Indian Football Association

The Indian Football Association, abbreviated as IFA, is the organization that administers association football in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the oldest Football Association in India and was founded in 1893. Among the founders was former English international Elphinstone Jackson.

It organizes tournaments such as the Calcutta Football League, the Calcutta Women's Football League and the IFA Shield. From 2021, the IFA also took an initiative to start its own futsal league.

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 British Football Association (the FA). 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. By vigorously promoting the game in Bengal, the IFA became undivided India's premier football body in the early decades of the 20th century.

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. 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.

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.

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 Indian 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.

Since the establishment of the IFA, the promotion and development of the sport was restricted within the borders of Kolkata and few other districts of southern Bengal. There were negligible efforts taken to spread the sport throughout the state, especially in northern Bengal. In 2021, the then Secretary of the IFA, Joydeep Mukherjee, led the plans to do so and thus initiated the Uttorbongo Cup (North Bengal Cup) and Kalyani Cup to scout newer talents from the neglected sections of the state. The IFA also launched a futsal competition in order to introduce and promote the sport in the state at a professional level.

Competitions

Men's

• Calcutta Football League
• IFA Shield
• Uttarbanga Cup

Women's

• Calcutta Women's Football League

Youth's

• CFL 5th Division Group B _{(Age group: 13 to 16)}

Corporate structure

As of January 2021

Office	Name
President	Ajit Banerjee
Secretary	Joydeep Mukherjee
Chairman	Subrata Dutta
Vice-president	Shyamal Mitra
	Tanumoy Basu
	Dr. Partha Sarathi Ganguli
Treasurer	Krishnendu Banerjee
Joint Asst. Secretary	Sufal Ranjan Giri
	Rakesh Jha
	Subhasish Sarkar
	Nazrul Islam

See also

• Football in India
• Football in Kolkata
• IFA Shield
• Calcutta Premier Division
• West Bengal football team
• List of football clubs in Kolkata

External links

• IFA Official Site
• IFA page on AIFF Website
• IFA Official YouTube Channel