| Badge Size: | 250px |
| Fifa Affiliation: | 1948 |
| Region: | AFC |
| Region Affiliation: | 1954 |
| Subregion2: | SAFF |
| Subregion2 Affiliation: | 1997 |
| Headquarters: | Football House, Dwarka, Delhi |
| Location: | New Delhi, India |
| President: | Kalyan Chaubey |
| Vice-President: | N. A. Haris |
| General Secretary: | Anilkumar Prabhakaran |
All India Football Federation, aka AIFF, is the governing body of football, futsal and beach soccer in India. It is a member of FIFA, and is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation and South Asian Football Federation.[1] [2] [3]
It is affiliated with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. India men's and women's football teams are governed by the AIFF, and represent India in various international football tournaments.
The AIFF manages, sanctions, conducts, schedules and runs all national level football tournaments and leagues in India, including Indian Super League, I-League, I-League 2, I-League 3, Indian Women's League, Indian Women's League 2, Santosh Trophy, Senior Women's National Football Championship, Futsal Club Championship, National Beach Soccer Championship, Super Cup, Durand Cup, Youth League and others. The federation also indirectly manages local football competitions through its member associations.
Before the formation of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the de facto ruling body for association football in India was the Indian Football Association (IFA).[4] The IFA was founded in 1893 and ran the game in the Bengal region.[5] The federation was mainly governed by Englishmen and served as the most powerful football body in the country during the early 20th century.[4]
The IFA stated efforts to form a countrywide football federation in 1935 when the federation, as well as seven other associations, met at a conference but consensus could not be reached.[4] After differences of opinion and other conflicts were resolved, a meeting was conducted in March 1937 which would serve to be the beginning of the start of the AIFF.[4] The AIFF was officially founded on 23 June 1937 after representatives from the nine regional football associations met at the Army Headquarters in Shimla. Namely, the nine regional football associations were the IFA, Army Sports Control Board, North West India Football Association, Bihar Olympic Association, WIFA, Madras Football Association, United Provinces Sports Control Board, Mysore Football Association, and Ajmer and Mewar Football Association.[6] [4]
After the launch of the national football federation, the idea of an India national football team did not gain much momentum until after India's independence in 1947.[4] Select Indian teams did participate in tours of Australia, Burma, Afghanistan, and South Africa but none were officially part of the national team.[4] In 1948, one year after independence and 11 since forming as a football association, the AIFF gained affiliation with FIFA, the governing body for football around the world.[7] Later that year, the national team was officially formed and participated in their first official tournament, the 1948 Summer Olympics.[4]
In 1950, the national team automatically qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup which was to be held in Brazil after all the teams in India's qualification group withdrew. However, prior to the tournament, India withdrew, citing the reason as due to lack of funding. Other reasons given for India's withdrawal included that the AIFF valued the Summer Olympics more than FIFA World Cup at that time and that the players playing mainly barefooted, though the later is just a tale. In 1952, during the Olympics in Finland, India was defeated in the first round by Yugoslavia 10–1. This defeat made the AIFF make it mandatory for players on the national team to wear football boots. In 1954, the AIFF played an active role in promoting football in Asia when they were one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation. India took part in four straight Olympic football tournaments between 1948 and 1960 but have failed to qualify since. In 1985, India started to participate in World Cup qualifiers again but have failed to make it to the tournament.
In 1977, the AIFF started the Federation Cup which was the first club based national tournament in the country.[8] The Santosh Trophy, the national tournament for state teams, was started in 1941.[9]
In 1996, the AIFF began the first national league in the country, the semi-professional National Football League.[10] Before this, most clubs played in state leagues or select nationwide tournaments.[10]
In 2006, the AIFF reformatted the league as the I-League in an effort to professionalise the game.[11] However, during the following seasons, the league suffered from a lack of popularity due to poor marketing.[12]
In September 2006, the AIFF signed a 10-year television and media contract with Zee Sports. The deal would make Zee broadcast the National Football League, later the I-League, and other tournaments organised by the AIFF and selected India's international matches.[13] However, in October 2010, the deal between the AIFF and Zee Sports was terminated after differences between both parties related to payment and marketing of football in India.[14]
On 9 December 2010, it was announced that the AIFF had signed a new 15-year, ₹700 crore deal with Reliance Industries and the International Management Group.[15]
It received the AFC President’s Recognition Award for Grassroots Football (Silver) for its unwavering commitment to football growth at the grassroots in October 2024. It did better this time compared to its bronze award it received at the last ceremony of the AFC awards.[16]
On 16 August 2022, the FIFA Council unanimously decided to suspend All India Football Federation with immediate effect due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes.[17] As a result, India was temporarily excluded from next AFC Asia Cup edition until the suspension got lifted before the tournament began. In response to the ban, AIFF agreed to hold an election on 2 September to restore India's participation in FIFA once it got a new administration.[18] On 27 August, FIFA lifted suspension on India, after the government agreed to end its interference in the AIFF, allowing the AIFF administration to resume activities.[19]
The following are on the board of the directors at the AIFF.[20] [21] [22]
| Name | Position | |
|---|---|---|
 Kalyan Chaubey | President | |
| Nalapad Ahmed Haris | Vice-president | |
| Anilkumar Prabhakaran | Secretary General | |
| Satyanarayana M | Deputy Secretary General | |
| Kipa Ajay | Treasurer | |
 Vincent Subramaniam | Chief Technical Officer | |
| Syed Sabir Pasha | Technical Director | |
| Prashant J Singh | Head of Players' Development | |
| Ashish V Pandey | Grassroots Developer | |
| Sarthak Mishra | State Development Manager | |
| Shveta Sharma | Sr. Manager, Coach Education | |
| Aman Dubey | Sr. Coordinator, Coach Education | |
| Shubham Gurung | Technical Coordinator | |
| Manolo Márquez | Head Coach (Senior Men's) | |
| Santosh Kashyap | Head Coach (Senior Women's) | |
| Jaydeep Basu | Director of Media | |
| Ravishankar J. | Referee Coordinator |
Notes:
See main article: List of Indian state football associations. There are currently 36 state associations and 2 affiliates with the All India Football Federation.[23]
| No. | Association | State/UT | President | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manipur | M. Ratan Kumar Singh | ||
| 2 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Vidya Prakash Krishna | ||
| 3 | Andhra Pradesh | Gopalakrishna Kosaraju | ||
| 4 | Arunachal Pradesh | Pema Khandu | ||
| 5 | Assam | Naba Kumar Doley | ||
| 6 | Bihar | Prasenjeet Mehta | ||
| 7 | Chandigarh | K. P. Singh | ||
| 8 | Chhattisgarh | Ajay Chandrakar | ||
| 9 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Amit Khemani | ||
| 10 | Odisha | Samir Dey | ||
| 11 | Delhi | Saraftullah (acting) | ||
| 12 | Goa | Caitano Fernandes | ||
| 13 | Gujarat | Parimal Nathwani | ||
| 14 | Haryana | Suraj Pal | ||
| 15 | Himachal Pradesh | Baldev Singh Tomar | ||
| 16 | West Bengal | Ajit Banerjee | ||
| 17 | Jammu and Kashmir | Wasim Aslam | ||
| 18 | Jharkhand | Mithlesh Kumar Thakur | ||
| 19 | Karnataka | N. A. Haris | ||
| 20 | Kerala | Tom Jose | ||
| 21 | Ladakh | Tashi Namgail | ||
| 22 | Lakshadweep | K. Mohammed Ali | ||
| 23 | Madhya Pradesh | Trilok Chand Kochar | ||
| 24 | Meghalaya | Larsing Ming Sawyan | ||
| 25 | Mizoram | Lal Thanzara | ||
| 26 | Nagaland | Neibou Sekhose | ||
| 27 | Puducherry | D. Nestor | ||
| 28 | Punjab | Samir Thapar | ||
| 29 | Rajasthan | Manvendra Singh | ||
| 30 | Sikkim | Menla Ethenpa | ||
| 31 | Tamil Nadu | Jesiah Villavarayar | ||
| 32 | Telangana | Mohammed Ali Rafath | ||
| 33 | Tripura | Ratan Saha | ||
| 34 | Uttar Pradesh | Arvind Menon | ||
| 35 | Uttarakhand | Amandeep Sandhu | ||
| 36 | Maharashtra | Praful Patel |
| No. | Association | Department | President | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D. K. Gayen | |||
| 2 | Dinesh Suri |
See main article: Indian State Leagues.
| Competition | Year | Champions | Title | Next edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior (men's) | |||||
| Santosh Trophy | 2023–24 | Services | National Champion | 2024–25 | |
| National Games | 2023 | Services | National Games Champion | ||
| National Beach Soccer Championship | 2023 | Kerala | National Beach Soccer Champion | 2024 | |
| Indian Super League | 2023–24 | Mohun Bagan SG | ISL Champion | 2024–25 | |
| Mumbai City FC | ISL Cup Winner | ||||
| I-League | 2023–24 | Mohammedan | I-League Champion | 2024–25 | |
| I-League 2 | 2023–24 | Sporting Bengaluru | I-League 2 Champion | 2024–25 | |
| I-League 3 | 2023-24 | Sporting Goa | I-League 3 Champion | 2024-25 | |
| Super Cup | 2024 | East Bengal | Super Cup Champion | 2025 | |
| Durand Cup | 2024 | Northeast | Durand Cup Champion | 2024 | |
| Futsal Club Championship | 2023–24 | Corbett FC | Futsal Club Champion | 2024–25 | |
| Senior (women's) | |||||
| Senior Women's National Football Championship | 2023–24 | Manipur | National Women's Champion | 2024–25 | |
| National Games | 2023 | Odisha | National Games Women's Champion | ||
| Indian Women's League | 2023–24 | Odisha FC | IWL Champion | 2024–25 | |
| Indian Women's League 2 | 2023–24 | Odisha FC | IWL Champion | 2024–25 | |
| Youth (men's) | |||||
| Swami Vivekananda NFC (U20) | 2023–24 | Delhi | National U-20 Champion | 2024–25 | |
| B.C. Roy Trophy | 2023–24 | Uttar Pradesh | National U-15 Champion | 2024–25 | |
| 2023–24 | Mizoram | National U-13 Champion | 2024–25 | ||
| Youth League (U-17) | 2023-24 | Classic FA | U-17 league Champion | 2024-25 | |
| Youth League (U-15) | 2023-24 | Minerva Academy FC | U-15 league Champion | 2024-25 | |
| Youth League (U-13) | 2023-24 | Reliance Foundation Young Champs | U-13 league Champion | 2024-25 | |
| Youth (women's) | |||||
| Junior Girl's National Football Championship | 2023–24 | Manipur | National U-19 Champion | 2024–25 | |
| 2023–24 | Jharkhand | National U-16 Champion | 2024–25 | ||
| Level | National leagues | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian Super League 13 clubs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | I-League 13 clubs – 1 promotion ↑↓ 1 relegation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | I-League 2 10 clubs – 2 promotions ↑↓ 2 relegations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | I-League 3 25 clubs divided into 5 zones – 3 promotions ↑↓ 20 relegations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| State leagues | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| State level | West Bengal | Assam | Delhi | Tamil Nadu | Maharastra | Goa | Jammu and Kashmir | Karnataka | Manipur | Meghalaya | Odisha | Jharkhand | Punjab | Sikkim | Tripura | Kerala | Ladakh | Mizoram | Arunachal Pradesh | Bihar | Chhattisgarh | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | Gujarat | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Lakshadweep | Madhya Pradesh | Nagaland | Puducherry | Rajasthan | Telangana | Uttar Pradesh | Uttarakhand | |||||
| Mumbai | Pune | Nagpur | Kolhapur | Thane | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 1 | CFL Premier Division↑promote ↓relegate | Assam State Premier League↑promote ↓relegate | Delhi Premier League↑promote ↓relegate | CFA Senior Division↑promote ↓relegate | Mumbai Premier League↑promote ↓relegate | PDFA Super Division League↑promote ↓relegate | NDFA Elite Division League ↑promote ↓relegate | Kolhapur Senior League ↑promote ↓relegate | Thane Super Division ↑promote ↓relegate | Goa Professional League↑promote ↓relegate | J&K Premier Football League↑promote ↓relegate | BDFA Super Division↑promote ↓relegate | Manipur State League↑promote ↓relegate | Meghalaya State League↑promote ↓relegate | FAO Diamond League↑promote ↓relegate | JSA League Premier Division↑promote ↓relegate | Punjab State Super Football League↑promote ↓relegate | SFA A-Division S-League↑promote ↓relegate | Chandra Memorial A Division League↑promote ↓relegate | Kerala Premier League↑promote ↓relegate | Ladakh Super League↑promote ↓relegate | Mizoram Premier League↑promote ↓relegate | Indrajit Namchoom Arunachal League↑promote | Bihar State Soccer League↑promote | Chhattisgarh State Men's Football League Championship↑promote | DD Senior Division League / DNH Senior Division League↑promote | Gujarat SFA Club Championship↑promote | Haryana Men's Football League↑promote | Himachal Football League↑promote | Kavaratti Football League[24] ↑promote | Madhya Pradesh Premier League↑promote | Nagaland Premier League↑promote | Pondicherry Men's League Championship↑promote | Rajasthan State Men's League↑promote | Rahim League A Division↑promote | Lucknow Super Division↑promote | Uttarakhand Super League↑promote |
| 6 | 2 | CFL 1st Division ↑promote 2↓relegate 2 | Assam Club Championship / Guwahati Premier Football League↑promote ↓relegate | FD Senior Division League↑promote ↓relegate | First Division↑promote ↓relegate | Mumbai Super League↑promote ↓relegate | PDFA First Division League ↑promote ↓relegate | NDFA Super Division League ↑promote ↓relegate | 1 division | GFA 1st Division League↑promote ↓relegate | J&K Super Division↑promote ↓relegate | BDFA A Division↑promote ↓relegate | AMFA Cup↑promote ↓relegate | Shillong Premier League↑promote ↓relegate | FAO Gold League↑promote ↓relegate | JSA League Super Division↑promote ↓relegate | Punjab State League Second Division↑promote ↓relegate | Sikkim B Division↑promote ↓relegate | Chandra Memorial B Division League↑promote ↓relegate | Kerala Premier League Second Division↑promote | Ladakh District Leagues↑promote | Mizoram 1st Division League↑promote | 1 division | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | 3 | CFL 2nd Division↑promote 2 ↓relegate 2 | GSA A Division Football League↑promote ↓relegate | FD A-Division↑promote ↓relegate | Second Division↑promote ↓relegate | MFA First Division↑promote ↓relegate | PDFA Second Division League↑promote ↓relegate | NDFA Senior Division League ↑promote ↓relegate | GFA 2nd Division League↑promote ↓relegate | J&K A-Division↑promote ↓relegate | BDFA B Division↑promote ↓relegate | Thangjam Birchandra-Maipakpi Memorial Winners' Cup↑promote ↓relegate | Second Division League↑promote ↓relegate | FAO Silver League↑promote ↓relegate | JSA League A Division↑promote | Punjab State League Third Division↑promote | Sikkim C Division↑promote | Chandra Memorial C Division League↑promote | 2 divisions | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | 4 | CFL 3rd Division↑promote 2 ↓relegate 2 | GSA B Division Football League↑promote ↓relegate | FD B-Division↑promote ↓relegate | Third Division ↑promote ↓relegate | MFA Second Division↑promote ↓relegate | PDFA Third Division League↑promote ↓relegate | 3 divisions | GFA 3rd Division League↑promote | J&K B-Division↑promote | BDFA C Division↑promote | Manipur District Leagues↑promote | Third Division League↑promote | FAO 2nd Division League↑promote | 3 divisions | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | 5 | CFL 4th Division↑promote 2 ↓relegate 2 | GSA C Division Football League↑promote | FD C-Division↑promote | Fourth Division↑promote | MFA Third Division↑promote | 4 divisions | 4 divisions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | 6 | CFL 5th Division↑promote 2 | 5 divisions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | League(s) / Division(s) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National leagues | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Indian Women's League 7 clubs – ↓ 0 relegations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Indian Women's League 2 8 clubs – 2 promotions ↑↓ relegations TBA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| State leagues | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| State level | Karnataka | West Bengal | Delhi | Maharastra | Tamil Nadu | Assam | Goa | Manipur | Meghalaya | Odisha | Jharkhand | Punjab | Sikkim | Mizoram | colspan!="1" width | ="4%" | Arunachal Pradesh | Bihar | Chhattisgarh | Gujarat | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Kerala | Madhya Pradesh | Puducherry | ||
| 3 | 1 | Karnataka Women's Super Division↑promote ↓relegate | CWFL Premier Division A↑promote | FD Women's Premier League↑promote ↓relegate | WIFA Women's Football League↑promote | Tamil Nadu Women's League↑promote | Assam Women's League↑promote | Goa Women's League↑promote | Manipur Women's League↑promote | SSA Women's Football League↑promote | Odisha Women's League↑promote | JSA Women's League↑promote | Punjab Women's League↑promote | Sikkim Women's Super League↑promote | Mizoram Women's League↑promote | Arunachal Women's Football Championship↑promote | Bihar State Women's League↑promote | Chhattisgarh State Women's Football League Championship↑promote | Gujarat State Women's League↑promote | Haryana Women's Football League↑promote | Himachal Women's League↑promote | Kerala Women's League↑promote | Madhya Pradesh Women's Premier League↑promote | Pondicherry Women's League↑promote | |||
| 4 | 2 | Karnataka Women's A Division | CWFL Premier Division B | FD Women's Championship | MFA Women's League | PDFA Women's Division | Kolhapur Women's League | 1 division | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 3 | Karnataka Women's B Division | 2 divisions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The following is a list of presidents of AIFF:[25] [26] [27]
| Presidents | State FA | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brigadier VHB Majendie | 1937 – ? | ||
| Brigadier Dorman Smith | Army | ? – ? | |
| D Moir | Bombay | ? – ? | |
| Bihar | ? – ? | ||
| 1950 – 1960 | |||
| Manindra Nath Dutta Ray | West Bengal | 1960 – 1975 | |
| 1975 – 1980 | |||
| Khalifa Ziauddin | 1980 – 1988 | ||
| Bihar, Women’s FA | 1988 – 2008 | ||
| 2009 – 2022 | |||
| 2022 – present |
The following is a list of secretaries of AIFF:[25] [27] [28]
| Secretaries | State FA | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major AC Wilson | Army | 1937 – ? | |
| Major JB Donaldson | Army | ? – ? | |
| EJ Turner | Bombay | ? – ? | |
| Manindra Nath Dutta Ray | West Bengal | 1942 – 1950 | |
| Major Lachman Singh | Army | ? – ? | |
| Khalifa Ziauddin | Maharashtra | ? – ? | |
| A. T. Vijayrangam | Mysore | ? – 1980 | |
| Ashok Ghosh | West Bengal | 1980 – 1988 | |
| P. P. Lakshmanan | Kerala | 1988 – 1996 | |
| Kedar Nath Mour | Assam | 1997 – 2000 | |
| Alberto Colaco | Goa | 2000 – 2010 | |
| Kushal Das | – | 2010 – 2022 | |
| Sunando Dhar (interim) | – | 2022 | |
| Delhi | 2022 – 2023 | ||
| M. Satyanarayan (interim) | Karnataka | 2023 – 2024 | |
| Anilkumar Prabhakaran | Kerala | 2024 – present |
Politicians are highly involved in AIFF. From 1988 to 2009, Congress party's Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi was president of AIFF. After him his fellow, then Congress and later Nationalist Congress Party's politician Praful Patel became president and run it from 2009 to 2022 in an authoritarian manner. He was removed from the position by Supreme Court of India in May 2022 and a three members' committee was appointed to run AIFF. In their decision the judge remarked that the present state of this organisation is not in the interest of proper governence.[29] Patel remained president of the AIFF for 16 years, without any tenure limit. He held the position in 3 terms. As per AIFF, some people dictate Indian football who serve themselves in the expenses of football sport and players.[30] [31] According to The Telegraph newspaper's article, there is rampant and open corruption in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and due to this, many of the sponsors do not want to sponsor AIFF or be associated with it. And Players, coaches and officials related to football feels that the AIFF's attitude and management of this organisation have to be change, otherwise football will not improve in India.[32]
As of 6 October 2021, since 2020 AIFF avoided elections to new president and office holders. Praful Patel is president of AIFF since 2009 and held president's post even after his legal presidency period ended.[33]
Multiple times, FIFA have accused AIFF of outside influence in it. On 15 August 2022, FIFA suspended the federation for violating its statutes on third-party interference. India was stripped off its hosting rights for international football tournaments, including the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup scheduled for October 2022. The Suspension was lifted on 27 August 2022. As a result, 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup scheduled for October 2022 were held as planned.[34]
This organisation is often accused for neglecting women's football.
The Indian men's national football team has never played in the FIFA World Cup but India did qualify for the 1950 FIFA World Cup which was held in Brazil. In 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification, the other teams in India's qualification group withdrew due to various reasons and India qualified as the remaining team. However, the Indian team did not participate and withdrew their name. A common myth is that India withdrew and didn't participate because FIFA did not allow Indians to play football barefoot. According to author and sports journalist Jaydeep Basu, this is completely wrong and India did not participate because AIFF did not believe that its then players had the calibre to compete against the top teams of the world. Furthermore, AIFF used to consider the Olympics more important than the FIFA World Cup. According to Basu, by not sending India's team to the 1950 FIFA World Cup, AIFF did huge mistake.[35] [36]