Football in India
| Football in India | |
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| Country | India |
| Governing body |
All India Football Federation (AIFF) |
| National team | India |
| Nickname(s) | The Blue Tigers |
| First played | 1800s |
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National competitions
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Club competitions
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I-League Goa Professional League (Regional) |
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International competitions
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List
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Audience records
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| Single match | 131,781 (1997 Federation Cup Semifinal: East Bengal F.C. v Mohun Bagan A.C. at Salt Lake Stadium, 1997) |
All India Football Federation (AIFF)
I-League
Indian Super League
I-League 2nd Division
Calcutta Football League (Regional)
Football is India's second most popular sport, next to the game of cricket. Traditionally it has enjoyed popularity in the regions such as West Bengal, Goa, Kerala, Odisha, and the entire north-eastern India, especially Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.
India's current top domestic league, I-League, was formed in 2007 in an attempt to professionalize domestic football and in 2013 the Indian Super League was formed with 8 teams to promote Indian football to the country and world. Also contested is Santosh Trophy, a knock-out competition between states (provinces) and government institutions. The current captain of the Indian national team is Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and the team is coached by Stephen Constantine. India is currently ranked 129th among the FIFA World Rankings, published in January 2017.
The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup is scheduled to take place in India. By virtue of being the host country, the Indian team will automatically play in the tournament. Depending on the performance of the U-17 team, the All India Football Federation has indicated consideration for a World Cup bid.
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Wikipedia