History of football in India

The history of football in India is a long and detailed one, as it was the national sport at one time. The impetus for this was to unify the Indian Army. There is evidence of football games being played in the army since at least 1949. India is home to some of the oldest football clubs in the world,[1] and the world's third oldest competition, the Durand Cup. There was a time when football in India was highly celebrated.[2] The Indian football outfit was called the "Brazilians of Asia".[3]

Silver trophy of the Cooch Behar Cup at The Bengal Club in Kolkata, which is one of the oldest football tournaments in India.[4]
  1. ^ "History in Timeline of Indian Football". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  2. ^ Majumdar, Boria, Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (1 February 2006). Goalless: The Story of a Unique Footballing Nation. New Delhi: Penguin India. ISBN 9780670058747. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Majumdar, Rounak (22 April 2019). "The Golden Years of Indian Football". www.chaseyoursport.com. Kolkata: Chase Your Sport. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  4. ^ Kumar Shil, Amrita (15 May 2022). "Football Culture in Princely State of Cooch Behar" (PDF). JHSR Journal of Historical Study and Search. 2. ISSN 2583-0198. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.