National Football League (India)

For other uses, see NFL (disambiguation).

National Football League

Founded	1996
Folded	2007 (rechristened as I-League)
Country	India
Confederation	AFC
Divisions	1 (1996) 2 (1997–2005) 3 (2006–2007)
Number of teams	10–12
Level on pyramid	1 (1996–2007)
Domestic cup(s)	Federation Cup Indian Super Cup
International cup(s)	Asian Club Championship
Last champions	Dempo S.C. (2006–07)
Most championships	Mohun Bagan East Bengal (3 titles each)
TV partners	DD Sports

The National Football League (commonly known as the NFL) was an association football league competition in India between 1996 and 2007 which was organised into three divisions. The league is now known as the I-League and continues with that name. The Premier Division of the league was first introduced in 1996, though the country already had a long history in the sport thanks to the likes of the IFA Shield and the Federation Cup. In fact, the Santosh Trophy (started in 1941) was the top football competition in the country before the then National Football League started.

A Second Division was added to the league in 1997, as Football in India grew to challenge cricket for the title of India's most popular sport. Between the divisions each year two teams were relegated and two teams were promoted. By 2006 a Third Division was added but that did not matter as by this time this would be the last year for the NFL; it was replaced in 2007 by the I-League which focuses on completely turning Indian football into a professional sport.

Sponsors

Period	Sponsor	Tournament Name
1996–98		Philips National Football League
1998-01		Coca-Cola National Football League
2001–02		Tata National Football League
2002–03		ONGC National Football League

List of Champions

Year	Champions (number of titles)	Runners-up	Third place	Top goalscorer	Goals
1996–97	JCT FC (1)	Churchill Brothers	East Bengal	Baichung Bhutia	14
1997–98	Mohun Bagan (1)	East Bengal	Salgaocar	Raman Vijayan	10
1998–99	Salgaocar (1)	East Bengal	Churchill Brothers	Philip Mensa	11
1999–2000	Mohun Bagan (2)	Churchill Brothers	Salgaocar	Igor Shkvyrin	11
2000–01	East Bengal (1)	Mohun Bagan	Churchill Brothers	Jose Barreto	14
2001–02	Mohun Bagan (3)	Churchill Brothers	Vasco SC	Yusif Yakubu	18
2002–03	East Bengal (2)	Salgaocar	Vasco SC	Yusif Yakubu	21
2003–04	East Bengal (3)	Dempo	Mahindra United	Cristiano Junior	15
2004–05	Dempo (1)	Sporting Clube de Goa	East Bengal	Dudu Omagbemi	21
2005–06	Mahindra United (1)	East Bengal	Mohun Bagan	Ranti Martins	13
2006–07	Dempo (2)	JCT FC	Mahindra United	Ranti Martins Odafe Okolie	16

All-time NFL member clubs

Original 12 Clubs

• JCT FC (1996–2007) – defunct
• East Bengal Club (1996–2007)
• Salgaocar S.C. (1996–2006)
• Indian Bank (1996–1999, 2002–2004)
• Dempo S.C. (1996–2000, 2002–2007)
• Air India FC (1996–1998, 1999–2000, 2005–2007)
• Churchill Brothers S.C. (1996–2005, 2006–2007)
• Mahindra United (1996–2007) – defunct
• Mohammedan SC (1996–1997, 2003–2004, 2005–2007)
• Kerala Police F.C. (1996–1997) – defunct
• Mohun Bagan A.C. (1996–2007)
• Indian Telephone Industries Limited (1996–1997, 1998–2003) – defunct

Other First Division Clubs

In order of their promotion to the First Division.

• FC Kochin (1997–2002) – defunct
• Tollygunge Agragami (1998–2005)
• State Bank of Travancore (1999–2001, 2004–2005)
• Border Security Force SC (1999–2000)
• Vasco S.C. (2000–2005)
• Punjab Police (2001–2002)
• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited S.C. (2002–2003, 2006–2007)
• Sporting Clube de Goa (2003–2007)
• Fransa-Pax FC (2004–2006)

External links

• Sharma, Amitabha Das (8 November 2017). "The decline of I-League". Sportstar. sportstarlive.com. Retrieved 21 October 2018.