Football Tournaments in India: In India, football leagues and competitions have been essential in elevating the game’s profile and winning over fans. These tournaments have created a venue for talented players to showcase their skills and have fostered a deep passion for the beautiful game. The Indian Super League (ISL) and the I-League, with their thrilling action and passionate rivalries, have captured the attention of fans with their captivating matches and memorable moments. Football competitions, with their growing appeal, have brought communities together, inspired future players, and raised the game’s general caliber in India. Indian football is looking good for the future because of this fervor.
Football Tournaments in India: All About Football
Along with cricket and kabaddi, association football is one of the three most popular sports in India. The Indian Super League is acknowledged by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as India’s national football league. Indian states and government institutions compete in a knockout tournament called the Santosh Trophy.
The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was held in India for the first time, and it broke China’s previous record of 1,230,976 in attendance with a record-breaking 1,347,133 spectators. It was dubbed the most successful FIFA U-17 World Cup ever. Additionally, India lost its bid to host the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup to Poland and hosted the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2022.
Although they qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 1950, the Indian national football team did not play.
Football Tournaments in India: History
Pre-independence
Midway through the 1800s, football was brought to India by British soldiers. Originally, games were between army teams, but clubs quickly spread across the nation. Calcutta FC was the first football team to be founded in 1872, although it’s possible that the team started as a rugby team that changed codes in 1894. The Traders Club, the Naval Volunteers Club, and Dalhousie AC are a few other historical clubs. In Calcutta, several other football teams, including Sovabazar, Mohun Bagan, and Aryan Club, were founded in the 1890s. Then, the capital of British India, Calcutta, quickly rose to prominence as the center of football. Around this time, competitions such as the Gladstone Cup, the Trades Cup, and the Cooch Behar Cup were established. Both the IFA Shield and the Durand Cup were established in the late 1800s.
Sovabazar Club, which won the Trades Cup in 1892, was the first Indian team to be successful. Founded in what is now West Bengal in 1889, Mohun Bagan Athletic Club rose to fame in 1911 as the first Indian side to win the IFA Shield, a competition previously won only by British clubs with Indian bases. In the competition final, they defeated East Yorkshire Regiment 2–1, a triumph that many people still consider to be the best win by an Indian team before independence.
Despite being founded in Calcutta in 1893, the Indian Football Association (IFA) did not have any Indian members on its board until the 1930s. Although it was established in 1937, the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which oversees football nationally in India, did not join FIFA until at least ten years later. While other national teams were wearing boots, India insisted on playing barefoot. When Jyotish Chandra Guha, an English footballer, made his debut with Arsenal in the English Football League in 1930, he became the first Indian football player to receive international prominence.
The Golden Age
Since all of their opponents for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil withdrew, India automatically qualified. India abstained from the competition. It wasn’t because the team wasn’t allowed to play barefoot or because there wasn’t enough money, especially to buy tickets for the sea voyage. Sports journalist Jaydeep Basu claims that FIFA also pledged financial support, and state associations helped the AIFF financially, removing the financial obstacle.
After India played barefoot at the 1948 Olympics, FIFA enforced a rule against barefoot play. Shailen Manna, the captain at the time, claimed that this narrative was spread to support the AIFF’s choice to decline participation. The Indian national team has not even come close to making it to the World Cup since 1950. For the 1950 World Cup, the AIFF had arranged training in Calcutta, and the board had held several meetings to discuss India’s participation but was unable to come to a resolution. The AIFF had to resort to making up reasons to back out of the World Cup trip one or two weeks before the competition. Since the FIFA World Cup was not as well-known in 1948 as it is now, it did not receive as much criticism.
The years 1951–1962 are regarded as Indian football’s “golden age” by most. Under Syed Abdul Rahim’s guidance, the national team won multiple trophies during this time. India defeated Iran by one goal to win the gold medal in the inaugural Asian Games in 1951. India became the first Asian nation to qualify for the semi-finals at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics without going barefoot and finished fourth overall. India defeated South Korea 2-1 in the Asian Games in Jakarta in 1962 to win gold once more. Along with winning the Quadrangular Tournament and the Merdeka Cup, India also received positive feedback after they visited Romania. India attained their highest World Football Elo Rating of 31 in 1951 as well.
Sepp Blatter, a former head of FIFA, once described India as “the sleeping giant of world football.”
Decline
Following Rahim’s passing in the early 1960s, the Indian national team steadily lost its standing as one of the best Asian teams. Since 1960, India has failed to earn a spot in the Olympics. In 1964, India made it to their first Asian Cup; however, they were not victorious. India defeated Japan 1-0 in an international competition held during the 1970 Asian Games to win the bronze medal.[Reference required] For the first time since 1964, the Indian national side advanced to the 1984 AFC Asian Cup, although they were unable to advance past the group stage, placing last among their five opponents.
The first and only young championship for India was achieved by the Indian youth team when it shared the 1974 Young Asian Cup victory with Iran. In club football, Mohun Bagan defeated the Pele-led New York Cosmos 2-2 on September 24, 1977, at the Eden Gardens stadium in Calcutta.[Reference required] If not for a contentious penalty that the visiting team was given, which guaranteed a draw, Mohun Bagan would have emerged victorious in the match.[Reference required] The Ananda Bazar Patrika newspaper called Goutam Sarkar “India’s very own Beckenbaur” the next day.
The Indian women’s squad during their 1970s debut. Sushil Bhattacharya was their first manager, appointed in 1975. In the 1980 and 1983 AFC Women’s Asian Cups, the Indian women’s team finished second. The women’s squad began to falter quickly in the 1990s, and a string of losses ensued. FIFA removed the Indian women’s team from the global rankings in 2009.
2007–Present
The Indian national team defeated Syria 1-0 in August 2007 to win the Nehru Cup for the first time. India won the AFC Challenge Cup in August of the subsequent year, defeating Tajikistan 4-1 to earn a spot in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.[Reference required] India won the Nehru Cup in August 2009 once more, defeating Syria 6–5 on penalties.
India participated in the 2011 Asian Cup in January, which was the nation’s first Asian Cup in 24 years. During the group stage, South Korea, Australia, and Bahrain were eliminated along with India.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has been striving to enhance Indian football since the 2011 Asian Cup. They gave veteran coach Bob Houghton permission to lead the Indian team for the AFC Challenge Cup qualifying tournament in 2012. Wim Koevermans took Houghton’s spot when he finished first in their AFC Challenge Cup group.[Reference required] The Indian national under-23 football team defeated Myanmar in the opening round of the 2012 Olympics qualifying tournament, but Qatar eliminated them.[Reference required] India’s next official matches were in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against the United Arab Emirates, which they lost 5–2 overall.
India held the inaugural Unity World Cup in Goa, Hyderabad, and Bangalore in 2014. India was both the host nation and a participant in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. This was the first time an Indian team made it to a world championship final that was hosted by FIFA. India was grouped with Ghana, Colombia, and the United States. In front of 47,000 spectators, India played its debut FIFA U-17 World Cup match against the United States on October 6, 2017, and they lost 0–3. India and Colombia engaged in their second encounter.
Jeakson Singh scored the first goal in the history of an Indian tournament final hosted by FIFA in the 82nd minute.[Reference required] India faced Ghana in their third group stage encounter; they lost 4-0 and were eliminated from Group A.
Indian young football teams created history in 2018 when they defeated Iraq U-16, the reigning champions of the AFC U-16 Championship (formerly known as the AFC U-17 Championship), by a score of 1-0, and Argentina U-20 2–1 in the COTIF cup. The U-16 squad advanced to the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship and nearly made it to the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup before losing to South Korea in the quarterfinals by a single goal.
After missing the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, the Indian national side made it to the 2019 competition. India’s 4-1 victory over Thailand was their biggest-ever Asia Cup victory and their first in 55 years. They did, however, lose the next two group games against Bahrain and the UAE by scores of 0-1 and 0-2 respectively, placing them last in the group and preventing them from proceeding to the next round.
Football Leagues & Tournaments In India
Football Tournaments in India: Indian Super League (ISL)
One of the two co-existing highest tiers of the Indian football system, along with the I-League, is the professional football league known as the Indian Super League. The All-India Football Federation is supporting the event, which is being organized by Football Sports Development.
India’s most important football competition, the Hero Indian Super League (ISL), got underway on October 12, 2014. ATK won the league’s inaugural championship, while Chennaiyin FC emerged victorious in the second season. The league, which presently has 12 clubs, is governed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its business partners, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL).
Football Leagues in India: I-League
The I-League, which is the second-tier men’s professional football competition in the Indian football league system, is sometimes referred to as the Hero I-League because of its sponsorship arrangement with Hero MotoCorp. A total of twelve clubs from throughout the nation battle for the chance to advance to the Indian Super League, the elite tier. The National Football League was replaced by the league, which was founded in 2007 and had its inaugural season in November of that same year. The goal of introducing it as India’s first premier professional football league was to increase the pool of talent available for the national team.
Football Tournaments in India: Durand Cup
Even though it’s one of the oldest competitions in the world—dating back to the time before independence—it has always been popular. The Tournament was founded by Sir Mortimer Durand, the Foreign Secretary responsible for India from 1884 until 1894. Realizing the value of sports as a means of preserving health, he decided to offer a prize to encourage sports competition in India.
It was initially primarily open to British Indian Army soldiers stationed in India, but as time went on, its appeal grew and civilian teams were allowed to participate, finally transforming it into a more conventional and public sporting event. The last big administrative change came when the Army turned over the management of the Tournament to a civilian organization in 2006.
Football tournaments in India: IFA Shield
The Indian Football Association, India’s first football regulating body, was originally responsible for organizing the IFA Shield football competition. Indian football players also demonstrated throughout this competition that they were on par with their English counterparts. When Mohun Bagan defeated East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 in 1911, they made history. With 29 title victories, East Bengal was the most successful team, even though Mohun Bagan won the IFA Shield 20 times.
This league has had several foreign teams that have been invited to compete throughout the years, and it has witnessed several intense rivalries, such as that between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. The IFA Shield has had participation from Iran, Brazil, Russia, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, and even North Korea.
Football tournaments in India: Subroto Cup
One of the most well-known interschool football competitions in India is the Subroto Cup Football Tournament, which bears the name of Indian Air Force Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee. About fifty school teams entered the sport when it started in 1960, including schools from Afghanistan and Nepal. International schools are now part of the tournament as it has grown throughout time. Since 1998, there have been two age groups for the event: junior (U16) and sub-junior (U14) (U17). Madhyamgram High School in West Bengal is renowned for having won this tournament (U17) seven times overall, including a hat-trick in 1981–82–83.
Football tournaments in India: Santosh Trophy
Every year, governments and states compete against one another in India’s Santosh Trophy football competition. Bengal was the first to win, and with 32 titles under their belt, they remain at the top of the all-time winners list.
Old enough to remember the Santosh Trophy as India’s top domestic competition till the National Football League was founded in 1996. Many players who went on to represent the nation internationally and win recognition and awards while competing for the Santosh Trophy used it as a crucial platform.
