Football in India

Football in India
Football in India
	Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, West Bengal
Country	India
Governing body	All India Football Federation (AIFF) ; (formed in 1937, joined FIFA in 1948)
National team(s)	India Men's; India Women's; India U-23 Men's; India U-20 Men's; India U-20 Women's; India U-17 Men's; India U-17 Women's; India Futsal Men's; Futsal Women's; India Beach soccer Men's; India Esports
Nickname(s)	The Blue Tigers/Tigresses
First played	1800s
National competitions
	List Senior Football Championship: Senior Men's National Football Championship; Senior Women's National Football Championship; National Beach Soccer Championship; ; U23 Football Championships National Games Football; ; U21 Football Championships Swami Vivekananda National Football Championship (U20); Khelo India Youth Games (U-21); ; U19 Football Championships Junior Girl's National Football Championship; ; U17 Football Championships Junior Boy's National Football Championship; Sub-Junior Boy's National Football championship; Sub–Junior Girl's National Football Championship; Khelo India Youth Games (U-17); ; University Football Championship: Khelo India University Games; ; Inter-School Football Championships Subroto Cup; ; ;
Club competitions
	List Leagues: Men's Indian Super League (1st tier); I-League (2nd tier); I-League 2 (3rd tier); I-League 3 (4th tier); State leagues (5th - 9th tier); AIFF Futsal Club Championship; Youth League; ; Women's Indian Women's League (1st tier); Indian Women's League 2 (2nd tier); State leagues (3rd tier); ; Institutional League; ; Cups: Super Cup; Durand Cup; ; ;
International competitions
	List Clubs AFC Champions League Elite; AFC Champions League Two; SAFF Club Championship; AFC Women's Champions League; AFC Futsal Club Championship; ; National team FIFA World Cup: Qualified (1950) Did not participate; Summer Olympics: Semi-finals (1956); AFC Asian Cup: Runners-up (1964); Asian Games: Champions (1951, 1962); South Asian Games: Champions (1985, 1987, 1995); SAFF Championship: Champions (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021, 2023); Intercontinental Cup (India): Champions (2018, 2023); Tri-Nation Series: Champions (2017, 2023); Defunct AFC Challenge Cup: Champions (2008); Nehru Cup: Champions (2007, 2009, 2012); ; ; National U-23 team Asian Games: Round of 16 (2014, 2022); South Asian Games: Runners–up (2004, 2016); ; National U-20 team AFC U-20 Asian Cup: Champions (1974); SAFF U-20 Championship: Champions (2019, 2022, 2023); ; National U-17 team FIFA U-17 World Cup: Group stage (2017); AFC U-17 Asian Cup: Quarter-finals (2002, 2018); SAFF U-17 Championship: Champions (2013, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023); WAFF U-16 Championship: Runners-up (2018); ; National futsal team 2022 AFC Futsal Asian Cup; ; National beach soccer team AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup: Group stage (2007); Asian Beach Games: Group stage (2008); ; Women's national team AFC Women's Asian Cup: Runners-up (1979, 1983); Asian Games: Group Stage (1998, 2014, 2022); SAFF Women's Championship: Champions (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2019); South Asian Games: Champions (2010,2016,2019); ; Women's U-20 national team AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup: Quarter-finals (2004); SAFF U-20 Women's Championship: Champions (2022, 2024); ; Women's U-17 national team FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup: Group Stage (2022); AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup: Group Stage (2005); SAFF U-17 Women's Championship: Champions (2018, 2019); ; ;
Audience records
Single match	131,781 ; (1997 Federation Cup Semifinal: East Bengal F.C. VS Mohun Bagan A.C. at Salt Lake Stadium)

Association football is one of the most popular sports in India. The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the first FIFA event the country hosted. It was called the most successful FIFA U-17 World Cup ever, with a record-breaking attendance of 1,347,133, exceeding China's record of 1,230,976 from 1985. India also hosted the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and bid to host the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The Indian national football team qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup but did not participate.