. AIFF started U16 Youth League in 2015 (later renamed U15 Youth league) in the wake of 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup (hosted by India). Minerva Academy is the reigning three-time champions of U16 League.

Winners of U18 Youth league

Winners of U15 Youth League
Winners OF U13 Youth League

State league football is considered the best amateur leagues in India. Each state has their own league in India. There is no promotion/relegation between the state leagues and the I-League 2nd Division but there could be promotion/relegation between leagues within the state. For example, the Calcutta Football League has five divisions with promotion/relegation but the winner of the Calcutta Football League will not get promoted to the I-League 2nd Division. However, apart from the clubs already featuring in the I League, AIFF may select the next best achiever of the state league as an entrant to the I league 2nd Division.

Calcutta Football League (CFL) is the football league system where several football clubs of the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) participate. It currently consists of six-tier pyramid system. Indian Football Association (IFA) conducts the CFL with 157 mostly Kolkata based clubs and units. Started in 1898, this league is the oldest league in Asia and one of the oldest in the world. There are about 8500 directly registered players of IFA who participate in CFL.

Federation Cup (abbreviated as Fed cup) is an annual knockout style club football tournament in India. It has started in 1977. From its inception till I-League has been started in 1997 (then called NFL), it was the most prestigious national level club football tournament in India. Presently it is the most important club tournament after I-league. Winning club of Federation cup gets a chance to compete in the continental level in AFC Cup along with I-league champion team.

The Durand Football Tournament was started by then, India's Foreign Secretary, Mortimer Durand at Simla, India, in 1888, initial matches were played in Dagshai. It was basically initiated, as a recreation for British troops stationed in India. The Durand Cup was twice suspended, during the two world wars. In 1940 the venue was shifted to New Delhi.

The Super Cup is a knockout football tournament. The top six teams from both the top tier leagues for professional football in India, the I-League and Indian Super League, qualify directly for the main round of the competition. The bottom four clubs from each league participate in qualification round to complete.

The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, Calcutta. It is the fourth oldest club cup competition in the world (Started in 1893) after the English and Scottish FA cup's and the Durand Cup.

Santosh Trophy is an annual Indian football tournament which is contested by states and government institutions. The first winners were Bengal, who also lead the all-time winners list with 31 titles till date.

Women's football has not had the relative head start over the rest of the world that the men's game has had, and also has not had the chance to spread through the country like its male counterpart. The game was administered by the Women's Football Federation of India (WFFI) from 1975 until the early 1990s when they were absorbed into the AIFF. However, there are complaints that women's football is treated as a poor relation to the men's game leading to (unfulfilled) plans to de-merge the WFFI.

The women's game, like the men's game, also has its early pioneers in the state of West Bengal. The large Kolkata teams, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, started women's club sides in the 2000–01 season, and they participate with other teams in the Calcutta Women's Football League. However, it has been seen recently that players from Odisha and Manipur have made advances in the game. Players from these two states make up a large part of the India women's national football team.

The women's national competition is played on a state vs. state basis in the India women's football championship. There are also similar national championships for junior teams like the "Junior Girls National Championship" (for under 19s) and the "Under-17 Girls National Championship".

Some female players have become internationally recognised. Among them are Chitra Gangadharan who was selected to play for the All Asian Star team. Jaanki Kotecha was selected as captain to the All Asian Star Team in 2008–2009, where she led her team to victory. In February 2000, Sujata Kar and Alpana Sil became the first Indian footballers to sign a contract outside India. They signed with the German team TSV Crailsheim, but had to return after a month due to problems with the clearance of their international transfer.

Until 1983, women's football took part in international tournaments like the AFC Women's Asian Cup. For example, the team won silver in 1980 at Calicut. In later years it had become poor in status just like its male counterpart. During the 2003 AFC Women's Championship, the Indian team were embarrassed by a 12–0 defeat to China.

The poor support of the national team by the AIFF became evident, when the team's trip to Germany was only made possible by Non Resident Indians in the country, and by the support of the German Football Association. Furthermore, championships are held in remote locations, and national media coverage is said to be restricted to state and local newspapers.

The women's game reached a new low in June 2009 when FIFA delisted the side from its world rankings for being out of action for more than 18 months. This comes at a time when the game was gaining in popularity amongst the younger generation as evident by the local leagues conducted around the country. The recently concluded Mumbai Women's Football League 2009–10 organised by the MDFA (Mumbai District Football Association) was a major success and featured many talented players who had played for the national team. Furthermore, the popularity of the event gave hope that the women's game could rise in India.

On 21 April 2016, over a year after the AIFF started plans for a women's football league, the AIFF President, Praful Patel, said that a women's football league would kick off in October 2016 with six teams to be decided, with the goal to expand to eight teams by 2017. Just over two months later, on 5 July 2016, the AIFF organized a workshop to discuss the India women's national team and discuss the proposed women's football league. Five Indian Super League sides (Delhi Dynamos, Chennaiyin FC, Kerala Blasters, FC Pune City, Atletico de Kolkata) and three I-League teams (Bengaluru FC, Aizawl FC, Mumbai FC) attended the workshop. It was announced that the league would feature the eight teams in the league and two other spots would be determined through a pre-qualification round.

On 14 October, the AIFF announced that the preliminary rounds for the Women's League would begin on 17 October 2016 in which ten teams are split into two groups of five teams each, with the winner from each group qualifying for the national finals.

There are many football stadiums in India, however only a few of them stadiums are currently of world standards. These are namely the largest stadium in India, the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata with a seating capacity of 85,000, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi with a capacity of over 60,000 and the Ambedkar Stadium with a capacity of 20,000 (but is known to have had crowds of 35,000 in the 2009 Nehru Cup). Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, with seating capacity of over 45,000 and Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, with seating capacity approximately 55,000 are two major arenas for football events in Odisha. In Sikkim, the Paljor Stadium in Gangtok which seats over 25,000 is famous as one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world as it is situated in the backdrop of Himalayas. In Shillong the main stadium is the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium with a capacity of 25,000 standing. Both the Paljor and the JLN in Shillong have been renovated and now have artificial playing surfaces. Some other stadiums important stadiums are the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, the Barasat Stadium in Barasat, the Fatorda in Goa, the Kaloor International Stadium in Kochi, Municipal Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. Apart from the above-mentioned stadiums, there are hundreds of more stadiums in the country. However, with India likely to host the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup there is definitely going to be massive renovation of said stadiums around the country.
The following tournaments are affiliated by All India Football Federation.

Note. † "denotes stadiums that have hosted international football matches."

The Indian Super League is officially broadcast on Star Sports network in India. International coverage is done by Fox Sports.

Star Networks was announced as the official broadcaster for 2017–18 season of I-league

The following articles detail the major results and events in each season since 2011.

Football in India

Football is a popular sport in India. Football has enjoyed popularity in Kerala, West Bengal, Goa and north-eastern India which consists of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

India's current top domestic league, I-League, was formed in 2007 in an attempt to professionalize domestic football and in 2013 the Indian Super League was formed with 8 teams to promote Indian football to the country and world. Also contested is Santosh Trophy, a knock-out competition between states (provinces) and government institutions. The current captain of the Indian national team is Sunil Chhetri and the team is coached by Stephen Constantine. India is currently ranked 96 among the FIFA World Rankings.

The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was hosted by India in the month of October in 2017 and the first time the country had hosted a FIFA event.The tournament was touted as the most successful FIFA U-17 World Cup ever, with the attendance being a record 1,347,133 surpassing China's 1985 edition where it was 1,230,976. Owing to this, India has also bid to host the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup and is considering a bid for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

The first Indian team to achieve success was Sovabazar Club, which won the Trades Cup in 1892. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club was set up in what is now West Bengal in 1889. The club became famous in 1911 when it became the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. It defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment 2–1 in the final of the tournament in a victory that is still regarded by many as the greatest win by an Indian team before Independence.

The Indian Football Association (IFA) was established in Calcutta in 1893, but did not have a single Indian on its board until the 1930s. The All India Football Federation, which runs the game in India, was formed in 1937, but took more than a decade to get affiliated with FIFA. India also insisted on playing barefoot when other nations were putting their boots on and the game was changing fast.

In August 2007, the Indian national team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1–0. In August the following year, India defeated Tajikistan 4–1 to lift the AFC Challenge Cup and in turn qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. In August 2009, India again won the Nehru Cup beating Syria in penalty (6–5).

In January 2011 India played in the 2011 Asian Cup which was the first time India has played in the Asian Cup for 24 years. India were knocked out in the group stage which contained South Korea, Australia, and Bahrain.

In 2014, India hosted the first-ever Unity World Cup in Goa, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Recently in 2018, Indian football has reached another level, by defeating Argentina U20 2–1 in 2018 Cotif Cup and Iraq U16 the defending champions of AFC U-16 Championship by 1–0.

The India national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for world football. In 1954, AIFF became one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

There are also a number of other national teams from the Under-23 team to the Under-17 team, the under-23's is considered to be a feeder team for the national team.

The I-League 2nd Division ranks second in the hierarchy of Indian football since the disbanding of India's top league in 2005. The I-League 2nd Division has 16 member clubs divided among three divisions for the 2018-19 seaso. Promotion and relegation of clubs takes place between the I-league and the I-League 2nd Division.

Right now the official youth leagues in India are I-League U18, U15 Youth league and U13 Youth league. I league U18 started as U19 tournament in 2011. 2017–18 season U18 champions are Shillong Lajong. AIFF started U16 Youth League in 2015 (later renamed U15 Youth league) in the wake of 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup (hosted by India). Minerva Academy is the reigning three-time champions of U16 League.

Winners of U18 Youth league

Winners of U15 Youth League
Winners OF U13 Youth League

Calcutta Football League (CFL) is the football league system where several football clubs of the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) participate. It currently consists of six-tier pyramid system. Indian Football Association (IFA) conducts the CFL with 157 mostly Kolkata based clubs and units. Started in 1898, this league is the oldest league in Asia and one of the oldest in the world. There are about 8500 directly registered players of IFA who participate in CFL.

Federation Cup (abbreviated as Fed cup) is an annual knockout style club football tournament in India. It has started in 1977. From its inception till I-League has been started in 1997 (then called NFL), it was the most prestigious national level club football tournament in India. Presently it is the most important club tournament after I-league. Winning club of Federation cup gets a chance to compete in the continental level in AFC Cup along with I-league champion team.

The Durand Football Tournament was started by then, India's Foreign Secretary, Mortimer Durand at Simla, India, in 1888, initial matches were played in Dagshai. It was basically initiated, as a recreation for British troops stationed in India. The Durand Cup was twice suspended, during the two world wars. In 1940 the venue was shifted to New Delhi.

The Super Cup is a knockout football tournament. The top six teams from both the top tier leagues for professional football in India, the I-League and Indian Super League, qualify directly for the main round of the competition. The bottom four clubs from each league participate in qualification round to complete.

The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, Calcutta. It is the fourth oldest club cup competition in the world (Started in 1893) after the English and Scottish FA cup's and the Durand Cup.

Santosh Trophy is an annual Indian football tournament which is contested by states and government institutions. The first winners were Bengal, who also lead the all-time winners list with 31 titles till date.

Women's football has not had the relative head start over the rest of the world that the men's game has had, and also has not had the chance to spread through the country like its male counterpart. The game was administered by the Women's Football Federation of India (WFFI) from 1975 until the early 1990s when they were absorbed into the AIFF. However, there are complaints that women's football is treated as a poor relation to the men's game leading to (unfulfilled) plans to de-merge the WFFI.

The women's game, like the men's game, also has its early pioneers in the state of West Bengal. The large Kolkata teams, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, started women's club sides in the 2000–01 season, and they participate with other teams in the Calcutta Women's Football League. However, it has been seen recently that players from Odisha and Manipur have made advances in the game. Players from these two states make up a large part of the India women's national football team.

The women's national competition is played on a state vs. state basis in the India women's football championship. There are also similar national championships for junior teams like the "Junior Girls National Championship" (for under 19s) and the "Under-17 Girls National Championship".

Some female players have become internationally recognised. Among them are Chitra Gangadharan who was selected to play for the All Asian Star team. Jaanki Kotecha was selected as captain to the All Asian Star Team in 2008–2009, where she led her team to victory. In February 2000, Sujata Kar and Alpana Sil became the first Indian footballers to sign a contract outside India. They signed with the German team TSV Crailsheim, but had to return after a month due to problems with the clearance of their international transfer.

Until 1983, women's football took part in international tournaments like the AFC Women's Asian Cup. For example, the team won silver in 1980 at Calicut. In later years it had become poor in status just like its male counterpart. During the 2003 AFC Women's Championship, the Indian team were embarrassed by a 12–0 defeat to China.

The poor support of the national team by the AIFF became evident, when the team's trip to Germany was only made possible by Non Resident Indians in the country, and by the support of the German Football Association. Furthermore, championships are held in remote locations, and national media coverage is said to be restricted to state and local newspapers.

On 14 October, the AIFF announced that the preliminary rounds for the Women's League would begin on 17 October 2016 in which ten teams are split into two groups of five teams each, with the winner from each group qualifying for the national finals.

Note. † "denotes stadiums that have hosted international football matches."

The Indian Super League is officially broadcast on Star Sports network in India. International coverage is done by Fox Sports.

Star Networks was announced as the official broadcaster for 2017–18 season of I-league

The following articles detail the major results and events in each season since 2011.

Football in India

Football is a popular sport in India. Football has enjoyed popularity in Kerala, West Bengal, Goa and north-eastern India which consists of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

India's current top domestic league, I-League, was formed in 2007 in an attempt to professionalize domestic football and in 2013 the Indian Super League was formed with 8 teams to promote Indian football to the country and world. Also contested is Santosh Trophy, a knock-out competition between states (provinces) and government institutions. The current captain of the Indian national team is Sunil Chhetri and the team is coached by Stephen Constantine. India is currently ranked 96 among the FIFA World Rankings.

The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was hosted by India in the month of October in 2017 and the first time the country had hosted a FIFA event.The tournament was touted as the most successful FIFA U-17 World Cup ever, with the attendance being a record 1,347,133 surpassing China's 1985 edition where it was 1,230,976. Owing to this, India has also bid to host the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup and is considering a bid for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

The first Indian team to achieve success was Sovabazar Club, which won the Trades Cup in 1892. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club was set up in what is now West Bengal in 1889. The club became famous in 1911 when it became the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. It defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment 2–1 in the final of the tournament in a victory that is still regarded by many as the greatest win by an Indian team before Independence.

The Indian Football Association (IFA) was established in Calcutta in 1893, but did not have a single Indian on its board until the 1930s. The All India Football Federation, which runs the game in India, was formed in 1937, but took more than a decade to get affiliated with FIFA. India also insisted on playing barefoot when other nations were putting their boots on and the game was changing fast.

In August 2007, the Indian national team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1–0. In August the following year, India defeated Tajikistan 4–1 to lift the AFC Challenge Cup and in turn qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. In August 2009, India again won the Nehru Cup beating Syria in penalty (6–5).

In January 2011 India played in the 2011 Asian Cup which was the first time India has played in the Asian Cup for 24 years. India were knocked out in the group stage which contained South Korea, Australia, and Bahrain.

In 2014, India hosted the first-ever Unity World Cup in Goa, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Recently in 2018, Indian football has reached another level, by defeating Argentina U20 2–1 in 2018 Cotif Cup and Iraq U16 the defending champions of AFC U-16 Championship by 1–0.

The India national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for world football. In 1954, AIFF became one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

There are also a number of other national teams from the Under-23 team to the Under-17 team, the under-23's is considered to be a feeder team for the national team.

The I-League 2nd Division ranks second in the hierarchy of Indian football since the disbanding of India's top league in 2005. The I-League 2nd Division has 16 member clubs divided among three divisions for the 2018-19 seaso. Promotion and relegation of clubs takes place between the I-league and the I-League 2nd Division.

Right now the official youth leagues in India are I-League U18, U15 Youth league and U13 Youth league. I league U18 started as U19 tournament in 2011. 2017–18 season U18 champions are Shillong Lajong. AIFF started U16 Youth League in 2015 (later renamed U15 Youth league) in the wake of 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup (hosted by India). Minerva Academy is the reigning three-time champions of U16 League.

Winners of U18 Youth league

Winners of U15 Youth League
Winners OF U13 Youth League

Calcutta Football League (CFL) is the football league system where several football clubs of the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) participate. It currently consists of six-tier pyramid system. Indian Football Association (IFA) conducts the CFL with 157 mostly Kolkata based clubs and units. Started in 1898, this league is the oldest league in Asia and one of the oldest in the world. There are about 8500 directly registered players of IFA who participate in CFL.

Federation Cup (abbreviated as Fed cup) is an annual knockout style club football tournament in India. It has started in 1977. From its inception till I-League has been started in 1997 (then called NFL), it was the most prestigious national level club football tournament in India. Presently it is the most important club tournament after I-league. Winning club of Federation cup gets a chance to compete in the continental level in AFC Cup along with I-league champion team.

The Durand Football Tournament was started by then, India's Foreign Secretary, Mortimer Durand at Simla, India, in 1888, initial matches were played in Dagshai. It was basically initiated, as a recreation for British troops stationed in India. The Durand Cup was twice suspended, during the two world wars. In 1940 the venue was shifted to New Delhi.

The Super Cup is a knockout football tournament. The top six teams from both the top tier leagues for professional football in India, the I-League and Indian Super League, qualify directly for the main round of the competition. The bottom four clubs from each league participate in qualification round to complete.

The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, Calcutta. It is the fourth oldest club cup competition in the world (Started in 1893) after the English and Scottish FA cup's and the Durand Cup.

Santosh Trophy is an annual Indian football tournament which is contested by states and government institutions. The first winners were Bengal, who also lead the all-time winners list with 31 titles till date.

Women's football has not had the relative head start over the rest of the world that the men's game has had, and also has not had the chance to spread through the country like its male counterpart. The game was administered by the Women's Football Federation of India (WFFI) from 1975 until the early 1990s when they were absorbed into the AIFF. However, there are complaints that women's football is treated as a poor relation to the men's game leading to (unfulfilled) plans to de-merge the WFFI.

The women's game, like the men's game, also has its early pioneers in the state of West Bengal. The large Kolkata teams, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, started women's club sides in the 2000–01 season, and they participate with other teams in the Calcutta Women's Football League. However, it has been seen recently that players from Odisha and Manipur have made advances in the game. Players from these two states make up a large part of the India women's national football team.

The women's national competition is played on a state vs. state basis in the India women's football championship. There are also similar national championships for junior teams like the "Junior Girls National Championship" (for under 19s) and the "Under-17 Girls National Championship".

Some female players have become internationally recognised. Among them are Chitra Gangadharan who was selected to play for the All Asian Star team. Jaanki Kotecha was selected as captain to the All Asian Star Team in 2008–2009, where she led her team to victory. In February 2000, Sujata Kar and Alpana Sil became the first Indian footballers to sign a contract outside India. They signed with the German team TSV Crailsheim, but had to return after a month due to problems with the clearance of their international transfer.

Until 1983, women's football took part in international tournaments like the AFC Women's Asian Cup. For example, the team won silver in 1980 at Calicut. In later years it had become poor in status just like its male counterpart. During the 2003 AFC Women's Championship, the Indian team were embarrassed by a 12–0 defeat to China.

The poor support of the national team by the AIFF became evident, when the team's trip to Germany was only made possible by Non Resident Indians in the country, and by the support of the German Football Association. Furthermore, championships are held in remote locations, and national media coverage is said to be restricted to state and local newspapers.

On 14 October, the AIFF announced that the preliminary rounds for the Women's League would begin on 17 October 2016 in which ten teams are split into two groups of five teams each, with the winner from each group qualifying for the national finals.

Note. † "denotes stadiums that have hosted international football matches."

The Indian Super League is officially broadcast on Star Sports network in India. International coverage is done by Fox Sports.

Star Networks was announced as the official broadcaster for 2017–18 season of I-league

The following articles detail the major results and events in each season since 2011.

The National Football League (commonly known as the NFL) was an association football league competition in India between 1996 and 2007 which was organised into three divisions. The league is now transformed into the I-League and continues with that name. The "Premier Division" of the league was first introduced in 1996, though the country already had a long history in the sport thanks to the likes of the IFA Shield and the Federation Cup. In fact, the Santosh Trophy (started in 1941) was the top football competition in the country before the then National Football League started.

National Football League (India)

A "Second Division" was added to the league in 1997, as Football in India grew to challenge cricket for the title of India's most popular sport. Between the divisions each year two teams were relegated and two teams were promoted. By 2006 a "Third Division" was added but that did not matter as by this time this would be the last year for the NFL; it was replaced in 2007 by the I-League which focuses on completely turning Indian football into a professional sport.In order of their promotion to the First Division.

The 1996–97 National Football League, also known as the Philips National League for sponsorship reasons, was the inaugural season of the National Football League. The tournament began on 17 December 1996 and concluded on 16 March 1997. Before the commencement, the All India Football Federation maintained that it would be a semi-professional tournament for the first two years.

1996–97 National Football League (India)

Philips India was the main sponsor for the tournament and a total prize money of 1.5 crore was announced; 35 lakh to the winner. Twelve teams took part in the competition, which was played in two round robin stages: a preliminary group stage featuring two groups of six teams each played in Calcutta and Goa, and a main stage featuring the top four from each group played after a gap of three weeks following the first. East Bengal were the favorites to win the competition by virtue of their victories in the Federation Cup and the Calcutta League earlier that season. However, in a closely fought second stage mostly between JCT Mills and Churchill Brothers, the former sealed the title on the final day with a win over Dempo, courtesy a hat trick by Bhaichung Bhutia. Air India's Godfrey Pereira was named the best player of the league and JCT Mills' Sukhwinder Singh, the best manager. JCT Mills also won the Fairplay Trophy, which carried a purse of 2.5 lakh.

The bottom two clubs in each group would not take part in the next edition, although Mohun Bagan would play the following season.

The first match of the inaugural season of the National Football League kicked off at around 5:45 p.m. (IST), an hour after the scheduled time, on 17 December 1996 between East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting at the Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta. It was inaugurated by then India's Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda. East Bengal defeated Mohammedan Sporting 2–1 with Raman Vijayan scoring a brace for his team; the first goal coming in the 10th minute. Player scored four goals

Football in India has existed in many forms since the game first arrived in the country during the 19th century with the first nationwide club competition, the Durand Cup, being founded in 1888. Despite India's early history in the game, the country's first nationwide football league did not begin until the semi-professional National Football League commenced in 1996. Prior to the creation of the National Football League, most clubs played in state leagues or select nationwide tournaments.

Indian Super League

The Indian Super League (ISL) is a men's professional football league in India. For sponsorship reasons, the league is officially known as the Hero Indian Super League. One of the top football leagues in the country, it currently shares the top spot in the Indian football league system with the older I-League. The league is contested by 10 teams and will run from September to March during the 2018–19 season.

Founded on 21 October 2013 in partnership with IMG, Reliance Industries, and Star Sports, the Indian Super League was launched with the goal of growing the sport of football in India and increase its exposure in the country. The league's first season took place in 2014 with eight teams. During the first three seasons of the Indian Super League, the league operated without official recognition from the Asian Football Confederation, the governing body for the sport in Asia. The league also operated along the same lines of the Indian Premier League, the country's premier Twenty20 cricket competition, with the league campaign lasting for 2–3 months and matches held daily. However, before the 2017–18 season, the league earned recognition from the AFC, expanded to ten teams, and extended its schedule to five months.

Unlike most football leagues around the world, the Indian Super League does not use promotion and relegation, instead choosing to grow the league through expansion, similar to Major League Soccer in the United States. During the league's first four seasons, two teams have been crowned champions, both winning twice each. ATK won the first title in 2014 before winning their second title in 2016. Chennaiyin are the other club to be crowned as champions, having done so in both 2015 and 2018.

Ten years after the formation of the National Football League, the All India Football Federation, the governing body for the sport in India, decided to reformat the league as the I-League in an effort to professionalize the game. However, during the following seasons, the league would suffer from a lack of popularity due to poor marketing and poor quality of football.

In September 2005, the AIFF signed a 10–year television and media contract with Zee Sports. The deal would see Zee broadcast the National Football League and I-League, as well as other tournaments organized by the AIFF and select India international matches. However, in October 2010, the deal between the AIFF and Zee Sports was terminated five years early after differences between both parties related to payment and how to grow the game in India.

A couple months later, on 9 December 2010, it was announced that the AIFF had signed a new 15–year, 700–crore deal with Reliance Industries and the International Management Group. The deal gave IMG–Reliance exclusive commercial rights to sponsorship, advertising, broadcasting, merchandising, video, franchising, and the right to create a new football league.

As commercial partners for the AIFF, IMG–Reliance were responsible for the marketing and organization of the I-League. However, in February 2012, it was revealed that I-League clubs were not happy with the federation's commercial partners and believed IMG–Reliance had done little to try and promote the country's then top domestic football league. However, the AIFF reassured the clubs that the federation, as well as IMG–Reliance, had plans to improve the league prior to the 2012–13 season and maybe even revamp the tournament along the lines of Major League Soccer of the United States.

In June 2013, word had come out that IMG–Reliance were planning to start their own franchise-based tournament for 2013 and also divide the I-League into two conferences. This idea was not well received by I-League clubs who decided to refuse to loan any of their players for the IMG–Reliance proposed tournament or sign any players already contracted to the company. However, by August 2013, it was revealed that IMG–Reliance had signed the required number of players needed to start their own tournament and that the tournament would have the backing of the AIFF.

The Indian Super League was officially launched on 21 October 2013 by IMG–Reliance, Star Sports, and the All India Football Federation. The league was announced to take place from January 2014 to March 2014. A few days later however, on 29 October 2013, it was announced that the ISL would be postponed to September 2014.

At first, it was announced that bidding for the eight Indian Super League teams would be complete before the end of 2013 and that there was already high interest from big corporations, Indian Premier League teams, Bollywood stars, and other consortiums. However, due to the rescheduling of the league, the bidding was moved to 3 March 2014. It was also revealed around this time that not only would bidders need to comply with a financial requirement but they would also need to promote grassroots development plans for football within their area. Finally, in early April 2014, the winning bidders were announced. The selected cities/state were Bangalore, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune. Former India cricket player Sachin Tendulkar, along with PVP Ventures, won the bidding for the Kochi franchise. Another former Indian cricket player, Sourav Ganguly, along with a group of Indian businessmen and La Liga side Atlético Madrid, won the bid for the Kolkata franchise. Meanwhile, Bollywood stars John Abraham, Ranbir Kapoor, and Salman Khan won the bid for the Guwahati, Mumbai, and Pune franchises respectively. Bangalore and Delhi were won by companies while Goa was won by a partnership between Videocon, Dattaraj Salgaocar, and I-League side, Dempo.

The first team to be launched officially was the Kolkata franchise as Atlético de Kolkata on 7 May 2014. On 7 July 2014, the team announced the first head coach in league history, Antonio López Habas. The next day, Kolkata also announced the first official marquee signing in the Indian Super League, UEFA Champions League winner Luis García.

Eventually, all eight teams were revealed as Atlético de Kolkata, Bangalore Titans, Delhi Dynamos, Goa, Kerala Blasters, Mumbai City, NorthEast United and Pune City. However, on 21 August 2014, it was announced that due to Bangalore's owners dropping out, Chennai would be given a franchise instead. The team was eventually named Chennaiyin FC. At the same time, the original marquee players were Luis García, Elano, Alessandro Del Piero, Robert Pirès, David James, Freddie Ljungberg, Joan Capdevila, and David Trezeguet.

The inaugural season began on 12 October 2014 at the Salt Lake Stadium when Atlético de Kolkata defeated Mumbai City, 3–0. The first goal was scored by Fikru Teferra. The inaugural final was held on 20 December 2014 with Atlético de Kolkata becoming champions after defeating Kerala Blasters 1–0 at the DY Patil Stadium.

For the first three seasons of the Indian Super League, the league operated without official recognition from the governing body for football in Asia, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and FIFA, the world governing body. In October 2014, then FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke stated that the world governing body only recognized the ISL as a tournament, not a league. The official league for football in India remained the I-League. With no recognition from the AFC, the league also couldn't participate in Asian club competitions, the AFC Champions League or AFC Cup.

During the first three seasons of the Indian Super League, attendances across the league had exceeded expectations of pundits and of the domestic I-League. Television ratings were also strong for the league as well as social media interaction. However, despite the general success off the pitch, the league drew criticism in other areas. Due to the need to accommodate the ISL into the Indian football calendar, the I-League season was shortened and went from having an October to May schedule to January to May schedule. Indian players would play for both an ISL team and an I-League club while the I-League continued to suffer from lack of visibility compared to the ISL. India head coach Stephen Constantine had called for both the ISL and I-League to either run together at the same time or merge.

On 18 May 2016, IMG–Reliance, along with the AIFF and I-League representatives met during a meeting in Mumbai. During the meeting it was proposed that, starting from the 2017–18 season, the Indian Super League become the top tier football league in India while the I-League be reformed as League One and be relegated to the second division. The ISL would also expand by two teams and continue to operate without promotion and relegation but run for 5–7 months instead of 2–3. The idea was not entertained by the I-League representatives.

In June 2017, IMG–Reliance, the AIFF, I-League representatives, and the AFC met in Kuala Lumpur in order to find a new way forward for Indian football. The AFC were against allowing the ISL as the main league in India while I-League clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan wanted a complete merger of the ISL and I-League. A couple weeks later, the AIFF proposed that both the Indian Super League and I-League run simultaneously on a short–term basis with the I-League winner qualifying for the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup qualification spot going to the ISL champion. The proposal from the AIFF was officially approved by the AFC on 25 July 2017, with the ISL replacing the domestic cup competition, the Federation Cup. It was also stated that the league would now run for five months starting with the 2017–18 season and the league would expand to 10 teams.

A month before, on 11 May 2017, the ISL organizers started to accept bids for 2–3 new franchises for the 2017–18 season. The bids would be for ten cities, namely Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Cuttack, Durgapur, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ranchi, Siliguri and Thiruvanathapuram. It was also clarified that if Kolkata were to win at least one bid that the new Kolkata side would have to play away from the city for only two seasons. A month later, on 12 June, it was announced that I-League side, Bengaluru, and Tata Steel (for Jamshedpur) had won the bidding for the new teams.

On 22 September 2017, the league announced officially that it would be expanding its season by two months, thus making the league last for five months instead of three. The league would also go from having matches played daily to being played between Wednesday and Sunday.

The next year, prior to the 2018–19 season, it was reported that Reliance Industries had bought out IMG's shares in the league. Thus giving Reliance Industries 65% ownership of the league while Star Sports retains 35%.

During the 2018–19 season, the Indian Super League will run from September to March. All ten teams play each other twice, home and away, for eighteen matches each. At the end of the season, the top four sides qualify for the playoffs. During the league's first three seasons, the competition ran from October to December. The regular season would begin in October and end by early December while the playoffs would take place within the next two to three weeks. The regular season would be fourteen matches long. The top four sides and the team reaching 30 points at the end qualify for the playoffs. The first round of the playoffs sees the first placed team take on the fourth placed team while the second placed team faces the third.

During the playoffs, the first round is played in a two-legged format with both teams playing each other at their home venues. At the end of the two matches, the team which leads on aggregate would move on to the final. The final is a single-leg match which takes place in a neutral venue. If scores were tied on aggregate in the first round or in the final, 30 minutes of extra time would be used to determine the winner and finally, if still tied, penalties.

In July 2017, it was proposed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that the Indian Super League champion be granted a spot in the AFC Cup, Asia's second-tier club competition. On 25 July 2017, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) approved the AIFF's proposal. Thus, from the 2017–18 season, the Indian Super League champions were allowed to participate in the AFC Cup from the qualification stages of the competition. Meanwhile, India's spot in the AFC Champions League, Asia's top club competition, was still kept by the I-League.

During the 2018 AFC Cup, Bengaluru became the first ISL club to participate in Asian club competition. The club qualified by virtue of being the Federation Cup champions from the previous season. On 17 March 2018, Chennaiyin became the first club to qualify for the AFC Cup via becoming the Indian Super League champions after they defeated Bengaluru in the 2018 final.

The Indian Super League consists of ten teams from nine different states in India. Unlike other football leagues, the ISL does not use promotion and relegation but instead uses expansion like Major League Soccer in the United States and the A-League in Australia. The league features two main derbies which include the Southern derby between Chennaiyin and the Kerala Blasters, and the Maharashtra derby between Mumbai City and Pune City. In 2017, the league added two new clubs for the first time when Bengaluru and Jamshedpur were awarded expansion teams.

For the upcoming 2018–19 season, each team can have a maximum of 25 players on their roster and a minimum of 22. Of the 22–25 players on the roster, only a maximum of seven players can be foreign while at least two must be Indian developmental players. Each team is also allowed to spend a maximum of ₹17.5 crore on their squad, as that will be the salary cap for this season. Finally, each team is also allowed to sign a marquee foreign player who wouldn't count towards the salary cap but it isn't a requirement.

Just like the Indian Premier League, the Indian Super League has a similar ownership model where the teams are owned by prominent businessmen, as well as celebrity owners from bollywood and cricket. The Indian Super League owners act as the league's "League Partners". British professional services group, Ernst & Young, were hired to draw up a criteria for the team bidding process and they were required to approve the potential owners. In April 2014 the owners were announced. Bollywood stars such as Ranbir Kapoor, John Abraham, and Salman Khan were bid winners, as well as cricket stars Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. Football clubs such as Atlético Madrid and Shillong Lajong were also bid winners.

Despite careful selection, the Indian Super League has had trouble in the past with team ownership. In August 2014, two months before the inaugural season, Sun Group, the owners of the Bangalore franchise, dropped out of the league after the league rejected their potential tie-up with then I-League club Bengaluru FC. Later that month, it was announced that another Bollywood star, Abhishek Bachchan, would take over the last franchise spot and move the team from Bangalore to Chennai.

The league had its first ownership switch within a team on 1 June 2016 when the Kerala Blasters announced their new ownership structure. Along with Sachin Tendulkar, the team bought in businessman Nimmagadda Prasad and film stars Allu Aravind, Chiranjeevi, and Akkineni Nagarjuna after PVP Ventures withdrew their stake in the team.

Since the league began in 2014, there have been a variety of stadiums used to host matches. Two stadiums, the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, are mainly used as cricket stadiums. Three other stadiums are athletic stadiums which are primarily used to host football matches in the I-League: the Fatorda Stadium in Goa, the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, and the Balewadi Stadium in Pune. Three other venues were used which don't primarily host top-tier professional football: the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Assam, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi.

For the 2016 season, two new stadiums were used in the league, the Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai and the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Kolkata. The Mumbai Football Arena replaced the DY Patil Stadium for Mumbai City. ATK moved to the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium after the Salt Lake Stadium was being renovated for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

For the 2017–18 season, ATK returned to the Salt Lake Stadium while the addition of Bengaluru and Jamshedpur added two new stadiums to the league. Bengaluru would host matches at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium while Jamshedpur would play at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.

On 18 July 2014, it was announced that Hero MotoCorp would be the first title sponsor of the Indian Super League. The deal is scheduled to last for three-years from 2014 to 2016. On 30 September 2014, a week before the first season, it was announced that German sports manufacture, Puma SE, would be the official ball supplier of the Indian Super League. The company provides balls for matches and training sessions.

The league relies heavily on a central sponsorship pool. League stakeholders, Star Sports and IMG–Reliance, manage the central sponsorship pool and market the league to potential investors and sponsors. Twenty percent of the money gained in the central sponsorship pool goes towards organizing the league while the rest is divided among the teams. Despite successfully gaining a lot of money through central sponsorship in 2014, 100% of the revenues were used by the league to improve infrastructure and facilities, which meant that the teams lost money during the first season. The next season saw a change, however, with the central sponsorship pool doubling to around 100 crore due to new league–wide sponsorships with corporates such as Flipkart and DHL Express. Teams were also able to increase their intake in sponsorships in 2015 with shirt sponsorship deals worth double from the previous season and around nine advertisements allowed on team kits. Teams in the league had also signed shirt manufacturing sponsorship deals with companies such as Adidas and Puma.

For the 2016 season, it was projected that the league would gain more sponsors compared to the previous season, especially since the league would occur during the Indian festive periods. For kit sponsorships, each team is allowed to have six sponsorships on the kit, with teams like ATK regularly filling those spots.

On 23 July 2017 it was announced that Hero MotoCorp would extend their deal as the title sponsors of the Indian Super League for another three-years. The company would spend $25 million on the league during those three years according to Nita Ambani, the league's chairperson.

The Indian Super League trophy was unveiled on 5 October 2014, by Nita Ambani, the founder and chairperson of Football Sports Development. At the trophy unveiling occasion, Mrs. Ambani said, "It's a momentous day for all of us today as I stand along with the world's footballing legends to unveil the pride of Indian Super League. As these role models have inspired hundreds of thousands of players worldwide, I am sure the ISL trophy will also stand as a symbol of aspiration for many youngsters in an emergent India".

Designed by Frazer and Haws, the trophy stands 26 inches tall. The logo on the top band has the ISL colours assigned to it and the handles are ornately carved and embellished with 24 carats gold gilt to imbue a sense of pride, when held up.

With Star Sports being one of the organizers of the Indian Super League, they also serve as the official broadcasters of the league in Indian Subcontinent. The goal of Star Sports for the league was to "use its superior content creation, packaging and presentation expertise to attract and retain viewer interest." In September 2014 it was announced that Star Sports would broadcast the ISL through eight channels in five different languages in an attempt to reach 85% of the Indian television audience, the first of its kind in Indian sporting history.

The first match of the Indian Super League, between Atlético de Kolkata and Mumbai City on 12 October 2014, reportedly drew a television audience of 75 million people. The first week reportedly drew 170 million people in total. These numbers were 12 times more than what India drew for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and around 20-30 times more than what the I-League, India's other top-tier football league, drew on TEN Action and even the Premier League. Overall, at the end of the first season, it was reported that the ISL drew a total of 429 million viewers across India and the subcontinent, just a bit lower than the Pro Kabaddi League, and two and a half times more than the FIFA World Cup. It was also reported that 57% of the viewers were women and children and that the STAR Sports website gained 32 million visits during the tournament.

The league experienced a sharp growth in ratings after the 2016 season with over 216 million viewers on television throughout. The 2016 final between ATK and the Kerala Blasters reportedly drew 41 million viewers which was a 41% increase on the number of viewers who saw the 2015 final between Chennaiyin and Goa. Ratings in rural India meanwhile drew 101 million viewers.

For the 2017–18 season, Star Sports broadcast the league on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2HD in English. The broadcasters also televised the matches in Hindi and Tamil and thru various regional channels in different languages. The league was also streamed online via Hotstar, Star Sports' online streaming service.

Statistics below are for all-time leaders as of 18 December 2018.

The 1999–2000 National Football League, also known as the Coca-Cola National Football League for sponsorship reasons, was the fourth season of National Football League, the top Indian league for association football clubs, since its inception in 1996.

1999–2000 National Football League (India)

It was performed in 12 teams, and Mohun Bagan won the championship under the coach Subrata Bhattacharya. This is their second National Football League title. Churchill Brothers came second and Salgaonkar came third. For the first time, the tournament was played without any group stage (as that was followed in previous seasons) and in "Home and Away" system. Dempo and BSF (Border Security Force) were relegated from the National Football League.


What was  the biggest typhoon?

Typhoon Tip, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Warling, was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded. The forty-third tropical depression, nineteenth tropical storm, and twelfth typhoon of the 1979 Pacific typhoon season, Tip developed out of a disturbance from the monsoon trough on October 4 near Pohnpei. Initially, a tropical storm to the northwest hindered the development and motion of Tip, though after the storm tracked farther north, Tip was able to intensify. After passing Guam, Tip rapidly intensified and reached peak sustained winds of and a worldwide record-low sea-level pressure of on October 12. At its peak strength, it was also the second-largest tropical cyclone on record, with a wind diameter of, behind only Typhoon Winnie in 1997. Tip slowly weakened as it continued west-northwestward and later turned to the northeast, in response to an approaching trough. The typhoon made landfall in southern Japan on October 19, and became an extratropical cyclone shortly thereafter.
U.S. Air Force aircraft flew 60 weather reconnaissance missions into the typhoon, making Tip one of the most closely observed tropical cyclones. Rainfall from Tip indirectly led to a fire that killed 13 Marines and injured 68 at Combined Arms Training Center, Camp Fuji in the Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan. Elsewhere in the country, the typhoon caused widespread flooding and 42 deaths; offshore shipwrecks left 44 people killed or missing.

Typhoon Tip

At the end of September 1979, three circulations developed within the monsoon trough that extended from the Philippines to the Marshall Islands. The westernmost disturbance developed into a tropical depression on October 1, to the west of Luzon, which would later become Typhoon Sarah on October 7. On October 3, the disturbance southwest of Guam developed into Tropical Storm Roger, and later on the same day, a third tropical disturbance that would later become Typhoon Tip formed south of Pohnpei. Strong flow from across the equator was drawn into Roger's wind circulation, initially preventing significant development of the precursor disturbance to Tip. Despite the unfavorable air pattern, the tropical disturbance gradually organized as it moved westward. Due to the large-scale circulation pattern of Tropical Storm Roger, Tip's precursor moved erratically and slowly executed a cyclonic loop to the southeast of Chuuk. A reconnaissance aircraft flight into the system late on October 4 confirmed the existence of a closed low-level circulation, and early on October 5, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued its first warning on Tropical Depression Twenty-Three-W.
While executing a loop near Chuuk, the tropical depression intensified into Tropical Storm Tip, though the storm failed to organize significantly due to the influence of Tropical Storm Roger. Reconnaissance aircraft provided the track of the surface circulation, since satellite imagery estimated the center was about from its true position. After drifting erratically for several days, Tip began a steady northwest motion on October 8. By that time, Tropical Storm Roger had become an extratropical cyclone, resulting in the southerly flow to be entrained into Tip. An area of a tropical upper tropospheric trough moved north of Guam at the time, providing an excellent outflow channel north of Tip. Initially, Tip was predicted to continue northwestward and make landfall on Guam, though instead, it turned to the west early on October 9, passing about south of Guam. Later that day, Tip intensified to attain typhoon status.

Owing to very favorable conditions for development, Typhoon Tip rapidly intensified over the open waters of the western Pacific Ocean. Late on October 10, Tip attained wind speeds equal to Category 4 strength on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, and it became a super typhoon on the next day. The central pressure dropped by from October 9 to 11, during which the circulation pattern of Typhoon Tip expanded to a record diameter of. Tip continued to intensify further, and early on October 12, reconnaissance aircraft recorded a worldwide record-low pressure of with winds of, when Tip was located about west-northwest of Guam. In its best track, the Japan Meteorological Agency listed Tip as peaking with 10-minute sustained winds of. At the time of its peak strength, its eye was wide. Tip crossed the 135th meridian east on the afternoon of October 13, prompting the PAGASA to issue warnings on Typhoon Tip, assigning it the local name "Warling".

After peaking intensity, Tip weakened to and remained at that intensity for several days, as it continued west-northwestward. For five days after its peak strength, the average radius of winds stronger than extended over. On October 17, Tip began to weaken steadily and decrease in size, recurving northeastward under the influence of a mid-level trough the next day. After passing about east of Okinawa, the typhoon accelerated to. Tip made landfall on the Japanese island of Honshū with winds of about on October 19. It continued rapidly northeastward through the country and became an extratropical cyclone over northern Honshū a few hours after moving ashore. The extratropical remnant of Tip proceeded northeastward and gradually weakened, crossing the International Date Line on October 22. The storm was last observed near the Aleutian Islands of Alaska on October 24.

The typhoon produced heavy rainfall early in its lifetime while passing near Guam, including a total of 23.1 cm (9.09 in) at Andersen Air Force Base. The outer rainbands of the large circulation of Tip produced moderate rainfall in the mountainous regions of the Philippine islands of Luzon and Visayas.

Heavy rainfall from the typhoon breached a flood-retaining wall at Camp Fuji, a training facility for the United States Marine Corps near Yokosuka. Marines inside the camp weathered the storm inside huts situated at the base of a hill which housed a fuel farm. The breach led to hoses being dislodged from two rubber storage bladders, releasing large quantities of fuel. The fuel flowed down the hill and was ignited by a heater used to warm one of the huts. The resultant fire killed 13 Marines, injured 68, and caused moderate damage to the facility. The facility's barracks were destroyed, along with fifteen huts and several other structures. The barracks were rebuilt, and a memorial was established for those who lost their lives in the fire.

During recurvature, Typhoon Tip passed about 65 km (40 mi) east of Okinawa. Sustained winds reached 72 km/h (44 mph), with gusts to 112 km/h (69 mph). Sustained wind velocities in Japan are not known, though they were estimated at minimal typhoon strength. The passage of the typhoon through the region resulted in millions of dollars in damage to the agricultural and fishing industries of the country. Eight ships were grounded or sunk by Tip, leaving 44 fishermen dead or unaccounted for. A Chinese freighter broke in half as a result of the typhoon, though its crew of 46 were rescued. The rainfall led to over 600 mudslides throughout the mountainous regions of Japan and flooded more than 22,000 homes; 42 people died throughout the country, with another 71 missing and 283 injured. River embankments broke in 70 places, destroying 27 bridges, while about 105 dikes were destroyed. Following the storm, at least 11,000 people were left homeless. Tip destroyed apple, rice, peach and other crops. Five ships sank in heavy seas off the coast and 50-story buildings swayed in the capital, Tokyo. Transportation in the country was disrupted; 200 trains and 160 domestic flights were canceled. Tip was described as the most severe storm to strike Japan in 13 years.

Typhoon Tip was the second-largest tropical cyclone on record, and the largest on record at the time, with a diameter of —almost double the previous record of set by Typhoon Marge in August 1951. At its largest, Tip was nearly half the size of the contiguous United States. In 1997, Typhoon Winnie surpassed Typhoon Tip in size, reaching a gale diameter of.

The temperature inside the eye of Typhoon Tip at peak intensity was and described as exceptionally high. With 10-minute sustained winds of, Typhoon Tip is the strongest cyclone in the complete tropical cyclone listing by the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The typhoon was also the most intense tropical cyclone on record, with a pressure of, lower than the previous record set by Super Typhoon June in 1975. The records set by Tip still technically stand, though with the end of routine reconnaissance aircraft flights in the western Pacific Ocean in August 1987, modern researchers have questioned whether Tip indeed remains the strongest. After a detailed study, three researchers determined that two typhoons, Angela in 1995 and Gay in 1992, registered higher Dvorak numbers than Tip, and concluded that one or both of the two may have therefore been more intense. Other recent storms may have also been deeper than Tip at its peak; for instance, satellite-derived intensity estimates for Typhoon Haiyan of 2013 indicated that its core pressure may have been as low as. Due to the dearth of direct observations and Hurricane hunters into these cyclones, conclusive data is lacking.

Despite the typhoon's intensity and damage, the name "Tip" was not retired and was reused in 1983, 1986, and 1989.

Typhoon Tip