Association football is a highly popular sport in India, next to cricket and Kabaddi. According to a 2024 survey, 305 million Indians, 21% of the population, are considered as football fans. It is the dominant sport in the states of Assam, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and West Bengal.
The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the first FIFA event the country hosted. It was called the most successful FIFA U-17 World Cup ever, with a record-breaking attendance of 1,347,133, exceeding China's record of 1,230,976 from 1985. India also hosted the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and bid to host the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The Indian national football team qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup but did not participate.
History
Pre-independence British soldiers introduced football into India in the mid-nineteenth century. Games were initially played between army teams but clubs were soon set up around the country. In 1872, Calcutta FC was the first football club to be established, though the side may have originated as a rugby club that switched codes as late as 1894. Other early clubs include Dalhousie AC, Traders Club and Naval Volunteers Club. Several other football clubs such as Sovabazar, Mohun Bagan and Aryan Club were established in Calcutta in the 1890s. Calcutta was then the capital of British India and soon became the hub of football. Tournaments like the Gladstone Cup, the Trades Cup and the Cooch Behar Cup were started around this time. The Durand Cup and IFA Shield were both started in the late nineteenth century.
The first Indian team to achieve success was Sovabazar Club, which won the Trades Cup in 1892. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club, which was set up in modern-day West Bengal in 1889, became famous in 1911 when it became the first Indian team to win the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. They defeated East Yorkshire Regiment 2–1 in the tournament's final in a victory that is still regarded as one of the greatest win by an Indian football team before independence.
The Indian Football Association (IFA) was established in Calcutta in 1893 but had no Indians on its board until the 1930s. The All India Football Federation (AIFF), the national governing body of football in India, was formed in 1937 but did not become affiliated with FIFA until at least a decade later. India insisted on playing barefoot whereas other national sides wore boots. Footballer Jyotish Chandra Guha brought global attention to Indian football when he became the first Indian to appear with the English Football League club Arsenal in 1930.
The golden age India qualified by default for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil because all of their scheduled opponents withdrew. India did not compete in the tournament. It was not because of a lack of financial assistance, particularly to purchase tickets for the sea journey, or because the team were not allowed to play barefoot. According to sports journalist Jaydeep Basu, the financial barrier was solved as state associations provided financial help to the AIFF and that FIFA also promised to provide money.
FIFA had imposed a rule banning barefoot play following the 1948 Olympics where India had played barefoot. According to then-captain Shailen Manna, this story was circulated to justify the AIFF's decision to not participate. Since 1950, the Indian national team has not come close to qualifying for the World Cup.Lisi (2007), p. 49 The AIFF had organised training is Calcutta for the 1950 World Cup and the board organised a series of meetings relating to India's participation but was not able to reach a decision. One to two weeks before the World Cup, the AIFF resorted to coming up with excuses to abandon the World Cup trip. This did not face much criticism in 1948 because the FIFA World Cup was not as popular as it is now.
1951–1962 is widely considered the "golden age" of Indian football. Until the mid‑1960s, India was one of Asia’s top three football teams. In this period, the national team won numerous titles under the coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim. India won the gold medal in the first Asian Games in 1951, beating Iran by one goal. In 1956, no longer playing barefoot, India reached the semi-final in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, becoming the first Asian country to do so and ranking fourth in the tournament. In 1962, India again won the gold in the Asian Games at Jakarta, defeating South Korea 2–1. India also won the Merdeka Cup and the Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament, while East Bengal garnered good reviews after touring Romania. Also in 1951, India achieved their highest World Football Elo Rating of 31. According to former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, India is "The sleeping giant of world football".
Decline
Rahim's death in the year 1963 on 11 June, caused the Indian national team to gradually lose their position as a top Asian team. India has not qualified for the Olympics since 1960. India qualified for their first Asian Cup in 1964 but failed to win the title. In an international tournament at the 1970 Asian Games, India won the bronze medal after defeating Japan 1–0. The Indian national team qualified for the 1984 AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 1964 but failed to qualify for the knockout stage after finishing last in their group of five teams.
The Indian youth team jointly won the Youth Asian Cup with Iran in 1974, the first and only title for India at the youth level. In club football, on 24 September 1977, Mohun Bagan held onto a 2–2 draw at the Eden Gardens stadium in Calcutta, against a Pelé-led New York Cosmos. Mohun Bagan would have won the tie had it not been for a controversial penalty awarded to the visiting team that ensured the draw. The next day, the newspaper Ananda Bazar Patrika described Goutam Sarkar as "India's very own Beckenbauer".
The Indian women's team as they began playing in the 1970s. In 1975, their first manager was Sushil Bhattacharya. The Indian women's team were runners-up in the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 1980 and 1983. In the 1990s, the women's team rapidly declined and a series of defeats followed. In 2009, FIFA delisted the Indian women's team from the world rankings.
2007–present
In August 2007, the Indian national team won the Nehru Cup for the first time, beating Syria 1–0. In August of the following year, India defeated Tajikistan 4–1 to win the AFC Challenge Cup and qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. In August 2009, India again won the Nehru Cup, beating Syria on penalties (6–5).
In January 2011, India played in the 2011 Asian Cup, the country's first Asian Cup for 24 years. India was eliminated in the group stage, which included South Korea, Australia, and Bahrain.
Since the 2011 Asian Cup, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has been working to improve Indian football. They allowed former coach Bob Houghton to coach the Indian team in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. After going first in their AFC Challenge Cup group, Houghton was replaced by Wim Koevermans. The India national under-23 football team won the first round of the 2012 Olympics qualifiers against Myanmar but were eliminated 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 Unity World Cup in Goa, Hyderabad and Bangalore. India has participated in and hosted the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup tournament. This was the first time a team representing India participated in the finals of a FIFA-organised world tournament. India was placed in Group A along with the United States, Ghana and Colombia. On 6 October 2017, India played their first match in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in front of 47,000 people against the United States, losing the match 0–3. India played their second match against Colombia. In the 82nd minute, Jeakson Singh became the first Indian goal scorer in the finals of a FIFA-organised tournament. For the third match of the group stage, India played Ghana, losing the match 4–0 and finishing at the bottom of Group A.
In 2018 Indian youth football teams made history by defeating Argentina U-20 2–1 in the COTIF cup, as well as Iraq U-16, the defending champions of the AFC U-16 Championship (now the AFC U-17 Championship), by 1–0. The U-16 team qualified for the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship, where they came close to qualifying for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup, but lost to South Korea by a single goal in the quarterfinal.
The Indian national team qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup after missing the 2015 edition. India beat Thailand by 4–1, their biggest-ever win at the Asia Cup and their first win in 55 years. Nevertheless, they lost both of their next two group matches against UAE and Bahrain by 0−2 and 0−1 respectively and finished at the bottom of the group, thus failing to move to the knockout stage.
Administration Football in India is administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the worldwide football governing body FIFA. The India national football team has entered the regional Asian Cup competition but has never competed in a World Cup. The India women's national football team has also played in competitions, and has its own inter-state and state competitions. Youth football is administered by the Sports Authority of India.
National team The India national football team is governed by the AIFF and 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, the AIFF became one of the founding members of the AFC. There are other Indian national teams, such as the under-23 team and the under-17 team.
The following list includes the performance of all of India's national teams at major competitions.
Men's senior team The Indian senior national team had several successes during their initial years, but is no longer considered one of the best in Asia. The national team's highest achievement is winning two gold medals at the Asian Games. TournamentAppearance in finals Lastappearance Bestperformance FIFA World Cup 0 out of 22 —name=fn1|1950 (qualified but withdrew) – AFC Asian Cup 1 out of 18 2023 Summer Olympics 0 1960 Asian Games 2 1998 SAFF Championship 13 2023 South Asian Games 4 1999
Women's senior team
The women's national team was started in the 1970s; they were twice runners-up in the Women's Asian Cup in the early 1980s. After the AIFF took charge of the team, they began to suffer massive defeats and declined in the late 2000s. In the late 2010s, the AIFF revived the team to empower women's football. The AIFF won the hosting bid for the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup. TournamentAppearance in finals Lastappearance Bestperformance AFC Women's Asian Cup 2 2022 Asian Games 0 2022 SAFF Women's Championship 5 2024 South Asian Games 3 out of 3 2019
Men's U-23 team TournamentAppearance in finals Lastappearance Bestperformance Asian Games 0 2022 South Asian Games 2 2016
Men's U-20 team
Includes U-19 and U-18 teams' performance. TournamentAppearance in finals Lastappearance Bestperformance AFC U-20 Asian Cup 1 2006 SAFF U-20 Championship 4 2024
Men's U-17 team Includes U-16 and U-15 teams' performance. TournamentFinalsappearance Lastappearance Bestperformance FIFA U-17 World Cup 1 2017 AFC U-17 Asian Cup 3 2023 SAFF U-17 Championship 8 2024
Women's U-20 team
Includes U-19 and U-18 teams' performance. TournamentFinalsappearance Lastappearance Bestperformance AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup 2 2006 SAFF U-20 Women's Championship 4 2026
Women's U-17 team
Includes U-16 and U-15 teams' performance. TournamentFinalsappearance Lastappearance Bestperformance FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 1 2022 AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup 1 2005 SAFF U-17 Women's Championship 5 2025
State federations and leagues