Football is one of the most popular games in India. Since its inception in the late 1800’s among the masses, due to Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari, football has grown from a pass time to a game that thousands play for a living. India has had its fair share of glory with the National team, winning the SAFF Championship 7 times followed by the Nehru Cup thrice and the Asian Games as well.
In the domestic sector, India has the Durand Cup, which is the third oldest football competition behind the FA Cup and the Scottish Cup. From the famed IFA Shield win of Mohun Bagan against Yorkshire Regiment to East Bengal crossing 100 years in 2020, we take a look into the clubs that are present in the top league of the Indian circuit as of today:
Indian Super League:
ATK Mohun Bagan – This new club was formed in 2020 by the merger of ATK and one of the two legacy clubs of India, Mohun Bagan. Mohun Bagan is the oldest club which is still active in India and one of the winners of the greatest number of trophies.
Bengaluru FC- The club was formed in 2013 and they have won two I-Leagues and 1 ISL in this short span of time
Chennaiyin FC- The club was formed in 2014 and they have won two ISLs during their time.
FC Goa- The club was formed in 2014 and they have won one ISL, the recent one in 2019/20 and will be playing the AFC Champions League this year.
Hyderabad FC- The club was formed in 2019 and this is their 2nd season here. They replaced Pune City FC in the ISL. Also, they have partnered with Borussia Dortmund for their youth programs.
Jamshedpur FC - The club was formed in 2017 and they were the first ISL team to have their own stadium. They are owned by Tata Steel.
Kerala Blasters FC- Kerala Blasters was formed in 2014 and they are two times runners up in 2014 and 2016. They are one of the most widely supported clubs in Asia getting an average of 40000 fans every match when fans are allowed.
Mumbai City FC- They were formed in 2014 and they are owned by the City group, Ranbir Kapoor and Bimal Parekh. World famous players such as Freddie Ljungberg, Nicolas Anelka and Diego Forlan have played for the team
North East United FC- Formed in 2014, it represents the 8 states of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Mizoram. This team is owned by John Abraham. Asamoah Gyan and Kwesi Appiah have played for the team.
Odisha FC- Formed in 2014 as Delhi Dynamos, it is named as Odisha FC after Delhi’s sponsor signed an agreement with the government of Odisha and re-branded the team as Odisha FC.
SC East Bengal- The oldest club in the ISL going back a hundred years and also one of the newest teams in the block. They have a rich history behind them, being the only club in ISL with International trophies. They have won the IFA Shield a record 29 times and the CFL 39 times. 16 Durand Cups and 3 National Leagues adorn their crown.
Notable clubs, who couldn’t stay in the long run:
JCT FC- Founded in 1971, the Jagatjit Cotton & Textile Football Club, often abbreviated as JCT FC was based out of Hoshiarpur in Punjab. The team was the inaugural champion of the National Football League back in 1996, winning the Federation Cup in the same year. When JCT shut down, the production of local players took a setback which in turn scaled down the the local connection with the sport.
Mahindra United- Also known as the Jeepman for being a team by Mahindra, the club was started back in 1969 as the Mahindra & Mahindra Allied Sports Club. The club was disbanded in 2010. Mahindra claimed the step was doled out to train school kids, aligned with the Mahindra Group’s philosophy of developing sport at the grassroots.
Royal Wahingdoh- Royal Wahingdoh started their journey in 2007 in the third division of the Shillong Premier League. Within a span of eight years, they made it to the I-League, and remarkably, finished third in their debut season. Though the club was granted a national license to compete in 2015–16 I-League, they decided to pull out, citing lack of a clear roadmap for the league as the reason.
DSK Shivajians- Founded initially as Shivajians Sporting club in Pune in 1987, it was referred to as a legacy team; a team from the grassroots of Pune. The take-over by Shirish Kulkarni, son of DS Kulkarni and the DSK group in 2010 brought about a sea change in the way the club functioned, intending to take it national. Financial trouble struck the DS Kulkarni group, the club pulled out of the I-League after 2015. The owner and his wife were accused of scamming the money of many investors which tallied up to Rs 230 crore.
Dempo- Dempo was undoubtedly India’s most successful club in the league era with five titles to its name. The club got relegated and won the I-League second division on their first try at promotion. The Golden Eagles, however, refused to accept the automatic promotion spot as second-place Minerva were offered corporate entry into the I-League. The club participates in the Goa Professional League currently.
Salgaocar FC- Salgaocar had been one of India’s most successful clubs and the first Goan club to win the National Football League in 1999. They finished seventh in the 2015-’16 season but pulled out of the I-League citing an AIFF’s bias against the I-League teams. The 2011 I-League winners cited AIFF’s proposal to forcibly relegate all but three I-League clubs were a sign that the federation did nothing to protect the teams in their own competition.
Sporting Clube de Goa- Another famous club from Goa pulled out of the I-League citing the same reasons as Salagaocar’s, by releasing a joint statement with them.
Founded as Cidade de Goa, the club spent a combined ten seasons in the I-League and is a part of the Goa Professional League now. Their pull-out represented the absence of Goan clubs from the top tier until Churchill Brothers were reinstated.
Rangjadied United- Formerly known as AR Hima, played one season in the I-League before they were ousted owing to not fulfilling the licensing criteria.
Suggested Read | Syed Abdul Rahim | The Architect of Modern Indian Football
