National Football League (India)

For other uses, see NFL (disambiguation).

National Football League

Founded	1996;29 years ago (1996)
Folded	2007;18 years ago (2007) (reformed as the I-League) [1]
Country	India
Confederation	AFC
Number of clubs	12 (from 1996–97 to 2003–04) 10 (from 2004–05 to 2006–07)
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	National Football League Second Division
Domestic cup(s)	Federation Cup Indian Super Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Champions League AFC Cup
Last champions	Dempo (2nd title) (2006–07)
Most championships	Mohun Bagan East Bengal (3 titles each)

The National Football League (NFL) was the men's highest level of the Indian football league system from 1996 to 2007. ^[2] Founded by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 1996, the NFL was the first football league in India to be organized on a national scale. The AIFF then added a second division in 1997 and a third division was soon added by the governing body in 2006. The NFL was eventually replaced by the I-League for the 2007–08 season in order to professionalize the sport in India.

As well as league competition, clubs in the NFL would also participate in the main domestic cup competition, the Federation Cup. The NFL champions would also participate in the Indian Super Cup against the Federation Cup champion. NFL players could also participate in the state-based Santosh Trophy competition.

History

The National Football League was founded by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for football in India, in 1996. ^[3] The aim of the league was to promote the development of the sport in the country. JCT Mills of Punjab won the inaugural season of the league. Then Indian international Bhaichung Bhutia was the league's top goalscorer with 14 goals. ^[4] To supplement the Premier Division, the AIFF began the second division of the NFL in 1997. ^[5] Tollygunge Agragami of Kolkata were the inaugural second division champions. ^[5]

In 2001, in order to help promote the development of young Indian players, the AIFF launched the under-19 league. ^[6] The inaugural season of the under-19 league would see East Bengal crowned champions. ^[6] Only three seasons of the under-19 league were held in 2001, 2002–03, and 2004–05. ^[6] The AIFF also fielded the India under-16 side in the league when held. ^[6]

Prior to the 2006–07 season, the AIFF launched a third division, which was essentially just the qualifiers for the second division. ^[7] After the season concluded, the AIFF announced that the NFL would be disbanded and replaced with a new fully-professional league, the I-League for the 2007–08 season. ^[8] Dempo finished as the final NFL champions. ^[3]

Sponsorship

Period	Sponsor	Industry	Tournament
1996–1998	Philips	Conglomerate	Philips National Football League
1998–2001	The Coca-Cola Company	Beverage	Coca-Cola National Football League
2001–2002	Tata Group	Conglomerate	Tata National Football League
2002–2003	ONGC, BPCL, HPCL, IOC, GAIL, IBP, Cochin Refineries Ltd. and Chennai Refineries Ltd.	Public sector enterprises	Oil PSU National Football League
2003–2004	The Coca-Cola Company	Beverage	Coca-Cola National Football League
2004–2007	ONGC	Petroleum	ONGC National Football League (2004–2005) ONGC Cup (2005–2007)

Clubs

Played in NFL Premier Division

• Air India
• Border Security Force
• Churchill Brothers
• Dempo
• East Bengal
• Fransa-Pax
• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
• Indian Bank
• Indian Telephone Industries
• JCT Mills
• Kerala Police
• Kochin
• Mahindra United
• Mohammedan
• Mohun Bagan
• Punjab Police
• Salgaocar
• Sporting Goa
• State Bank of Travancore
• Tollygunge Agragami
• Vasco

Champions

Premier Division

Season	Champions (number of titles) [9]	Runners-up	Third place	Leading goalscorer(s)	Goals
1996–97	JCT Mills	Churchill Brothers	East Bengal	Bhaichung Bhutia (JCT Mills)	14
1997–98	Mohun Bagan	East Bengal	Salgaocar	Raman Vijayan (Kochin)	10
1998–99	Salgaocar	East Bengal	Churchill Brothers	Philip Mensah (Churchill Brothers)	11
1999–00	Mohun Bagan (2)	Churchill Brothers	Salgaocar	Igor Shkvyrin (Mohun Bagan)	11
2000–01	East Bengal	Mohun Bagan	Churchill Brothers	José Ramirez Barreto (Mohun Bagan)	14
2001–02	Mohun Bagan (3)	Churchill Brothers	Vasco	Yusif Yakubu (Churchill Brothers)	18
2002–03	East Bengal (2)	Salgaocar	Vasco	Yusif Yakubu (Churchill Brothers)	21
2003–04	East Bengal (3)	Dempo	Mahindra United	Cristiano Júnior (East Bengal)	15
2004–05	Dempo	Sporting Goa	East Bengal	Dudu Omagbemi (Sporting Goa)	21
2005–06	Mahindra United	East Bengal	Mohun Bagan	Ranti Martins (Dempo)	13
2006–07	Dempo (2)	JCT Mills	Mahindra United	Odafa Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Brothers)	18

Second Division

Main article: National Football League Second Division (India)

Third Division

Main article: National Football League Third Division (India)

See also

• List of Indian football champions
• Indian football league system
• Indian Super League

References

1. "History of I-League". i-league.org. AIFF. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
2. Khan, M. M. Jafar (8 March 2016). "Departments' League — A solution to many problems". englisharchives.mathrubhumi.com. Kochi: Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
3. "National Football League". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
4. "NFL Champions and Goalscorers". Rediff. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
5. "NFL Division 2". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
6. "NFL Under-19". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
7. "NFL Division Three". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
8. "AIFF's I-League to have 10 teams". Rediff. 21 November 2007. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
9. Atsushi Fujioka & Arunava Chaudhuri. "India — List of National Champions". RSSSF . Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.