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.
Udupi Ramachandra Rao was an Indian space scientist and former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation. He was also the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad and Nehru Planetarium at Bengaluru and chancellor of the Indian Institute for Space Science and Technology (IIST) at Thiruvananthapuram. He is known as "The Satellite Man of India". He pioneered India's first satellite launch Aryabhata in 1975.
All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football, and is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation and South Asian Football Federation. This federation also manages Futsal and Beach Soccer in India.
The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is a cricket stadium in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is owned by Government of Karnataka and operated by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).
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 honour 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 Bangalore Football Stadium is a football stadium in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was a venue in three editions of the I-League, then top-tier football league in the country, and home of Bengaluru FC for one season, when they won the I-League trophy in first attempt.
Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) is the governing body of Cricket in the Indian state of Karnataka. The association is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India and governs the Karnataka cricket team. The association was founded in 1933 and has been affiliated to the BCCI ever since. The KSCA operates the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, which hosts International level Test, ODI and T20 cricket matches. It also operates a newly built stadium in Hubli and Belagavi.
India has a history of sports dating back thousands of years. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport; it generates the highest television viewership, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) being the most-followed league in the country. Football has also gained popularity, with the Indian Super League (ISL) being the highest level of domestic football, and the national team winning multiple gold medals at the Asian and South Asian Games. Additional football accomplishments include India having reached the semifinal of the 1960 Olympics, qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and won the SAFF Championship. Other sports include kabaddi, badminton, tennis, and athletics, with kho-kho becoming the fourth-most viewed sport. India has also had success in field hockey, winning the World Cup and multiple medals in the Olympic Games. Sports such as golf, rugby, boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, motorsport, wrestling, and basketball are featured throughout the country.
The Bangalore Football League is organised by the Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA), which is affiliated to the Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) as a ladder-based state football competition involving a total of four divisions and over 130 teams in the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore Super Division is the top-division, started in 2001. The winner is awarded George Hoover trophy. Prior to 2001, the Bangalore A Division was the top tier, which currently act as 2nd tier of the state leagues ladder.
Punjab Football Association (PFA), formerly the North-West India Football Association, is the state-level football governing body for Punjab, India. It is affiliated with the All India Football Federation, the sports national governing body. It sends state teams for Santosh Trophy and Senior Women's National Football Championship.
Women's football in India is growing in popularity under All India Football Federation, despite the earlier long-term governing body's inability to provide sufficient funds for the game.
Handball Association India is the governing body for handball in India. HAI is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 at Rohtak. It is a member of the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) and the International Handball Federation (IHF) since 1974. It is also a member of Commonwealth Handball Association and South Asian Handball Federation. Originally, HFI was founded by Jagat Singh Lohan, a Jat from Rohtak (Haryana) who was an alumnus of YMCA College of Physical Education of Madras Chennai. He was also the first secretary general of HFI.
The Gujarat State Football Association is one of the 36 Indian state football associations that are affiliated to the All India Football Federation.
Chhattisgarh Football Association (CFA) is the state's governing body of football in Chhattisgarh, India. It is affiliated with the All India Football Federation, the national governing body. It sends state teams for Santosh Trophy and Senior Women's National Football Championship.
K. Govindaraj is an Indian National Congress activist and a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council. He is currently the first Indian serving as the president of FIBA Asia. Earlier, he was the president of the Basketball Federation of India. In the previous Congress government in Karnataka from 2015 to 2018, he served as the parliamentary secretary to the Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah. In the present Congress government, he is serving as the political secretary of Siddaramaiah.
Nalapad Ahmed Haris is an Indian businessman, politician and sports administrator. He is a member of the Indian National Congress and has represented the Shanti Nagar Assembly constituency in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly since 2008. He was formerly working as the Chairman of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation.
State football leagues in India represent premier-state, overall 5th-10th men's and 3rd women's tier of the Indian football league system. There are currently a total of 36 state associations affiliated with the national governing body, the All India Football Federation.
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.
The Karnataka Women's League, also referred to as the Karnataka Women's Super Division League, is the top division of women's football league in the Indian State of Karnataka. The League is organised by the Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA), the official football governing body of the State.
Kickstart Football Club is an Indian professional football club from Karnataka. Their women's team participate in Indian Women's League and the men's side competes in the BDFA Super division. The club was nominated for I-League 2 in 2019 and 2021 but didn't make it to the final list approved by the AIFF.
