Football India
1. Golden Timeline of Indian Football
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1877 | 1st recorded match – Calcutta FC vs. Trades FC (Durand Cup seed) |
| 1888 | Durand Cup oldest existing tournament in Asia started at Shimla |
| 1893 | IFA (Indian Football Association) formed – oldest on the continent |
| 1937 | AIFF (All-India Football Federation) founded on 23 June at Shimla |
| 1948 | Post-independence Olympic debut – London Olympics (lost 1-2 to France) |
| 1950 | Qualified for FIFA World Cup Brazil (withdrew – bare-foot controversy) |
| 1951 | 1st Asian Games Gold – New Delhi (beating Iran 1-0) |
| 1956 | Melbourne Olympics – 4th place (best Olympic finish) |
| 1956 | Sailen Manna captains; India ranked 9th in FIFA (Jan 1956) – highest ever |
| 1962 | 2nd Asian Games Gold – Jakarta (beat South Korea 2-0) |
| 1964 | AFC Asian Cup runners-up – Israel (only top-2 finish till date) |
| 1977 | 1st overseas coach – P.K. Banerjee appointed for Asian tours |
| 1983 | Nehru Cup – India lifts 1st major post-1980 trophy |
| 2007 | AFC Challenge Cup win → qualified 2011 Asian Cup |
| 2011 | Hosted 2011 AFC Asian Cup; Sunil Chhetri scores hat-trick vs. S.Korea |
| 2017 | FIFA U-17 World Cup hosted; record 1.3 million attendance |
| 2018 | Intercontinental Cup win (Mumbai) – beat Kenya 2-0; Chhetri viral video |
| 2022 | AFC Women’s Asian Cup hosts (tournament abandoned due to COVID) |
| 2023 | India wins 1st SAFF U-20 Women’s title; Men win 9th SAFF Championship |
2. National Teams at a Glance
| Category | Nick-name | Current Coach (June 2024) | Best FIFA/AFC Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men’s Senior | Blue Tigers | Igor Štimac (Croatia) | FIFA 94 (Feb 1996) |
| Women’s Senior | Blue Tigresses | Langam Chaoba Devi (interim) | FIFA 49 (Jul 2013) |
| Men’s U-23 | – | Clifford Miranda | — |
| Men’s U-20 | – | Ishfaq Ahmed | — |
| Men’s U-17 | – | Bibiano Fernandes | AFC U-17 Q-Finals 2023 |
3. Record Makers & Trophy Haul
| Player | Caps (Goals) | Distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Sunil Chhetri | 150+ (94) | 3rd highest ACTIVE international scorer (after CR7, Messi) |
| Bhaichung Bhutia | 84 (27) | 1st Indian to score overseas club hattrick (Bury FC, Eng) |
| I.M. Vijayan | 79 (40) | Scored fastest int’l goal (12 sec) vs. Bhutan, 1999 |
| Sailen Manna | 14 (0) | Only Asian in FIFA “Century Club” list of defenders (2000) |
| Aditi Chauhan (W) | 50+ | 1st Indian woman to play in English top-tier (West Ham) |
Trophy Cabinet (Senior Men)
- Asian Games Gold: 1951, 1962
- SAFF Championship: 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2021, 2023 (9 titles – most by any nation)
- Nehru Cup: 2007, 2009, 2012 (3)
- Intercontinental Cup: 2018, 2023
4. Domestic Competitions (2024-25 season)
| Tournament | Founded | 2023-24 Winner | Unique Point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Super League (ISL) | 2013 | Mohun Bagan SG | No promotion/relegation yet |
| I-League | 1996 (rebranded) | Mohammedan Sporting | AIFF’s official Tier-1 till 2022 |
| Durand Cup | 1888 | Mohun Bagan SG | Oldest existing football tourney in Asia |
| Super Cup | 2018 | Odisha FC | Knock-out competition among ISL & I-League |
| Santosh Trophy | 1941 | West Bengal (2023) | State teams (Inter-state) |
| Subroto Cup | 1960 | Bangladesh U-17 | School level, New Delhi |
| Khelo India Youth Games | 2018 | – | U-17 & U-21 categories included football |
5. Iconic Venues
| Stadium | City | Capacity | Claim to Fame |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) | Kolkata | 68,000 | Largest in India; 2017 U-17 WC final |
| Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | New Delhi | 60,254 | Hosted 2011 AFC Asian Cup opener |
| Salt Lake Stadium | Kolkata | 68,000 | Record crowd 1,31,000 (1997 Federation Cup) |
| Mumbai Football Arena | Mumbai | 18,000 | Hosted Intercontinental Cup 2018 |
| Kalinga Stadium | Bhubaneswar | 15,000 | Women’s league hub, 2022 COTIF Cup Spain |
| GMC Balayogi Stadium | Hyderabad | 30,000 | Regular ISL play-off venue |
6. Quick-Fire One-Liners (Revision Capsule)
- AIFF HQ shifted from Kolkata to Dwarka, New Delhi in 2019.
- FIFA suspended AIFF 15 Aug – 27 Aug 2022 over 3rd-party interference.
- India’s biggest victory: 7-0 vs. SRI (2021 SAFF).
- Longest unbeaten streak: 13 matches (Jun 2022 – Jun 2023) under Štimac.
- “6-second” jersey No. 11 Sunil Chhetri is also Bengaluru FC’s all-time top scorer (100+).
- 1st Indian to score in AFC Champions League – Sunil Chhetri (2010).
- India is 10-time SAFF champion (men 9, women 1).
- Mohun Bagan (estd 1889) is Asia’s 1st club to win Continental title (1960 AFC CL – joint).
- ISL 2024-25 will have 12 teams with promotion/relegation planned from 2025-26.
- FIFA Forward project allotted USD 1 million for AIFF grass-roots 2023-25.
Practice MCQs for Railway Exams
Click to expand 15+ MCQs with answers
Q1. Who is the all-time top scorer for India in international football?
A) Bhaichung Bhutia
B) I.M. Vijayan
C) Sunil Chhetri
D) P.K. Banerjee
Ans: C
Q2. The Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest football tournament, started in:
A) 1888
B) 1893
C) 1937
D) 1951
Ans: A
Q3. What was India’s best FIFA ranking till date?
A) 94
B) 99
C) 103
D) 135
Ans: A (Feb 1996)
Q4. India withdrew from the 1950 FIFA World Cup because:
A) Financial crunch
B) FIFA imposed rule on boots
C) Civil unrest
D) AIFF did not exist
Ans: B (bare-foot controversy)
Q5. First Asian Games football gold for India came in:
A) 1951 New Delhi
B) 1956 Melbourne
C) 1962 Jakarta
D) 1964 Israel
Ans: A
Q6. Who captained India in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics?
A) P.K. Banerjee
B) Sailen Manna
C) Neville D’Souza
D) Chuni Goswami
Ans: B
Q7. India’s largest football stadium by seating capacity is:
A) JLN Stadium Delhi
B) Salt Lake Stadium / VYBK
C) DY Patil Navi Mumbai
D) Kalinga Bhubaneswar
Ans: B
Q8. The AIFF was founded on:
A) 15 Aug 1937
B) 23 Jun 1937
C) 1 Jan 1950
D) 29 Oct 1948
Ans: B
Q9. Indian Super League (ISL) commenced in:
A) 2011
B) 2013
C) 2014
D) 2017
Ans: C (Oct 2014)
Q10. Which state has won the most Santosh Trophy titles?
A) Kerala
B) Punjab
C) West Bengal
D) Goa
Ans: C (32+ titles)
Q11. Sunil Chhetri equalled whose 84-goal record in international football?
A) Lionel Messi
B) Ferenc Puskás
C) Cristiano Ronaldo
D) Mokhtar Dahari
Ans: B
Q12. India won the AFC Challenge Cup in:
A) 2005
B) 2007
C) 2008
D) 2011
Ans: C (2008 → qualified 2011 Asian Cup)
Q13. First Indian woman footballer to play for an English club?
A) Bala Devi
B) Aditi Chauhan
C) Ngangom Bala Devi
D) Sasmita Malik
Ans: B (West Ham United)
Q14. The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup final was held at:
A) New Delhi
B) Mumbai
C) Kolkata (VYBK)
D) Guwahati
Ans: C
Q15. Current (2024) head coach of the Indian men’s senior team is:
A) Stephen Constantine
B) Bob Houghton
C) Igor Štimac
D) Owen Coyle
Ans: C
Q16. India’s fastest international goal (12 sec) was scored by:
A) Sunil Chhetri
B) I.M. Vijayan
C) Bhaichung Bhutia
D) Jeje Lalpekhlua
Ans: B
Q17. Which club became 2023-24 ISL champions?
A) Mumbai City
B) ATK Mohun Bagan
C) Mohun Bagan Super Giant
D) Goa
Ans: C (same as ATK-MB, rebranded)
Q18. The first Indian footballer to score in AFC Champions League is:
A) P.K. Banerjee
B) Chuni Goswami
C) Sunil Chhetri
D) Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
Ans: C
Q19. FIFA suspended AIFF in Aug 2022 due to:
A) Match-fixing
B) Failure to pay dues
C) 3rd-party influence (CoA intervention)
D) Covid protocol breach
Ans: C
Q20. India’s longest unbeaten streak in men’s senior internationals is:
A) 8
B) 11
C) 13
D) 15
Ans: C
Last updated: June 2024 | Source: AIFF, FIFA, AFC, SAFF & Sports Ministry annual reports.
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