Sports are emotion in India. There are a variety of sporting events that can be found held in India each year. Among the others, Football always possesses a special space in people’s hearts.
Here is the list of the domestic Football tournaments that are happening across the country each year:
1. IFA Shield Cup:
The IFA Shield cup is one of the most important domestic Football tournaments that are happening in this country. It is organized by the Indian Football Association. Indian Football Organisation has its office in West Bengal and was established in the year 1893. From the year 2015, this tournament is organized as a national championship for the Under-19 teams. The first Indian team to win this title is Mohun Bagan Athletic Club.
More in details here | IFA Shield: The Heritage of Calcutta Football
2. Durand Cup:
Durand Cup is the oldest football tournament in Asia with its maiden game played in the year 1888 at Shimla. This tournament is controlled by the Durand Football Tournament Society. It was commissioned as an Army Football tournament which later changed to a civilian tournament. Out of the total 16 teams playing, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have won the most number of titles with a total of 16 each.
More in details | Durand Cup | The lost legacy of Indian football
3. Federation Cup:
The federation cup was commenced in the year 1977, which was an annual round-robin and knockout based tournament. It was the most important Football league in the country until 1997 when the I-League was introduced. From the arrival of the Indian Super League, the Federation cup was abolished in order to avoid the clash in fixtures. The last champion of this tournament is Bengaluru FC in the year 2017.
More in details | Fed Cup: The First Knockout Tournament of the Nation
4. Santosh Trophy:
Santosh Trophy is the annual football tournament that was conducted among the state football associations and the government departments under the All India Football Federation (AIFF). This tournament was started in the year 1941 and has a total of 31 teams playing in it. The current champion of the Santosh Trophy Football tournament is the Services team who has won a total of 6 titles so far.
More in details | Santosh Trophy- All you need to know about its History
5. Subroto Cup:
The Subroto Cup is organized by the AIFF, every year at Delhi as an Inter-School Football championship for students. It was first established in 1960 and is named after Indian Air Force Air Marshal Subroto Mukharjee. Students from various parts of the continent participate in this annual tournament making this one of the most important Football tournaments in Asia.
More in Details | Subroto Cup
6. I-League:
I-League which was previously called as National Football League (NFL) is one of the two premier Football leagues in India. Founded in the year 2007, there are a total of 11 clubs across the country contesting in this league. The club who wins the title is given the opportunity to participate in the AFC Cup. Dempo is the team that holds the record for the most number of titles with 3 in their cabinet.
7. Indian Super League
Indian Super League is the youngest Football tournament in India started in the year 2013. This tournament is played with a total of 10 teams and the games are organized by AIFF and Football Sports Development (FSD). Before the 2017-2018 season of the tournament, the duration was made to five to six months starting in October and ending in March of the next year. ATK leads the table with the most number of titles having a total of 3 in their cabinet.
