The Indian Football Association, abbreviated as IFA, is the organisation that administers football in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the oldest football association in India and was founded in 1893. Among the founders was former English international Elphinstone Jackson.IFFHS - Interesting and curious facts about full internationals and national players (1872–1900) . iffhs.de. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
The IFA organises tournaments such as the Calcutta Football League, the IFA Shield, the Calcutta Women's Football League and the Women's IFA Shield. In 2021, the IFA also took an initiative to start its own futsal league. It also sends state teams for Santosh Trophy and Rajmata Jijabai Trophy.
History Contrary to the name, the association does not administer the game in India, a task that falls to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), instead governs the game in the state of West Bengal. However, before the formation of the AIFF, the IFA was in de facto control of football in India by virtue of its administration by Englishmen as well as its affiliation to the Football Association. Hence, all foreign tours were conducted by the IFA and also foreign teams negotiated with the IFA for visits to India. In its formative years, the only Indian representative in the English dominated executive committee was Kalicharan Mitra from the Sovabazar Club. By vigorously promoting the game in Bengal, the IFA became undivided India's premier football body in the early decades of the 20th century.
Through the efforts of Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari (the father of Indian football), A.R. Brown and B.C. Lindsay of Dalhousie AC, and Watson of Calcutta FC, the IFA was established in 1893. A.R. Brown was the first Secretary of the IFA. Norman Prichard, the first Indian to win an Olympic medal, was the Secretary of the IFA in 1900.The most remarkable person to head the IFA was the Maharaja of Santosh, Sir M.N. Roy Chowdhury. During his tenure the IFA played an instrumental role in the formation of the AIFF.
The IFA had organised many historical tournaments like the Trades Cup, the Gladstone Cup, the Cooch Behar Cup and the coveted IFA Shield, prior to the incorporation of Calcutta Football League in 1898. The Trades Cup is the oldest tournament in Kolkata, being instituted in 1889.
Clubs outside Bengal complained about the lack of neutrality in the affairs of the IFA. This disillusionment of clubs and patrons led to the formation of associations such as the Western India Football Association, which preferred to be governed by themselves rather than by the IFA. After years of numerous conferences and meetings, the IFA along with other five regional football associations broke their mutual deadlock to form the AIFF in 1937.
State teams
Men West Bengal football team West Bengal under-20 football team West Bengal under-15 football team West Bengal under-13 football team
Women West Bengal women's football team West Bengal women's under-19 football team West Bengal women's under-17 football team
Affiliated district associations The 23 district associations affiliated with the Indian Football Association.
No. Association District/Region 1 Alipurduar District Sports Association Alipurduar 2 Bankura District Sports Association Bankura 3 Burdwan District Sports Association Paschim Bardhaman and Purba Bardhaman 4 Birbhum District Sports Association Birbhum 5 Chandernagore Sporting Association Chandannagar (Hooghly) 6 Cooch Behar District Sports Association Cooch Behar 7 Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Sports Association Darjeeling (Darjeeling) 8 Dakshin Dinajpur District Sports Association Dakshin Dinajpur 9 Hooghly District Sports Association Hooghly 10 Howrah District Sports Association Howrah 11 Jalpaiguri District Sports Association Jalpaiguri 12 Jhargram District Sports Association Jhargram 13 Kalimpong District Sports Association Kalimpong 14 Malda District Sports Association Malda 15 Manbhum Sports Association Purulia 16 Murshidabad District Sports Association Murshidabad 17 Nadia District Sports Association Nadia 18 North 24 Parganas District Sports Association North 24 Parganas 19 Paschim Medinipur District Sports Association Paschim Medinipur 20 Purba Medinipur District Sports Association Purba Medinipur 21 Siliguri Mahakuma Krira Parishad Siliguri (Darjeeling) 22 South 24 Parganas District Sports Association South 24 Parganas 23 Uttar Dinajpur District Sports Association Uttar Dinajpur
Competitions Men's Calcutta Football League IFA Shield Bengal Super League (franchise) Uttarbanga Cup Jayanta Chatterjee Inter District Football Tournament IFA Futsal Championship
Women's Calcutta Women's Football League Women's IFA Shield
Youth CFL 5th Division Group B IFA Nursery League
West Bengal Football League pyramid Men's Calcutta Football LeagueTierDivision1(Level 5 on Indian Football pyramid)CFL Premier Division ↑promote (I-League 3) ↓relegate 42(Level 6 on Indian Football pyramid)CFL 1st Division ↑promote 2 ↓relegate 23(Level 7 on Indian Football pyramid)CFL 2nd Division ↑promote 2 ↓relegate 24(Level 8 on Indian Football pyramid)CFL 3rd Division ↑promote 2 ↓relegate 25(Level 9 on Indian Football pyramid)CFL 4th Division ↑promote 2 ↓relegate 26(Level 10 on Indian Football pyramid)CFL 5th Division Group A ↑promote 2 ↓relegate 27(Level 11 on Indian Football pyramid)CFL 5th Division Group B ↑promote 2
Women's Calcutta Women's Football LeagueTierDivisionI(Level 3 on Indian Women's Football pyramid)CWFL Premier Division A ↑promote () ↓relegateII(Level 4 on Indian Women's Football pyramid)CWFL Premier Division B ↑promote
Evolution Years1889–189318931893–19931993–20192019–20212021–20232023–presentLevelState leagues1None Formation of Indian Football Association (IFA)CFL Premier Division2NoneCFL 1st Division3NoneCFL 2nd Division4CFL 3rd Division5CFL 4th Division6CFL 5th Division Group A7CFL 5th Division Group BCup competitionsTrades CupDiscontinuedIFA ShieldNot continuedState leagues1NoneKanyashree Cup Premier Division A2NoneKanyashree Cup Premier Division BCup competitionsNoneWomen's IFA Shield
Management
OfficeNamePresidentAjit BanerjeeChairmanSubrata DuttaVice-president(s)Sudeshna MukherjeeSaurav PalSwarup BiswasSecretaryAnirban DuttaAssistant Secretary(s)Rakesh Kumar JhaMD JamalBiswajit BhaduriTreasurerDebasish Sarkar
See also List of Indian state football associations Football in Kolkata Football in West Bengal Football in India Premier League Soccer
References
Further reading
Dutta, P. L., Memoir of 'Father of Indian Football' Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1944) (hereafter Memoir) Ghosh, Saurindra Kumar. Krira Samrat Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary 1869–1940 (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1963) (hereafter Krira Samrat). Roselli, John. Self Image of Effeteness: Physical Education and Nationalism in Nineteenth Century Bengal. Past & Present (journal). 86 (February 1980). p. 121–48. Sinha, Mrinalini. Colonial Masculinity, The Manly Englishman and the Effeminate Bengali in the Late Nineteenth Century (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995). Chatterjee, Partha. The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Post-colonial Histories (Calcutta: Oxford University Press, 1995). Mason, Football on the Maidan, p. 144; Dimeo, Football and Politics in Bengal, p. 62.
From recreation to competition: Early history of Indian football . pp. 124–141. Published online: 6 Aug 2006. www.tandfonline.com. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
External links
IFA on the-AIFF.com IFA on YouTube