From Barefoot To Boots - The Rise Indian Football

Almost all of us follow football- the biggest sport in the world. We all love watching great European clubs playing, we all love watching the rivalry of Messi and Ronaldo, we all stay awake the whole night to watch a Uefa Champions League match. But how many of us actually know everything about Indian football? We know they are doing great in recent times but how good actually we were a few decades back? How this beautiful game started in our country? Let's try to find those answers with a brief history of Indian football -

_{1.In the nineteenth century British regimental teams started this game. It is believed that the first football game in India was played in Kolkata.}

_{2.Calcutta Football Club(CFC) is the oldest club in India established in 1870s.}

_{3.The first tournament in India is Durand Cup which is instituted by Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, the foreign secretary in chard of India from 1884-94. The tournament is the third oldest tournament in the entire world after FA Cup in England and FA Cup in Scotland.}

_{4.Along with Durand Cup then in 1996 started the first Football league of India National Football League in 1996 which was later renamed as I-League.}

_{5.The first football association to be set up in India was the Indian Football Association(IFA) in 1893.}

_{6.After formation of IFA, a tournament was organised as IFA Shield which was dominated by British army teams. However, their stranglehold over the Shield was broken in 1911, when Mohun Bagan Athletic Club became the first Indian team to win the IFA Shield by defeating East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1. That was a historic moment for Indian football, as the natives beat the Englishmen at their own game.}

_{7.East Bengal FC is the most successful club in IFA Shield history(29 times winner) and Dempo FC of Goa is the most successful club in I-League(3 league titles).}

_{8.Formed in 1937, the All India football Federation(AIFF) is the governing body of association football in India. They were also one of the founding members of Asian Football Confederation(AFC).}

_{9.In 1948, one year after independence the AIFF gained affiliation with FIFA, the governing body for football around the world. Later that year, the national team was officially formed and participated in their first official tournament, the 1948 Summer Olympics.}

_{10.In 1950, the national team automatically qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cupwhich was to be held in Brazil after all the teams in India's qualification group withdrew. However, prior to the tournament, India themselves withdrew from the World Cup with the AIFF citing the reason as due to lack of funding. Other reasons given for India's withdrawal included the players playing mainly barefooted and that the AIFF valued the Summer Olympics tournament more than the FIFA World Cupat the time.}

_{11. Although India have never participated in World Cup but we have some rich history in Asian football. India won gold during the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games, while finishing fourth during the 1956 Summer Olympics.}

_{12. The team has also appeared four times in the Asia's top football competition, the AFC Asian Cup. Their best result in the competition occurred in 1964 when the team finished as runners-up.}

_{13. India then won the Nehru Cup in 2007 and 2009 while also managing to emerge victorious during the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup. The Challenge Cup victory allowed India to once again qualify for the Asian Cup for the first time in 27 years.}

_{14. The most exciting match in Indian club football's history is the Kolkata Derby. This is the football match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, the two giants of Indian football. The rivalry between these two teams is almost 100 years old, and features in the FIFA's classic derby list.}

_{15. Then in 2013 AIFF in partnership with IMG Reliance and Star Sports started the Indian Super League which changed the fate of Indian Football. With ISL there has been immense development in football. Latest technologies has been carried out, the stadiums have been improved, trainings and fitness level of Indian players has gone to the next level. Most importantly with the help of ISL, Indian players got a chance to play with some big names of the game like Tim Cahill, Alessandro Del Piero, Luis Garcia, Elano, Freddie Ljungberg, David James, Joan Capadevilla, Robert Pires, Helder Postiga, Roberto Carlos, Lucio, David Trezeguet,Florent Malouda,Nicolas Anelka, Diego Forlán, Robbie Keane and many more.}

_{16. Currently the Indian national team is doing really well under the captaincy of Sunil Chhetri who is also the top scorer and most capped player. They recently qualified for and played in the Asian Cup 2019. Although the failed to qualify from the group stages, the team delivered a strong message to the world with some brilliant performances that the sleeping giant is not really sleeping now.}

_{17. After the knock out from Asian Cup, the team saw the resignation of head coach Mr. Stephen Constantain which some people believe is a blessing in disguise as the country later on witnessed the former Croatian footballer Mr. Igor Stimac(the man who made Croatia qualified for the World Cup) as the new head coach with widely experienced Mr. Isac Doru as the technical director.}

Indian football is really at its peak right now. We have seen our FIFA world ranking going up to 96 from 175 in just three years. The current rank is 101 and with much more support from the crowd, much more faith to the team, we think the football team will really shine bright as we always say -

The road is long but belief is everything.