Indian football

Football in India

Football is one of India's most popular sports, next

to cricket and hockey

. It is a very popular sport in states like West Bengal, Goa, Kerala and the entire North-East India, especially Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim. Football is played in almost all schools in India.

Having been Asian champions twice, the standard of Indian football has degraded due to a lack of investment and proper planning. While standards of other Asian nations in which football is the most popular sport improved, Indian football was largely neglected in preference to cricket in which the national team is among the top three countries in the world.In September 2006, India and Brazil signed an agreement formalising a scheme to train Indian footballers and coaches.

Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), in the state of West Bengal, is considered to be the home of Indian football. The city contains the two most famous Indian teams, East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan AC. Derbies between these two clubs are popular events in Kolkata. Recently, Goan clubs have been doing well in the I-league with Dempo SC being the most successful club in the history of the league.

History

The origin of football in India can be traced back to mid nineteenth century when the game was introduced by British soldiers. Football spread among the masses thanks to the efforts of one Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhichary. Several football clubs like Calcutta FC, Sovabazar, Mohun Bagan and Aryan Club were established in Calcutta around 1890s. Calcutta, then capital of British India, soon became the hub of Indian football. Tournaments like Gladstone Cup, Trades Cup and Coocbehar Cup was also started around this time. Durand Cup and IFA Shield was started in late nineteenth century making them two of the oldest football compeitions in the world.

Initially, games were played between army teams. However, clubs were soon set up around the country. The first "native" team to achieve success was Sovabazar Club, which won the Trades Cup in 1892. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club was set up in what is now West Bengal in 1889. The club became famous in 1911 when it became the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. It defeated the Eastern Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 in the final of the tournament in a victory that is still regarded by many as the greatest by an Indian team before Independence.

The Indian Football Association (IFA) was established in Calcutta in 1893, but did not have a single Indian on its board until the 1930s.

India qualified by default for the 1950 FIFA World Cup finals as a result of the withdrawal of all of their scheduled opponents. But the governing body AIFF decided against going to the World Cup, being unable to understand the importance of the event at that time. Reason shown by AIFF was that there was the cost of travel, although FIFA agreed to bear a major part of the travel expenses, lack of practice time, team selection issues and valuing Olympics over FIFA World cup.

Although FIFA imposed a rule banning barefoot play following 1948 Olympics where India had played barefoot. The myth that Indians refused to play because they were not allowed to play barefoot is not entirely true, according to the then Indian captain Shailen Manna, it was just a story to cover up the disastrous decision of the AIFF. The team has never since come close to qualifying for the World Cup.

The Indian team also won gold medals in football at the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games, and finished fourth at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. 1951-1962 is usually considered as "golden phase" of Indian football. The National team won numerous titles in this era under the coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim. Other than success in Asian Games football India also won Merdeka Cup and Quadrangular Tournament while East Bengal garnered rave reviews after it's tour of Romania. Rahim's death in early 60s pegged Indian football back after a successful period.

India did qualify for it's first Asian Cup in 1964 but failed to capture the title. India's last important performance in an international tournament was in 1970 Asian Games, when it won the bronze medal by defeating Japan 1-0. In mid-70s, Indian youth team jointly won the Youth Asian Cup with Iran. Indian football would go through a barren phase in 70s, 80s and 90s, gradually losing its foothold as a top Asian team.

In August 2007, the Indian national team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1-0. In August the following year, India defeated Tajikistan 4-1 to lift the AFC Challenge Cup and in turn qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.

In 2009 August, India again won the Nehru Cup beating Syria in penalty (6-5).

In January 2011 India played in the 2011 Asian Cup which was the first time India has played in the Asian Cup for 24 years. India were knocked out in the group stage which contained South Korea, Australia, and Bahrain.

Ever since the 2011 Asian Cup the All India Football Federation has been working very hard on Indian Football. For instance they allowed former coach Bob Houghton coach the Indian side in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. After going first in there AFC Challenge Cup group Bob Houghton was sacked and replaced by the current Indian coach Armando Colaco. Meanwhile the India national under-23 football team won the first round of the 2012 Olympics qualifiers against Myanmar but were knocked out by Qatar. India played there next official matches against United Arab Emirates in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which India lost on aggregate 5-2.