Association football is one of the three most-popular sports in India, the others being cricket and kabaddi. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) recognises the Indian Super League as the national football league of India. The Santosh Trophy is a knock-out competition among Indian states and government institutions.
The National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy, due to ties with FIFA, also known as the FIFA Santosh Trophy, or simply Santosh Trophy, is an inter-state national football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the sport's governing body in India. Before the launch of the first national club league, the National Football League in 1996, the Santosh Trophy was considered the top domestic tournament in India. Many players who have represented India internationally have played and gained honour while playing in the Santosh Trophy. The tournament is held every year with eligible teams who are divided into zones, must play in the qualifying round and can progress into the tournament proper. The current champions are Karnataka, who won their title after 54 years during the 2022–23 edition. This was the first trophy for Karnataka, which had previously won four times as the princely state of Mysore, after 1968-69.
The Odisha football team, also earlier the Orissa football team, is an Indian football team representing the state of Odisha, India. The Football Association of Odisha, a state association of All India Football Federation, controls the team. The team competes in Indian state football competitions including the Santosh Trophy. Prior to 2014, the team competed as the Orissa.
The Odisha women's football team, also earlier the Orissa women's football team, is an Indian women's football team representing the state of Odisha, India. The Football Association of Odisha, a state association of All India Football Federation, manages the team. The team competes as a member of the All India Football Federation, in the Senior Women's National Football Championship, the topmost women's knock-out league of Indian football.
Sasmita Mallik is an Indian women's footballer who played as a left winger for India women's national football team. With 40 goals in 38 matches, she is the second highest all-time goalscorer for the Indian women's national team after Bala Devi.
Deep Grace Ekka is an Indian former field hockey player, who represented the India national field hockey team. She has been selected for Arjun award in 2022.
Supriya Routray is an Indian footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Indian Women's League club Kickstart and the India women's national football team. She was part of the team at the 2012 SAFF Women's Championship and 2015–16 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. She played for Gokulam Kerala FC in Indian Women's League.
Manisa Panna is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Odisha FC and the India women's national football team. She was part of the team at the 2015–16 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. She previously played for Gokulam Kerala in the Indian Women's League.
Rising Student's Club is an Indian professional multisports club based in Cuttack, Odisha, India. The club plays in the FAO League, the fourth tier of Indian football and top tier of Odisha state football. It played in the Indian Women's League, the top tier of Indian women's football, and currently participates in the Odisha Women's League. Rising Student's Club were the champions of the Indian Women's League in the 2017–18 season.
The 2018 FAO League was the ninth season of the FAO League. Radha Raman Club are the defending champions. Chauliaganj FC have entered as the promoted team from the FAO 2nd Division League. The FAO League is organised every year by the Football Association of Odisha (FAO), the official football governing body of Odisha, India. The regular season started on 17 August 2018.
The Odisha Women's League (OWL), also known as the FAO Women's League, is the women's top division football league of Odisha. The league is among the existing top tier women's football leagues in India. The league is organised every year by the apex football governing body of Odisha, the Football Association of Odisha (FAO), in association with the Department of Sports and Youth Services (DSYS) of the Government of Odisha. It is currently contested by 6 clubs across the state.
The Odisha Rugby Football Association, abbreviated ("ORFA") is the governing body for rugby union in Odisha, India. It is a member of India Rugby Football Union with a seat on that body's Executive Council. The Odisha RFA is the administrative body of all the state teams, including men's and women's union and sevens teams.
The FAO Super Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic football, based in Odisha, India. In 2018, the inaugural edition of the Super Cup was played. The Super Cup is organised by and named after the Football Association of Odisha (FAO), the official football governing body of Odisha, India. Sunrise Club of Cuttack were the champions of the inaugural edition of the tournament beating the Rising Student's Club.
The 2019 FAO League was the tenth season of the FAO League, the top Odia professional football league, since its establishment in 2010. Sunrise Club were the defending champions whereas Bidanasi Club were relegated from the Diamond League last season and played in the Gold League in the 2019 edition. The FAO League is annually organised by the Football Association of Odisha (FAO), the official football governing body of Odisha, India. The regular season started on 24 July. Sunrise Club were the defending champions, ending up at the top with sixteen points having a positive goal difference of fifteen. Odisha Police ended their 2018 FAO League stage at the runners-up spot with sixteen points, having a positive goal difference of nine.
The 2022 FAO Super Cup will be the second edition of the FAO Super Cup, the main club knockout football competition of Odisha, India. The competition will start on 11 September 2022 and end on 18 September 2022. The entire tournament is scheduled to take place at one venue i.e. the CRRI Ground in Cuttack. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the Super Cup hasn't been organised since 2018, and hence this edition will only be the second edition of the Super Cup, after its inaugural 2018 edition.
The Manipur women's football team is an Indian women's football team representing Manipur in the Senior Women's National Football Championship. They have appeared in the Women's National Championship finals twenty five times, and have been the most successful state team by winning the championship for a record 21 times.
Alochana Senapati is an Indian former footballer who played as a defender.
Pinky Bompal Magar is an Indian former footballer who played as a forward. She was elected as a member of the technical committee of the All India Football Federation in September 2022.
The 2022–23 Odisha Women's League was the 10th edition of the Odisha Women's League, the top Odia professional football league, since its establishment in 2011. Odisha Police are the defending champions. The league is organised by the Football Association of Odisha (FAO), the official football governing body of Odisha, in association with the Department of Sports and Youth Services (DSYS) of the Government of Odisha.
Crispin Chettri is an Indian professional football manager and former footballer, who is currently the head coach of Indian Women's League club Odisha FC. He has also represented India at the youth level internationally.
