Football in India

Every sport needs a body that sets the rules and picks the national team. In India, that body for football is the All India Football Federation, or AIFF.

When and where was the AIFF formed?

The AIFF was formed on 23 June 1937. The meeting took place at Army Headquarters in Shimla. Six bodies sent people to that meeting.

• The Indian Football Association
• The Army Sports Control Board
• United Provinces
• Bihar
• The North West India Football Association
• Delhi

Where is the AIFF based today?

Its head office is called Football House. It stands in Sector-19 of Dwarka, in New Delhi.

How is the AIFF linked to world football?

FIFA runs football for the whole world. India became a FIFA member in 1948. The Asian Football Confederation, or AFC, runs the game in Asia. It was set up in 1954. The AIFF was one of its founding members.

Who works under the AIFF?

The game is run state by state. So 33 state bodies are linked to the AIFF. The Services and Railways sports boards are linked too. So is a Women’s Committee.

Most countries rank their clubs in levels, or tiers. The best clubs play in the top league. Weaker clubs play in the leagues below.

What are promotion and relegation?

In many countries, the best club in a lower league moves up. This is called promotion. The weakest club in a higher league drops down. This is called relegation. The idea is simple. A club should rise or fall by how well it plays.

Which two leagues did India have?

India had two big men’s leagues. One was the I-League. The other was the Indian Super League, or ISL. The 2019 roadmap set out how the two would fit together.

What did the 2019 roadmap decide?

A plan, or roadmap, was drawn up to settle this. An AFC meeting on it was held in Kuala Lumpur on 14 October 2019. The AFC Executive Committee then backed the plan in Vietnam, on 26 October 2019.

• The ISL became the top league in India from the 2019-20 season.
• The I-League was placed below the ISL.
• The I-League champion got a place in an AFC Cup play-off.

Did FIFA make the ISL the top league?

Not by name. Some notes say “FIFA and the AFC” did it. But the body that backed the roadmap was the AFC Executive Committee. So the safe answer names the AFC.

When was promotion meant to begin?

The roadmap opened a door between the two leagues. From 2022-23 and 2023-24, the I-League winner could move up to the ISL. It had to meet sporting and licence rules. Full promotion and relegation into the top league was planned for 2024-25.

Sunil Chhetri is among the best-known players in Indian football. He led India’s attack for many years.

How many goals did he score for India?

Chhetri scored 94 goals for India. He also played 150 matches for India. That is more than any other Indian player.

Some old notes say 95 goals. That figure is wrong. Learn 94.

How did his India career begin?

He first played for India in June 2005. The match was against Pakistan. He scored on that debut.

What happened against Bangladesh in 2021?

In June 2021, India beat Bangladesh 2-0 in Doha. The match was a qualifier for the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup. Chhetri scored both goals. One came in the 79th minute and one in injury time.

That took his total to 74 goals. Lionel Messi then had 72. So Chhetri moved past Messi on the list of top scorers.

Which awards did he win?

He won the Arjuna Award in 2011. He won the Khel Ratna in 2021.

When did he retire?

His last match for India was due on 6 June 2024. It was a World Cup qualifier against Kuwait, in Kolkata.

SAFF stands for the South Asian Football Federation. Its main men’s event is the SAFF Championship. India’s men have won it nine times.

Where was the 2023 final played?

The 2023 final was played in Bengaluru on 4 July 2023. India faced Kuwait.

How did the final go?

Kuwait scored first. Shabaib Al Khaldi struck in the 14th minute. Lallianzuala Chhangte then pulled India level in the 39th minute. The score stayed 1-1, even after extra time.

How was the winner decided?

The match went to a penalty shootout. Each side takes turns to shoot from the penalty spot. The side that scores more wins. India won it 5-4.

Chhetri was India’s captain that day. He also scored his kick in the shootout. The win gave India its ninth SAFF Championship title.

The Indian Women’s League, or IWL, is the top league for women’s clubs in India.

When did it start?

The AIFF launched the league on 24 January 2017. It was the first professional league for women in India.

Some notes say the league began in 2016. That is only half right. Ten teams played a first round, or preliminary stage, in October 2016. The league itself was launched in 2017.

Who won the first season?

Six teams reached the final round. It was held at Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi. In the final, Eastern Sporting Union beat Rising Student Club 3-0. Eastern Sporting Union is from Manipur. Rising Student Club is from Odisha.

FIFA keeps a ranking list of men’s national teams. A rank is simply a team’s place on that list.

What are India’s best and worst ranks?

India’s best men’s rank is 94th. Its worst is 173rd. On FIFA’s own page, checked in October 2026, India stood 138th.

So India’s men sit well outside the world’s top 100. This is a big gap for a country of India’s size.

How do the women compare?

The women’s team tells a different story. It has won the SAFF Women’s Championship six times.

What does this contrast teach?

Rank on the world list and wins in the region are not the same thing. India’s men struggle on the world list. India’s women do well in South Asia.

The ISL and the AIFF made news again in 2026.

When was the new ISL season set to start?

A Special General Body Meeting of the AIFF fixed 4 September 2026 as the start of ISL 2026-27.

What new name did the AIFF propose?

At the same time, the AIFF proposed a new name for itself. The name is Football Federation of Bharat. The change needs approval from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

India’s women won the SAFF Women’s Championship on 6 June 2026. It was their sixth title, a record. Their last title before this had come in 2019.

How did India reach the final?

• Group match 1: India beat Maldives 11-0.
• Group match 2: India beat Bangladesh 3-0. Pyari Xaxa, Lynda Kom Serto and Malavika P. scored.
• Semi-final: India beat Bhutan 1-0.

India did not let in a single goal before the final.

What happened in the final?

India met Bangladesh again in the final, at Margao, in Goa. India won 3-1. Pyari Xaxa scored in minute 42. Ritu Porna Chakma then levelled for Bangladesh, just before half-time.

Sanfida Nongrum put India ahead in minute 46. Lynda Kom Serto added a third in minute 82.

What do the numbers say?

India won all four of its matches. It scored 18 goals and let in just one. Before the final, India had beaten Bangladesh in 10 of their 13 meetings. The other three games gave one draw and two defeats.

What are the common traps?

1. Chhetri’s goals. The right total is 94, not 95.
2. Who backed the ISL. The 2019 roadmap was backed by the AFC Executive Committee. The AFC, not FIFA, is the body named.
3. IWL start. Qualifiers ran in October 2016. The league was launched in January 2017.
4. AIFF birth. It was formed on 23 June 1937, in Shimla. Its office is now in Dwarka, New Delhi.
5. SAFF titles. The men have nine, the latest in 2023. The women have six, the latest in 2026.

Has this come up in the exam?

The answer is (a) Manipur. Railways, West Bengal and Odisha are the wrong options.

The answer is (c) Durand Cup. The key names it the oldest football tournament of Asia.