Football in India
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Association football is one of India's most popular sports, and is said to rank second only behind cricket in popularity, although some reporting considers football to be more popular [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_football/3937015.stm). Football is a played in almost all schools in India. Football is also said to be the top sport in the states of Goa, Kerala and West Bengal.
The game in India is administered by the All India Football Federation, which is affiliated to the regional Asian Football Confederation, as well as to the worldwide body FIFA. The Indian national team has entered into the regional Asian Cup competition as well as the World Cup.
Club teams in India compete in the National Football League.
The standard of Indian football (compared globally) is poor - the national team is ranked past 100th place in the world, and is said to struggle to qualify for both the World Cup and the Asian Cup. Part of this has been put down to the lack of oppurtunities for proper training and devlopment of players in the country.
Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), in the state of West Bengal, is considered to be the home of Indian football. The city contains the two most famous Indian teams East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan AC.
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History
Football in India was spread during the days of the British Empire. Many football clubs in India were created during this time, and pre-date many of the organisations and clubs which are predominant in the game today.
Famous players
See also
External links
- http://www.aiffonline.com/ - All India Football Federation official website
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_football/3937015.stm - BBC Sport article on Indian football
- http://www.indianfootball.com/ - Fan site
- http://www.longlivesoccer.com/
- http://www.longlivesoccer.com/indiafootball.htm - Indian Football factfile
- http://www.longlivesoccer.com/indiafootball2.htm - 'Professionalism: The missing part of Indian football '