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 India national under-17 football team represents India in international football at the under-17 level. Controlled by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for football in India, the team is part of the Asian Football Confederation and the South Asian Football Federation.
The Federation Cup was an annual knockout football competition and the premier cup competition in men's domestic Indian football until 2017. Established in 1977, it was organized by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The Federation Cup was eventually replaced by the Super Cup from the 2018 season.
Indian Arrows was an Indian developmental football club that competed in the I-League. The club was formed by the All India Football Federation in 2010, with a main goal of nurturing young Indian football talents.
Gauhati Town Club is an Indian multi sports club based in Guwahati, Assam. Founded in 1906, the club had participated in the I-League 2, then second highest level football in India, for two seasons. It currently plays in the Guwahati Premier Football League, GSA A Division Football League and Youth League. The Gauhati Town Club Football Academy was set up to identify, train and nurture the local talents of northeast India at grassroots level. It has highly equipped infrastructure.
Kenkre Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. The club currently competes in the I-League 2, the third division of the Indian football league system. Founded in 2000, the club usually competes in MFA Elite Division of Mumbai Football League. Nicknamed "Mumbaikars", they previously participated in I-League, then highest division of the Indian football league system.
The AIFF Super Cup is an annual football competition and the premier cup competition in men's domestic football in India. It was founded on February 19, 2018 as a replacement for Federation Cup. Organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the competition is open to all clubs in the Indian Super League and the I-League, the top two division of the Indian football league system respectively.
The India women's national under-20 football team represents India in international women's under-20 football in the AFC U-19 Women's Championship and the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. It is controlled by the AIFF. They also participated in the 2021–22 Indian Women's League season, as Indian Arrows Women.
The history of football in India is a long and detailed one, as it was the national sport at one time. The impetus for this was to unify the Indian Army. There is evidence of football games being played in the army since at least 1949. India is home to some of the oldest football clubs in the world, and the world's third oldest competition, the Durand Cup. There was a time when football in India was highly celebrated. The Indian football outfit was called the "Brazilians of Asia".
Garhwal Heroes Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in New Delhi. The club lifted its first FD Senior Division league title in 1986, which became one of the most successful seasons in their history. In 2010, Garhwal FC became the first Delhi based club to enter into the quarter final of Durand Cup, prestigious and oldest knockout football club tournament in India. They also competed in the I-League 2nd Division.
The AIFF Elite Academy was the elite academy of the regional AIFF affiliated academies. Founded on 1 February 2013, the Elite Academy was started as youth development project between the AIFF and FIFA. The Elite Academy was the final frontier for players who train at the AIFF regional academies in various parts of India.
The Indian Women's League is the women's top tier professional football league in India. Founded in 2016, currently a total of 7 teams from across the country participate in the league.
Sudeva Delhi Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Delhi. The club will be competing in I-League 2, the third tier of the Indian football league system, after getting relegated from the second tier I-League in 2022–23.
Kerala Blasters Football Club Reserves and Academy, also known as Kerala Blasters B, are the reserve team and academy of the Kochi based Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters. The reserve team of the Blasters most recently competes in the Kerala Premier League, the top division of Kerala football and the RF Development League. The club's youth system consists of three teams, Under-17, Under-15 and Under-13 age groups that competes in their respective age divisions of the Ernakulam District Youth League. The youth teams of the Blasters has previously played in the Elite League, the top tier of the youth football system in India.
ARA Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Founded in 2016, the club is nicknamed "Ahmedabad Alphas", and previously competed in I-League 2nd Division. ARA FC is the first professional team from Gujarat to compete in the nationwide league. The club also competes in Gujarat SFA Club Championship.
East Bengal Football Club Reserves and Academy is the reserve team and youth system of the Indian Super League side East Bengal FC. Reserves generally consist of younger players, but at times senior players also play, if recuperating from injury or not getting first team game time. Apart from the I-League 2 (formerly), the reserve side usually plays in the Calcutta Football League.
Sumit Rathi, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Indian Super League club Mohun Bagan SG.
Sreenidi Deccan Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Hyderabad, Telangana. It was established on 1 January 2015 as a football academy in Hyderabad, and later was launched from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh in 2021. The club is currently competing in the I-League, the second tier of Indian football league system.
Zinc Football is an Indian professional football club based in Zawar, a mining town in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The club competes in R-League A Division, the top tier league of the state. The academy was formed in 2017 as part of Hindustan Zinc Limited major stake holder Vedanta Resources's CSR. Zinc FA was nominated for I-League Second Division.
The 2022–23 Youth League, also known as 2022–23 Hero U-17 Youth Cup, was the thirteenth season of the Indian Youth League and the first season of the competition as an under-17 category.
