List of Indian football champions

Indian Football League (1st tier)
National Football League (1996–2007) I-League (2007–2017) I-League & Indian Super League (2017–2022) Indian Super League (2022–present)
Country
India
Founded
1996
Number of teams (from 2024–25)
13
Current Champions
Mohun Bagan SG
Most successful club
Mohun Bagan SG (6 titles) [1]

The Indian football champions are the winners of the highest league in Indian men's football, which is currently the Indian Super League.

Though Indian football tournaments dates back to the eighteenth century, a proper league system was established in 1996 with the commencement of National Football League (NFL). Since its inception in the 1996–97 season, the champions of the NFL were considered as the national champions. However, after the 2006–07 season of the NFL, the league was rebranded as the I-League. Since 2007–08 season, the I-League champions were considered the national champions until 2016–17 season. Since 2017–18 season the ISL became the joint premier football league of the country along with I-League upto 2021–22 season. Since 2022–23 season ISL became the only top tier football league of the country and hence ISL champions are considered as the national champions. However, the winners of the ISL play-offs were considered as the ISL champions since its inception in 2014.

There are 12 clubs who have won either the National Football League or the I-League and 6 clubs who have won the Indian Super League since the league became the joint top division in India. JCT were the first club to have won any championship, winning the 1996–97 NFL. Mohun Bagan Super Giant are the most successful club via winning championships six times. They won the NFL thrice, I-League twice and ISL once.

History

The first Indian football league, the National Football League (commonly known as the NFL) was an association football league competition in India which was organised into three divisions. The Premier Division of the league was first introduced in 1996, though the country already had a long history in the sport thanks to the likes of the IFA Shield and the Federation Cup. The league though is now transformed into the I-League and continues with that name. The change was supposed to bring more popularity to Indian Football. The first league season of I-League consisted of eight teams from the NFL plus two promoted teams from the former Division Two.

The 1996–97 Indian National Football League was the first season of the NFL and ended with JCT Mills FC being crowned champions. The NFL era though saw Kolkata clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan had the most championships with three respectively. The I-League era is different though as most of the champions of the league have come from Goa.

Currently, the team with the most championships in I-League is Dempo who have won three championships in the league.

In 2014, a new football league named Indian Super League has started. In its first three seasons it was running without recognition from the AFC. Before 2017–18 season, ISL got recognition from Asian Football Confederation (AFC). In July 2017, it was proposed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that the Indian Super League champion be granted a spot in the AFC Cup, Asia's second-tier club competition. ^[2] On 25 July 2017, the AFC approved the AIFF's proposal. Thus, from the 2017–18 season, the Indian Super League champions were allowed to participate in the AFC Cup from the qualification stages of the competition. ^[2] Meanwhile, India's spot in the AFC Champions League, Asia's top club competition, was still kept by the I-League; ^[2] thus two leagues were parallelly running in the country. In October 2019, a roadmap for development of league in India was proposed. All stakeholders accepted the proposal where it was announced that ISL premiers would now be entitled to the AFC Champions League, starting from 2021 edition and the I-League champion will get to play the AFC Cup. ^[3] From 2022–23 season the AFC Cup slot from I-League has been transferred to Super Cup and ISL became the only top tier League in India.

National League Champions

National league champion determination

Season(s)	Format
1996–2017	National Football League/I-League first placed team
2017–2022	Both I-League first placed team and Indian Super League playoffs winners
2022–present	Indian Super League first placed team

National Football League (1996–2007)

Season	Champions (number of titles)	Runners-up	Third place	Winning manager	Leading goalscorers (Club)	Goals
1996–97	JCT	Churchill Brothers	East Bengal	Sukhwinder Singh	Bhaichung Bhutia (JCT)	14
1997–98	Mohun Bagan	East Bengal	Salgaocar	T. K. Chathunni	Raman Vijayan (Kochin)	10
1998–99	Salgaocar	East Bengal	Churchill Brothers	Shabbir Ali	Philip Mensah (Churchill Brothers)	11
1999–2000	Mohun Bagan (2)	Churchill Brothers	Salgaocar	Subrata Bhattacharya	Igor Shkvyrin (Mohun Bagan)	11
2000–01	East Bengal	Mohun Bagan	Churchill Brothers	Monoranjan Bhattacharya	José Ramirez Barreto (Mohun Bagan)	14
2001–02	Mohun Bagan (3)	Churchill Brothers	Vasco	Subrata Bhattacharya	Yusif Yakubu (Churchill Brothers)	18
2002–03	East Bengal (2)	Salgaocar	Vasco	Subhash Bhowmick	Yusif Yakubu (Churchill Brothers)	21
2003–04	East Bengal (3)	Dempo	Mahindra United	Subhash Bhowmick	Cristiano Júnior (East Bengal)	15
2004–05	Dempo	Sporting Goa	East Bengal	Armando Colaco	Dudu Omagbemi (Sporting Goa)	21
2005–06	Mahindra United	East Bengal	Mohun Bagan	Derrick Pereira	Ranti Martins (Dempo)	13
2006–07	Dempo (2)	JCT	Mahindra United	Armando Colaco	Odafa Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Brothers)	18

I-League (2007–2017)

Season	Champions (number of titles)	Runners-up	Third place	Winning manager	Leading goalscorers (Club)	Goals
2007–08	Dempo (3)	Churchill Brothers	JCT	Armando Colaco	Odafa Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Brothers)	22
2008–09	Churchill Brothers	Mohun Bagan	Sporting Goa	Zoran Đorđević	Odafa Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Brothers)	24
2009–10	Dempo (4)	Churchill Brothers	Pune	Armando Colaco	Odafa Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Brothers)	21
2010–11	Salgaocar (2)	East Bengal	Dempo	Karim Bencherifa	Ranti Martins (Dempo)	28
2011–12	Dempo (5)	East Bengal	Churchill Brothers	Armando Colaco	Ranti Martins (Dempo)	32
2012–13	Churchill Brothers (2)	Pune	East Bengal	Mariano Dias	Ranti Martins (Prayag United)	26
2013–14	Bengaluru	East Bengal	Salgaocar	Ashley Westwood	Cornell Glen (Shillong Lajong) Darryl Duffy (Salgaocar) Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru)	14
2014–15	Mohun Bagan (4)	Bengaluru	Royal Wahingdoh	Sanjoy Sen	Ranti Martins (East Bengal)	17
2015–16	Bengaluru (2)	Mohun Bagan	East Bengal	Ashley Westwood	Ranti Martins (East Bengal)	12
2016–17	Aizawl	Mohun Bagan	East Bengal	Khalid Jamil	Aser Pierrick Dipanda (Shillong Lajong)	11

I-League and Indian Super League (2017–2022)

From 2017–18 season until 2021–22 season , I-League and Indian Super League shared joint top flight status in Indian Football

I-League

Season	Champions (number of titles)	Runners-up	Third place	Winning manager	Leading goalscorers (Club)	Goals
2017–18	Minerva Punjab	NEROCA	Mohun Bagan	Khogen Singh	Aser Pierrick Dipanda (Mohun Bagan)	13
2018–19	Chennai City	East Bengal	Real Kashmir	Akbar Nawas	Pedro Manzi (Chennai City) Willis Plaza (Churchill Brothers)	21
2019–20	Mohun Bagan (5)	Not awarded [lower-alpha 1]		Kibu Vicuña	Aser Pierrick Dipanda (Punjab)	12
2020–21	Gokulam Kerala	Churchill Brothers	TRAU	Vincenzo Alberto Annese	Bidyashagar Singh (TRAU)	12
2021–22	Gokulam Kerala (2)	Mohammedan	Sreenidi Deccan	Vincenzo Alberto Annese	Marcus Joseph (Mohammedan)	16

Indian Super League

Season	Champions (number of titles)	Runners-up	League Winners Shield/Premiers [lower-alpha 2]	Regular season runners-up	Winning manager (Champions)	Leading goalscorers (Club)	Goals
2017–18	Chennaiyin [lower-alpha 3]	Bengaluru	Didn't exist [lower-alpha 2]		John Gregory	Coro (Goa)	18
2018–19	Bengaluru (3)	Goa			Carles Cuadrat	Coro (Goa)	16
2019–20	ATK [lower-alpha 3]	Chennaiyin	Goa	ATK	Antonio Lopez Habas	Roy Krishna (ATK) Nerijus Valskis (Chennaiyin) Bartholomew Ogbeche (Kerala Blasters)	15
2020–21	Mumbai City	ATK Mohun Bagan	Mumbai City	ATK Mohun Bagan	Sergio Lobera	Igor Angulo (Goa) Roy Krishna (ATK Mohun Bagan)	14
2021–22	Hyderabad	Kerala Blasters	Jamshedpur	Hyderabad	Manolo Márquez	Bartholomew Ogbeche (Hyderabad)	18

1. On 18 April 2020, All India Football Federation, the organising body of the league announced Mohun Bagan as champions and decided to cancel the remaining matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No team was relegated, and the remaining prize money (apart from the champion's prize money) was equally divided among the 10 teams as the remaining teams were closely placed in the league table. ^[4]
2. Since 2019–20 , the regular season table toppers i.e. Premiers are awarded with the League Winners Shield and were granted a spot in AFC Champions League group stage till 2022-23 ISL Season.
3. ATK won the ISL title in 2014 and 2016 and Chennaiyin won the ISL title in 2015 before 2017–18 season when the ISL got official recognition from AFC.

Indian Super League (2022–present)

Season	Champions/League Winners Shield (number of titles) [lower-alpha 1] [5]	Regular season runners-up	Playoffs Winners	Playoffs Runners-up	Winning manager (Champions)	Leading goalscorers (Club)	Goals
2022–23	Mumbai City (2)	Hyderabad	ATK Mohun Bagan	Bengaluru	Des Buckingham	Diego Maurício (Odisha) Cleiton Silva (East Bengal) Dimitri Petratos (ATK Mohun Bagan)	12
2023–24	Mohun Bagan SG (6) [6]	Mumbai City	Mumbai City (2)	Mohun Bagan SG	Antonio López Habas	Dimitrios Diamantakos (Kerala Blasters) Roy Krishna (Odisha)	13

1. Since 2023–24 ISL season, the regular season table toppers i.e. Premiers who are awarded with the League Winners Shield were granted a spot in AFC Champions League 2 group stage.

Total titles won

There are 12 clubs who have won either the National Football League or the I-League. There are also 6 clubs who have won the Indian Super League since the league became the joint top division in India.

Teams in bold will compete in the Indian Super League for the 2024–25 season.

Rank	Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning seasons	Runners-up seasons
1	Mohun Bagan SG	6	5	1997–98, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2014–15, 2019–20, 2023–24	2000–01, 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2020–21
2	Dempo	5	1	2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2011–12	2003–04
3	East Bengal	3	7	2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04	1997–98, 1998–99, 2005–06, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2018–19
4	Bengaluru	3	2	2013–14, 2015–16, 2018–19	2014–15, 2017–18
5	Churchill Brothers	2	6	2008–09, 2012–13	1996–97, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2020–21
6	Salgaocar †	2	1	1998–99, 2010–11	2002–03
	Mumbai City	2	1	2020–21, 2022–23	2023–24
7	Gokulam Kerala	2	0	2020–21, 2021–22	-
8	JCT †	1	1	1996–97	2006–07
	Chennaiyin	1	1	2017–18	2019–20
	Hyderabad	1	1	2021–22	2022–23
9	Mahindra United †	1	0	2005–06	-
	Aizawl	1	0	2016–17	-
	Minerva Punjab †	1	0	2017–18	-
	Chennai City †	1	0	2018–19	-
	ATK †	1	0	2019–20	-
Never won	Sporting Goa	0	1	—	2004–05
	Pune †	0	1	—	2012–13
	NEROCA	0	1	—	2017–18
	Goa	0	1	—	2018–19
	Kerala Blasters	0	1	—	2021–22
	Mohammedan	0	1	—	2021–22

• † – Defunct clubs

By state

State	Championships	Clubs
West Bengal	10	Mohun Bagan SG (6), East Bengal (3), ATK (1)
Goa	9	Dempo (5), Churchill Brothers (2), Salgaocar (2)
Karnataka	3	Bengaluru (3)
Maharashtra	3	Mumbai City (2), Mahindra United (1)
Punjab	2	JCT (1), Minerva Punjab (1)
Tamil Nadu	2	Chennaiyin (1), Chennai City (1)
Kerala	2	Gokulam Kerala (2)
Mizoram	1	Aizawl (1)
Telangana	1	Hyderabad (1)

By city/town

City / Town	State	Championships	Clubs
Kolkata	West Bengal	10	Mohun Bagan SG (6), East Bengal (3), ATK (1)
Panaji	Goa	5	Dempo (5)
Bangalore	Karnataka	3	Bengaluru (3)
Mumbai	Maharashtra	3	Mumbai City (2), Mahindra United (1)
Margao	Goa	2	Churchill Brothers (2)
Vasco da Gama	Goa	2	Salgaocar (2)
Kozhikode	Kerala	2	Gokulam Kerala (2)
Aizawl	Mizoram	1	Aizawl (1)
Chennai	Tamil Nadu	1	Chennaiyin (1)
Coimbatore	Tamil Nadu	1	Chennai City (1)
Hoshiarpur	Punjab	1	JCT (1)
Ludhiana	Punjab	1	Minerva Punjab (1)
Hyderabad	Telangana	1	Hyderabad (1)

National Cup winners

Federation Cup (1977–2017)

Year	Winners	Runners-up
1977–78	ITI (Indian Telephone Industries)	Mohun Bagan
1978–79	Mohun Bagan and East Bengal - (joint winners)
1979–80	BSF	Mafatlal Mills
1980–81	Mohun Bagan and East Bengal - (joint winners)
1981–82	Mohun Bagan	Mohammedan
1982–83	Mohun Bagan	Mafatlal Mills
1983–84	Mohammedan	Mohun Bagan
1984–85	Mohammedan	East Bengal
1985	East Bengal	Mohun Bagan
1986–87	Mohun Bagan	East Bengal
1987–88	Mohun Bagan	Salgaocar
1988–89	Salgaocar	BSF
1989–90	Salgaocar	Mohammedan Sporting
1990	Kerala Police	Salgaocar
1991	Kerala Police	Mahindra & Mahindra
1992	Mohun Bagan	East Bengal
1993	Mohun Bagan	Mahindra & Mahindra
1994	Mohun Bagan	Salgaocar
1995	JCT	East Bengal
1995–96	JCT Mills	East Bengal
1996	East Bengal	Dempo
1997	Salgaocar	East Bengal
1998	Mohun Bagan	East Bengal
1999	Not held
2000
2001	Mohun Bagan	Dempo
2002	Not held
2003	Mahindra United	Mohammedan Sporting
2004	Dempo	Mohun Bagan
2005	Mahindra United	Sporting Goa
2006	Mohun Bagan	Sporting Goa
2007	East Bengal	Mahindra United
2008	Mohun Bagan	Dempo
2009–10	East Bengal	Shillong Lajong
2010	East Bengal	Mohun Bagan
2011	Salgaocar	East Bengal
2012	East Bengal	Dempo
2013–14	Churchill Brothers	Sporting Goa
2014–15	Bengaluru	Dempo
2015–16	Mohun Bagan	Aizawl
2016–17	Bengaluru	Mohun Bagan

Super Cup (2018–present)

Season	Winner	Runner-up
2018	Bengaluru	East Bengal
2019	Goa	Chennaiyin
2020–2022	Tournament suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Indian National Team's international fixtures
2023	Odisha	Bengaluru
2024	East Bengal	Odisha

Total Cups won

Club	Winner	Winning Years	Runners-up	Runners-up Years
Mohun Bagan SG	14	1978*, 1980*, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998 2001, 2006, 2008, 2015–16	6	1977, 1983, 1985, 2004, 2010, 2016–17
East Bengal	9	1978*, 1980*, 1985, 1996, 2007, 2009–10, 2010, 2012, 2024	9	1984, 1986, 1992, 1995-96, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2011, 2018
Salgaocar	4	1988, 1989, 1997, 2011	3	1987, 1990, 1994
Bengaluru	3	2014–15, 2016–17, 2018	1	2023
Mohammedan	2	1983, 1984	3	1981, 1989, 2003
Mahindra United	2	2003, 2005	3	1991, 1993, 2007
JCT Mills	2	1995, 1995–96	0	-
Kerala Police	2	1990, 1991 [7]	0	-
Dempo	1	2004	5	1996#, 2001, 2008, 2012, 2014–15
BSF (Border Security Force)	1	1979	1	1988
Odisha	1	2023	1	2024
ITI (Indian Telephone Industries)	1	1977	0	-
Churchill Brothers	1	2013–14	0	-
Goa	1	2019	0	-
Sporting Clube de Goa	0	-	3	2005, 2006, 2013–14
Shillong Lajong	0	-	1	2009–10
Aizawl	0	-	1	2015–16
Chennaiyin	0	-	1	2019

• * : shared
• # :There were two federation cups in 1996

Multiple trophy wins

The Double

Further information: Double (association football)

Club	Seasons	Titles
Mohun Bagan	2001–02	National Football League, Federation Cup
Dempo	2004–05	National Football League, Federation Cup
Mahindra United	2005–06	National Football League, Federation Cup

Other Double

Further information: Double (association football) § Other

Club	Seasons	Titles
Mohun Bagan	2023–24	ISL League Shield, Durand Cup
Mumbai City	2020–21	ISL Premiership, ISL Championship

See also

• List of Indian football first tier top scorers
• List of association football competitions
• Super Cup
• Durand Cup
• I-League
• Indian Super League
• Football in India
• List of Indian women's football champions

References

1. "REPORT: MOHUN BAGAN SUPER GIANT SEE OFF MUMBAI CITY FC TO WIN LEAGUE SHIELD". www.indiansuperleague.com.
2. "ISL gets official recognition from AFC, becomes second national football league". FirstPost. 28 June 2017. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
3. "India clubs agree to work together on league roadmap". AFC. 14 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
4. "League Committee sends its recommendations to the AIFF Executive Committee | Hero I-League". Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
5. "ISL Champions badge awarded to ISL Shield winners; Mumbai City FC set to wear the badge in the 2023-24 season". www.sportskeeda.com.
6. "MOHUN BAGAN SG ARE ISL CHAMPIONS: THE GLORY, THE RECORDS AND THE HEROES". www.indiansuperleague.com.
7. Federation Cup. the-aiff.com (archived)

External links

• India – List of National Champions at the RSSSF