Sport in India - Football

Football

Main article: Football in India See also: All India Football Federation, India national football team, and India women's national football team

Football was introduced to India during the British occupation. Although India has never been represented in any FIFA World Cup, it did qualify in 1950, though it did not take part as they were not allowed to play barefoot. India was an Asian powerhouse in football in the 1960s, finishing as runners up in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup, but gradually the standard of football has gone down compared to other countries, and India currently ranks 168th in the FIFA rankings as of 31 October 2012.

Football is, nevertheless, widely popular both as a spectator sport, and as a participation sport. In some parts of the country such as Kerala, West Bengal and the Northeast, its popularity rivals that of cricket. The India national football team represents India in all FIFA tournaments. The Yuva Bharati Krirangan of Kolkata is the second largest non-auto racing stadium in the world.

On 01 march 1996 at the Army Headquarters, Shimla, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) was formed at a meeting of the representatives of Football Associations of six regions where the game was very popular in those days. It is the governing body for football in India.

Domestic competitions for men's football include the I-League and the I-League 2nd Division in the Indian League System, the annual knock-out style Federation Cup (India) and the Indian Super Cup, for women's the India women's football championship. However it is the European football tournaments such as the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga and the UEFA Champions League which are highly popular among Indian football lovers, especially in metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.