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Western India Football Association
 | |
| Abbreviation | WIFA[1] |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1902 |
| Headquarters | Mumbai |
Region served | Maharashtra |
President | Praful Patel |
| Affiliations | All India Football Federation |
| Website | wifa |
Western India Football Association (WIFA)[2] is the state governing body for football in Maharashtra, India.[3][4] It is affiliated with the All India Football Federation, the sports national governing body.
History[edit]
The Bombay Football Association was established in the Bombay province of 1902, it was amalgmated with the older Rovers football club to form the Western India Football Association on 12 July, 1911.[5] The objective of WIFA was to improve the sport of football in the Bombay state, and in the present-day Maharashtra. Before that, football games were organised for the Rovers Cup, which is India's second oldest football tournament started in 1890.
Then in 2011, after the sudden rise in the popularity of football in India, WIFA decided to revamp the Maharashtra Football System. The first thing they decided to do was renovate Mumbai's only national football stadium, the Cooperage Ground.[6] After that they will work on starting the first ever statewide football league in Maharashtra known as the Maha League. They also announced plans to revive the Rovers Cup which had its last tournament in 2001.[7]
Maharashtra football pyramid[edit]
The Maharashtra pyramid consists of the national state league, The Maha League, at the top, district leagues in second, followed by lower leagues.
|
Level |
League(s)/Division(s) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
State National League |
The Maha League | |||||||
|
District National League |
Mumbai Football League |
NDFA Elite division league |
Kolhapur Senior League |
Pune Football League |
Aurangabad Football League |
Thane Super Division |
Nashik Football League |
Palghar Football League |
|
District League |
MFA Super Division |
Pune First Division | ||||||
|
3 |
Mumbai Division One Nagpur Division Super league Nagpur Division Senior League | |||||||
District associations[edit]
| Zone | President | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Mumbai | Austin Coutinho | |
| Pune | Dr. Vishwajeet Kadam | Pune District Football Association |
| Nagpur | Shri Harish Vora | |
| Aurangabad | Captain Rafat Afandi | |
| Thane | Alphonso Santiago | Thane District Football Association |
References[edit]
- ↑ Neil Morrison. "India - List of Nadkarni Cup Finals". rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ↑ Chittu Shetty (11 August 2019). "Why this would be the right time to bring back 'Rovers Cup'". footballcounter.com. Football Counter. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ↑ History: The Harwood League wifa.in. Retrieved 17 August 2021
- ↑ India - List of Mumbai (Bombay) League Champions RSSSF. Retrieved 17 August 2021
- ↑ https://books.google.co.in/books?id=uuYJEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT136&dq=Bombay+football+association&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjdqNnL28z0AhXsTWwGHXjZCJsQ6AF6BAgJEAM#v=onepage&q=Bombay%20football%20association&f=false
- ↑ Mumbai FC returns to Cooperage Football Stadium the-aiff.com. Retrieved 13 September 2021
- ↑ http://wifa.in/?page_id=93
External links[edit]
| National teams |
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| League competitions |
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| Cup competitions |
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| Futsal competition | |||||||||||||
| Defunct leagues |
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| Defunct cups |
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