Football in India

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Association football is one of India's most popular sports, and is said to rank second only behind cricket in popularity, although some reporting considers domestic football to be more popular ^[1] than domestic cricket. Football is played in almost all schools in India. Football is also said to be the top sport in the states of Goa, Kerala and West Bengal.

In September 2006, India and Brazil signed an agreement formalise a scheme to train Indian footballers and coaches^[1]

Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), in the state of West Bengal, is considered to be the home of Indian football. The city contains the two most famous Indian teams East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan AC. Derbies between these two clubs often draw crowds around the 120,000 mark.

1 Structure of the game in India
2 History
3 Women's football in India
4 Famous players
5 See also
6 External links

The game in India is administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which is affiliated to the regional Asian Football Confederation, as well as to the worldwide body FIFA. The Indian national team has entered into the regional Asian Cup competition as well as the World Cup. The Indian women's national team has also played in various competitions. Youth football is administered by the governmental Sports Authority of India.

The game is also administered at state levels by state football associations, some of which predate the AIFF. The Indian Football Association, which is responsible for the game in the state of West Bengal, used to be in de-facto charge of the game in India before they pushed for the creation of a national body in association with other state associations.

See All India Football Federation for more details

Women's football (see below) has its own separate inter-state and state competitions.

The standard of Indian football (compared globally) is poor - the national team is ranked past 100th place in the world, and is said to struggle to qualify for both the World Cup and the Asian Cup. Part of this has been put down to the lack of opportunities for proper training and development of players in the country.

Football in India was spread during the days of the British Empire. Many football clubs in India were created during this time, and pre-date many of the organisations and clubs, such as FIFA, which are predominant in the game today. Initially games were played between army teams, however clubs were soon set up around the country. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club was set up in what is now West Bengal and is considered the oldest football club in Asia. 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 Eastern Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 in the final of the tournament in a victory that is still regarded by many as the greatest by an Indian team before Independence.

The national football team was also quite successful until the 1970s, qualifying for Olympic tournaments and the FIFA World Cup. The team qualified for the 1950 World Cup finals in Brazil, but could not appear as they still played in their bare feet at that time.

The Indian team also won the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games gold medals in football. In 1956 the team finished fourth at the Melbourne Olympics.

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 administerd by the Women's Football Federation of India (WFFI) 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. ^[2]

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 Manipur have made far advances in the game. Players from these two states make up a large part of the India women's national football team.

The main women's national competition is played on a state vs state basis in the Senior Women National Championship ^[3]. There are also similar national championships for junior teams: Junior Girls National Championship (for under 19s) and the Under-17 Girls National Championship.

Some female players have become internationally recognised: in February 2000 Sujata Kar and Alpana Sil became the first Indian footballers to sign a contract outside India itself. 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.

The state of women's football in India, again like its male counterpart, is poor. In the 2003 AFC Women's Championship the Indian team was embarrassed by their results, especially after a 12-0 defeat to the Chinese women's team ^[4]. This is especially in the light of the poor support by the AIFF, especially of the national team. 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 championship are said to be held in remote locations, and national media coverage is said to be lacking with reporting mostly restricted to state and local newspapers. ^[5]