Indian Football Association
AbbreviationIFA
Formation1893; 131 years ago (1893)[1]
HeadquartersKolkata
Region served
West Bengal, India
Membership
23 district associations
Secretary
Anirban Dutta
President
Ajit Banerjee
Parent organization
All India Football Federation (AIFF)
Websiteifawb.org

The Indian Football Association, abbreviated as IFA, is the organisation that administers association football in the Indian state of West Bengal.[2][3] It is the oldest football association in India and was founded in 1893.[4][5] Among the founders was former English international Elphinstone Jackson.[6]

The IFA organises tournaments such as the Calcutta Football League, the Calcutta Women's Football League[7] and the IFA Shield.[8] In 2021, the IFA also took an initiative to start its own futsal league.[9] It also sends state teams for Santosh Trophy and Senior Women's National Football Championship.

History

Contrary to the name, the association does not administer the game in India, a task that falls to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), instead governs the game in the state of West Bengal. However, before the formation of the AIFF, the IFA was in de facto control of football in India by virtue of its administration by Englishmen as well as its affiliation to the Football Association.[10] Hence, all foreign tours were conducted by the IFA and also foreign teams negotiated with the IFA for visits to India. In its formative years, the only Indian representative in the English dominated executive committee was Kalicharan Mitra from the Sovabazar Club.[11] By vigorously promoting the game in Bengal, the IFA became undivided India's premier football body in the early decades of the 20th century.[12]

Through the efforts of Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari (the father of Indian football), A.R. Brown and B.C. Lindsay of Dalhousie AC, and Watson of Calcutta FC, the IFA was established in 1893.[13] A.R. Brown was the first Secretary of the IFA. Norman Prichard, the first Indian to win an Olympic medal, was the Secretary of the IFA in 1900.The most remarkable person to head the IFA was the Maharaja of Santosh, Sir M.N. Roy Chowdhury. During his tenure the IFA played an instrumental role in the formation of the AIFF.[14]

The IFA had organised many historical tournaments like the Trades Cup, the Gladstone Cup, the Cooch Behar Cup and the coveted IFA Shield, prior to the incorporation of Calcutta Football League in 1898. The Trades Cup is the oldest tournament in Kolkata, being instituted in 1889.[15]

Clubs outside Bengal complained about the lack of neutrality in the affairs of the IFA. This disillusionment of clubs and patrons led to the formation of associations such as the Western India Football Association, which preferred to be governed by themselves rather than by the IFA. After years of numerous conferences and meetings, the IFA along with other five regional football associations broke their mutual deadlock to form the AIFF in 1937.[12]

Competitions

Men's

Women's

Youth

Corporate structure

As of June 2022

Office Name
President Ajit Banerjee
Chairman Subrata Dutta
Secretary Anirban Dutta
Vice-president Biswajit Bhaduri
Saurav Paul
Swarup Biswas
Treasurer Debasish Sarkar

See also

References

  1. ^ Wadwha, Arjun (19 May 2008). "History of Football in India". thesportscampus.com. TheSportsCampus. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Calcutta Football League (CFL) goes bigger than ever for its historic 125th season". thefangarage.com. Kolkata: The Fan Garage. 5 June 2023. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  3. ^ "The passage of football in India". ifawb.org. Kolkata: Indian Football Association. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  4. ^ Majumdar, Rounak (22 April 2019). "The Golden Years of Indian Football". www.chaseyoursport.com. Kolkata: Chase Your Sport. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Chronology of Important Sports Events — West Bengal". wbsportsandyouth.gov.in. Kolkata: Government of West Bengal – Department of youth services and sports. 2017. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  6. ^ IFFHS - Interesting and curious facts about full internationals and national players (1872–1900) Archived 2012-02-07 at the Wayback Machine. iffhs.de. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Indian women football team will play against two top tier-1 Swedish teams". Bet365India. 26 October 2021. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  8. ^ "History in Timeline of Indian Football". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  9. ^ "First ever Futsal league in Bengal to kick off on 'Poila Baishakh'". The Bridge. 28 January 2021. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  10. ^ "OUR SPORTSMEN: Gostha Pal". 123india.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  11. ^ Pillai, Manu S (8 June 2018). "How football kicked off in India | As with the English language, when the British transported the sport to India, they didn't expect the 'natives' to beat them at it". lifestyle.livemint.com. Delhi, India: Livemint Delhi. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  12. ^ a b "The Birth of the All India Football Federation | Novy Kapadia". 25 March 2017. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  13. ^ Waris, Sarah (25 January 2020). "Nagendra Prasad — The father of Indian football who removed prejudice from the sport". thebridge.in. Kolkata: The Bridge. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  14. ^ "About Us". IFAWB. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  15. ^ D'Mello, Anthony (1959). Portrait Of Indian Sport. P R Macmillan Limited, London. p. 186. Retrieved 25 September 2022.

Further reading

External links

IFA Shield
Football in West Bengal
Football in India
Members of the All India Football Federation
Categories