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| match = | league = }} Football is India's second most popular sport, next to the game of cricket. Traditionally it has enjoyed popularity in the regions such as West Bengal, Goa, Kerala, Orissa, and the entire north-eastern India, especially Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.〔 Dr. T. Ao, the Captain of the Indian Football Team to the London Olympics, 1948, and Captain of the Mohun Bagan Athletic Club in 1948 and 1949 hailed from Nagaland. India's current top domestic league, I-League, was formed in 2007 in an attempt to professionalize domestic football and in 2013 the Indian Super League was formed with 8 teams to promote Indian football to the country and world. Also contested is Santosh Trophy, a knock-out competition between states (provinces) and government institutions. The current captain of the Indian national team is Sunil Chhetri and the team is coached by Stephen Constantine. India is currently ranked 172 in the FIFA World Rankings, down from 167 in October, 2015. Mohun Bagan A.C. is the national club of India.〔http://www.mohunbaganac.com〕 It is India's oldest football club and also one of the oldest football clubs in Asia, established in 1889. The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup is scheduled to take place in India. By virtue of being the host country, the Indian team will automatically play in the tournament. Depending on the performance of the U-17 team, the All India Football Federation has indicated consideration for an U-20 bid. ==History== The origin of football in India can be traced back to mid-nineteenth century when the game was introduced by British soldiers. Initially, games were played between army teams. However, clubs were soon set up around the country. Several football clubs like Calcutta FC, Sovabazar, Mohun Bagan and Aryan Club were established in Calcutta around the 1890s. Calcutta, then capital of British India, soon became the hub of Indian football. Tournaments like Gladstone Cup, Trades Cup and Cooch Behar Cup was also started around this time. The Durand Cup and IFA Shield were both started in late nineteenth century. The first Indian team to achieve success was Sovabazar Club, which won the Trades Cup in 1892. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club was set up in what is now West Bengal in 1889. The club became famous in 1911 when it became the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. It defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment 2–1 in the final of the tournament in a victory that is still regarded by many as the greatest win by an Indian team before Independence. The Indian Football Association (IFA) was established in Calcutta in 1893, but did not have a single Indian on its board until the 1930s. The All India Football Federation, which runs the game in India, was formed in 1937, but took more than a decade to get affiliated with FIFA. India also insisted on playing barefoot when other nations were putting their boots on and the game was changing fast. India qualified by default for the 1950 FIFA World Cup as a result of the withdrawal of all of their scheduled opponents. But lack of foreign exchange, the prospects of a long sea journey and an insistence on playing barefoot meant that the team never made it to Brazil.〔 Although FIFA imposed a rule banning barefoot play following 1948 Olympics where India had played barefoot. The myth that Indians refused to play because they were not allowed to play barefoot is not entirely true, according to the then Indian captain Shailen Manna, it was just a story to cover up the disastrous decision of the AIFF. The team has never since come close to qualifying for the World Cup.〔〔Lisi (2007), p. 49〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1950 FIFA World Cup Brazil – Overview )〕 India even picked up the gold in football in the first Asian Games in 1951, beating a "booted" Iran by a solitary goal. In 1956, after having put on its boots, India reached the semi-final in Melbourne Olympics football, the first Asian country to do so. It stood fourth in the tournament. In 1962, India again picked up the football gold in the Asian Games.〔 1951–1962 is usually considered as "golden phase" of Indian football. The National team won numerous titles in this era under the coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim. Other than success in Asian Games football, India also won Merdeka Cup and Quadrangular Tournament while East Bengal garnered rave reviews after its tour of Romania. Rahim's death in the early 1960s pegged Indian football back after a successful period. India never qualified for the Olympics after 1960.〔 India did qualify for its first Asian Cup in 1964 but failed to capture the title. India's last important performance in an international tournament was in 1970 Asian Games, when it won the bronze medal by defeating Japan 1–0. In mid-70s, Indian youth team jointly won the Youth Asian Cup with Iran. Indian football would go through a barren phase in 70s, 80s and 90s, gradually losing its foothold as a top Asian team. In August 2007, the Indian national team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1–0. In August the following year, India defeated Tajikistan 4–1 to lift the AFC Challenge Cup and in turn qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. In August 2009, India again won the Nehru Cup beating Syria in penalty (6–5). In January 2011 India played in the 2011 Asian Cup which was the first time India has played in the Asian Cup for 24 years. India were knocked out in the group stage which contained South Korea, Australia, and Bahrain. Ever since the 2011 Asian Cup the All India Football Federation has been working very hard on Indian Football. For instance they allowed former coach Bob Houghton coach the Indian side in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. After going first in there AFC Challenge Cup group Bob Houghton was sacked and replaced by the current Indian coach Wim Koevermans. Meanwhile, the India national under-23 football team won the first round of the 2012 Olympics qualifiers against Myanmar but were knocked out by Qatar. India played their next official matches against United Arab Emirates in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which India lost on aggregate 5–2. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Football in India」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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