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List of Indian football champions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Indian Football League (1st tier)
National Football League (1996–2007)
I-League (2007–2017)
I-League & Indian Super League (2017–2022)
Indian Super League (2022–present)
Country
India India
Founded
1996
Number of teams (from 2024–25)
13
Current Champions
Mohun Bagan SG
Most successful club
Mohun Bagan SG (6 titles)[1]

The Indian football champions are the winners of the highest league in Indian men's football, which is currently the Indian Super League.

Though Indian football tournaments dates back to the eighteenth century, a proper league system. the National Football League (NFL) was established in 1996, playing it first season in 1996–97. Its champions were considered the national champions. After the 2006–07 season, the NFL was rebranded, becoming the I-League with its champions continuing to be considered national champions until 2017, when the Indian Super League (ISL) became the country's joint premier football league. In 2022, ISL became the only top tier football league of the country. ISL playoffs winners were considered as ISL champions until 2021–22 season. Later from 2022–23 season, ISL champions designation was awarded to the table toppers.

There are 12 clubs who have won either the National Football League or the I-League and championships and six clubs who have won the Indian Super League since the league became the joint top division in India. JCT were the first club to have won any championship, winning the 1996–97 NFL. Mohun Bagan SG are the most successful club, winning championships six times, NFL three times, I-League twice and ISL once.

History

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The first Indian football league, the National Football League (NFL) was an association football league competition in India which was organised into three divisions. 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. The league though is now transformed into the I-League and continues with that name. The change was supposed to bring more popularity to Indian Football. The first league season of I-League consisted of eight teams from the NFL plus two promoted teams from the former Division Two.

The 1996–97 Indian National Football League was the first season of the NFL and ended with JCT Mills FC being crowned champions. The NFL era though saw Kolkata clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan had the most championships with three respectively. The I-League era is different though as most of the champions of the league have come from Goa.

Currently, the team with the most championships in I-League is Dempo who have won three championships in the league.

In 2014, a new football league named Indian Super League has started. In its first three seasons it was running without recognition from the AFC. Before 2017–18 season, ISL got recognition from Asian Football Confederation (AFC). In July 2017, it was proposed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that the Indian Super League champion be granted a spot in the AFC Cup, Asia's second-tier club competition.[2] On 25 July 2017, the AFC approved the AIFF's proposal. Thus, from the 2017–18 season, the Indian Super League champions were allowed to participate in the AFC Cup from the qualification stages of the competition.[2] Meanwhile, India's spot in the AFC Champions League, Asia's top club competition, was still kept by the I-League;[2] thus two leagues were parallelly running in the country. In October 2019, a roadmap for development of league in India was proposed. All stakeholders accepted the proposal where it was announced that ISL premiers would now be entitled to the AFC Champions League, starting from 2021 edition and the I-League champion will get to play the AFC Cup.[3] From 2022–23 season the AFC Cup slot from I-League has been transferred to Super Cup and ISL became the only top tier League in India.

National League Champions

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National league champion determination
Season(s) Format
1996–2007 National Football League first placed team
2007–2017 I-League first placed team
2017–2022 Both I-League first placed team and Indian Super League playoffs winners
2022–present Indian Super League first placed team

National Football League (1996–2007)

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Season Champions
(number of titles)
Runners-up Third place Winning manager Leading goalscorers
(Club)
Goals
1996–97 JCT Churchill Brothers East Bengal India Sukhwinder Singh India Bhaichung Bhutia (JCT) 14
1997–98 Mohun Bagan East Bengal Salgaocar India T. K. Chathunni India Raman Vijayan (Kochin) 10
1998–99 Salgaocar East Bengal Churchill Brothers India Shabbir Ali Ghana Philip Mensah (Churchill Brothers) 11
1999–2000 Mohun Bagan (2) Churchill Brothers Salgaocar India Subrata Bhattacharya Uzbekistan Igor Shkvyrin (Mohun Bagan) 11
2000–01 East Bengal Mohun Bagan Churchill Brothers India Monoranjan Bhattacharya Brazil José Ramirez Barreto (Mohun Bagan) 14
2001–02 Mohun Bagan (3) Churchill Brothers Vasco India Subrata Bhattacharya Ghana Yusif Yakubu (Churchill Brothers) 18
2002–03 East Bengal (2) Salgaocar Vasco India Subhash Bhowmick Ghana Yusif Yakubu (Churchill Brothers) 21
2003–04 East Bengal (3) Dempo Mahindra United India Subhash Bhowmick Brazil Cristiano Júnior (East Bengal) 15
2004–05 Dempo Sporting Goa East Bengal India Armando Colaco Nigeria Dudu Omagbemi (Sporting Goa) 21
2005–06 Mahindra United East Bengal Mohun Bagan India Derrick Pereira Nigeria Ranti Martins (Dempo) 13
2006–07 Dempo (2) JCT Mahindra United India Armando Colaco Nigeria Odafa Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Brothers) 18

I-League (2007–2017)

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Season Champions
(number of titles)
Runners-up Third place Winning manager Leading goalscorers
(Club)
Goals
2007–08 Dempo (3) Churchill Brothers JCT India Armando Colaco Nigeria Odafa Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Brothers) 22
2008–09 Churchill Brothers Mohun Bagan Sporting Goa Serbia Zoran Đorđević Nigeria Odafa Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Brothers) 24
2009–10 Dempo (4) Churchill Brothers Pune India Armando Colaco Nigeria Odafa Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Brothers) 21
2010–11 Salgaocar (2) East Bengal Dempo Morocco Karim Bencherifa Nigeria Ranti Martins (Dempo) 28
2011–12 Dempo (5) East Bengal Churchill Brothers India Armando Colaco Nigeria Ranti Martins (Dempo) 32
2012–13 Churchill Brothers (2) Pune East Bengal India Mariano Dias Nigeria Ranti Martins (Prayag United) 26
2013–14 Bengaluru East Bengal Salgaocar England Ashley Westwood Trinidad and Tobago Cornell Glen (Shillong Lajong)
Scotland Darryl Duffy (Salgaocar)
India Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru)
14
2014–15 Mohun Bagan (4) Bengaluru Royal Wahingdoh India Sanjoy Sen Nigeria Ranti Martins (East Bengal) 17
2015–16 Bengaluru (2) Mohun Bagan East Bengal England Ashley Westwood Nigeria Ranti Martins (East Bengal) 12
2016–17 Aizawl Mohun Bagan East Bengal India Khalid Jamil Cameroon Aser Pierrick Dipanda (Shillong Lajong) 11

I-League and Indian Super League (2017–2022)

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From 2017–18 season until 2021–22 season, I-League and Indian Super League shared joint top flight status in Indian Football

I-League

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Season Champions
(number of titles)
Runners-up Third place Winning manager Leading goalscorers
(Club)
Goals
2017–18 Minerva Punjab NEROCA Mohun Bagan India Khogen Singh Cameroon Aser Pierrick Dipanda (Mohun Bagan) 13
2018–19 Chennai City East Bengal Real Kashmir Singapore Akbar Nawas Spain Pedro Manzi (Chennai City)
Trinidad and Tobago Willis Plaza (Churchill Brothers)
21
2019–20 Mohun Bagan (5) Not awarded[a] Spain Kibu Vicuña Cameroon Aser Pierrick Dipanda (Punjab) 12
2020–21 Gokulam Kerala Churchill Brothers TRAU Italy Vincenzo Alberto Annese India Bidyashagar Singh (TRAU) 12
2021–22 Gokulam Kerala (2) Mohammedan Sreenidi Deccan Italy Vincenzo Alberto Annese Trinidad and Tobago Marcus Joseph (Mohammedan) 16

Indian Super League

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Season Champions
(number of titles)
Runners-up League Shield Winners[b] Winning manager
(Champions)
Leading goalscorers
(Club)
Goals
2017–18 Chennaiyin[c] Bengaluru Didn't exist[b] England John Gregory Spain Coro (Goa) 18
2018–19 Bengaluru (3) Goa Spain Carles Cuadrat Spain Coro (Goa) 16
2019–20 ATK[c] Chennaiyin Goa Spain Antonio Lopez Habas Fiji Roy Krishna (ATK)
Lithuania Nerijus Valskis (Chennaiyin)
Nigeria Bartholomew Ogbeche (Kerala Blasters)
15
2020–21 Mumbai City ATK Mohun Bagan Mumbai City Spain Sergio Lobera Spain Igor Angulo (Goa)
Fiji Roy Krishna (ATK Mohun Bagan)
14
2021–22 Hyderabad Kerala Blasters Jamshedpur Spain Manolo Márquez Nigeria Bartholomew Ogbeche (Hyderabad) 18
  1. ^ On 18 April 2020, All India Football Federation, the organising body of the league announced Mohun Bagan as champions and decided to cancel the remaining matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No team was relegated, and the remaining prize money (apart from the champion's prize money) was equally divided among the 10 teams as the remaining teams were closely placed in the league table.[4]
  2. ^ a b Since 2019–20, the regular season table toppers are awarded with the League Winners Shield and were granted a spot in AFC Champions League group stage till 2022–23 ISL Season.
  3. ^ a b ATK won the ISL title in 2014 and 2016 and Chennaiyin won the ISL title in 2015 before 2017–18 season when the ISL got official recognition from AFC.

Indian Super League (2022–present)

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Season Champions (number of titles)[a][5] Playoffs Winners Playoffs Runners-up Winning manager
(Champions)
Leading goalscorers
(Club)
Goals
2022–23 Mumbai City (2) ATK Mohun Bagan Bengaluru England Des Buckingham Brazil Diego Maurício (Odisha)
Brazil Cleiton Silva (East Bengal)
Australia Dimitri Petratos (ATK Mohun Bagan)
12
2023–24 Mohun Bagan SG (6)[6] Mumbai City (2) Mohun Bagan SG Spain Antonio López Habas Greece Dimitrios Diamantakos (Kerala Blasters)
Fiji Roy Krishna (Odisha)
13
  1. ^ Since 2023–24 ISL season, the reigning regular season champions who are awarded with the League Winners Shield were granted a spot in AFC Champions League Two group stage.

Total titles won

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There are 12 clubs who have won either the National Football League or the I-League. There are also 6 clubs who have won the Indian Super League since the league became the joint top division in India.

Teams in bold will compete in the Indian Super League for the 2024–25 season.

Rank Club Winners Runners-up Winning seasons Runners-up seasons
1 Mohun Bagan SG 6 5 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2014–15, 2019–20, 2023–24 2000–01, 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2020–21
2 Dempo 5 1 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2011–12 2003–04
3 East Bengal 3 7 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04 1997–98, 1998–99, 2005–06, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2018–19
4 Bengaluru 3 2 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018–19 2014–15, 2017–18
5 Churchill Brothers 2 6 2008–09, 2012–13 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2020–21
6 Salgaocar 2 1 1998–99, 2010–11 2002–03
Mumbai City 2 1 2020–21, 2022–23 2023–24
7 Gokulam Kerala 2 0 2020–21, 2021–22 -
8 JCT 1 1 1996–97 2006–07
Chennaiyin 1 1 2017–18 2019–20
Hyderabad 1 1 2021–22 2022–23
9 Mahindra United 1 0 2005–06 -
Aizawl 1 0 2016–17 -
Minerva Punjab 1 0 2017–18 -
Chennai City 1 0 2018–19 -
ATK 1 0 2019–20 -
Never won Sporting Goa 0 1 2004–05
Pune 0 1 2012–13
NEROCA 0 1 2017–18
Goa 0 1 2018–19
Kerala Blasters 0 1 2021–22
Mohammedan 0 1 2021–22
  • † – Defunct clubs

By state

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State Championships Clubs
West Bengal 10 Mohun Bagan SG (6), East Bengal (3), ATK (1)
Goa 9 Dempo (5), Churchill Brothers (2), Salgaocar (2)
Karnataka 3 Bengaluru (3)
Maharashtra 3 Mumbai City (2), Mahindra United (1)
Punjab 2 JCT (1), Minerva Punjab (1)
Tamil Nadu 2 Chennaiyin (1), Chennai City (1)
Kerala 2 Gokulam Kerala (2)
Mizoram 1 Aizawl (1)
Telangana 1 Hyderabad (1)

By city/town

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City / Town State Championships Clubs
Kolkata West Bengal 10 Mohun Bagan SG (6), East Bengal (3), ATK (1)
Panaji Goa 5 Dempo (5)
Bangalore Karnataka 3 Bengaluru (3)
Mumbai Maharashtra 3 Mumbai City (2), Mahindra United (1)
Margao Goa 2 Churchill Brothers (2)
Vasco da Gama Goa 2 Salgaocar (2)
Kozhikode Kerala 2 Gokulam Kerala (2)
Aizawl Mizoram 1 Aizawl (1)
Chennai Tamil Nadu 1 Chennaiyin (1)
Coimbatore Tamil Nadu 1 Chennai City (1)
Hoshiarpur Punjab 1 JCT (1)
Ludhiana Punjab 1 Minerva Punjab (1)
Hyderabad Telangana 1 Hyderabad (1)

National Cup winners

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Federation Cup (1977–2017)

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Year Winners Runners-up
1977–78 ITI (Indian Telephone Industries) Mohun Bagan
1978–79 Mohun Bagan and East Bengal - (joint winners)
1979–80 BSF Mafatlal Mills
1980–81 Mohun Bagan and East Bengal - (joint winners)
1981–82 Mohun Bagan Mohammedan
1982–83 Mohun Bagan Mafatlal Mills
1983–84 Mohammedan Mohun Bagan
1984–85 Mohammedan East Bengal
1985 East Bengal Mohun Bagan
1986–87 Mohun Bagan East Bengal
1987–88 Mohun Bagan Salgaocar
1988–89 Salgaocar BSF
1989–90 Salgaocar Mohammedan Sporting
1990 Kerala Police Salgaocar
1991 Kerala Police Mahindra & Mahindra
1992 Mohun Bagan East Bengal
1993 Mohun Bagan Mahindra & Mahindra
1994 Mohun Bagan Salgaocar
1995 JCT East Bengal
1995–96 JCT Mills East Bengal
1996 East Bengal Dempo
1997 Salgaocar East Bengal
1998 Mohun Bagan East Bengal
1999 Not held
2000
2001 Mohun Bagan Dempo
2002 Not held
2003 Mahindra United Mohammedan Sporting
2004 Dempo Mohun Bagan
2005 Mahindra United Sporting Goa
2006 Mohun Bagan Sporting Goa
2007 East Bengal Mahindra United
2008 Mohun Bagan Dempo
2009–10 East Bengal Shillong Lajong
2010 East Bengal Mohun Bagan
2011 Salgaocar East Bengal
2012 East Bengal Dempo
2013–14 Churchill Brothers Sporting Goa
2014–15 Bengaluru Dempo
2015–16 Mohun Bagan Aizawl
2016–17 Bengaluru Mohun Bagan

Super Cup (2018–present)

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Season Winner Runner-up
2018 Bengaluru East Bengal
2019 Goa Chennaiyin
2020–2022 Tournament suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Indian National Team's international fixtures
2023 Odisha Bengaluru
2024 East Bengal Odisha

Total Cups won

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Club Winner Winning Years Runners-up Runners-up Years
Mohun Bagan SG 14 1978*, 1980*, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987
1992, 1993, 1994, 1998
2001, 2006, 2008, 2015–16
6 1977, 1983, 1985, 2004, 2010, 2016–17
East Bengal 9 1978*, 1980*, 1985, 1996, 2007, 2009–10, 2010, 2012, 2024 9 1984, 1986, 1992, 1995–96, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2011, 2018
Salgaocar 4 1988, 1989, 1997, 2011 3 1987, 1990, 1994
Bengaluru 3 2014–15, 2016–17, 2018 1 2023
Mohammedan 2 1983, 1984 3 1981, 1989, 2003
Mahindra United 2 2003, 2005 3 1991, 1993, 2007
JCT Mills 2 1995, 1995–96 0 -
Kerala Police 2 1990, 1991[7] 0 -
Dempo 1 2004 5 1996#, 2001, 2008, 2012, 2014–15
BSF (Border Security Force) 1 1979 1 1988
Odisha 1 2023 1 2024
ITI (Indian Telephone Industries) 1 1977 0 -
Churchill Brothers 1 2013–14 0 -
Goa 1 2019 0 -
Sporting Clube de Goa 0 - 3 2005, 2006, 2013–14
Shillong Lajong 0 - 1 2009–10
Aizawl 0 - 1 2015–16
Chennaiyin 0 - 1 2019
  • * : shared
  • # :There were two federation cups in 1996

Multiple trophy wins

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The Domestic Double

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Club Seasons Titles
Mohun Bagan SG 2001–02 National Football League, Federation Cup
2023–24 Durand Cup, ISL League Shield
Dempo 2004–05 National Football League, Federation Cup
Mahindra United 2005–06 National Football League, Federation Cup
Mumbai City 2020–21 ISL League Shield, ISL Cup

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "REPORT: MOHUN BAGAN SUPER GIANT SEE OFF MUMBAI CITY FC TO WIN LEAGUE SHIELD". www.indiansuperleague.com.
  2. ^ a b c "ISL gets official recognition from AFC, becomes second national football league". FirstPost. 28 June 2017. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  3. ^ "India clubs agree to work together on league roadmap". AFC. 14 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  4. ^ "League Committee sends its recommendations to the AIFF Executive Committee | Hero I-League". Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  5. ^ "ISL Champions badge awarded to ISL Shield winners; Mumbai City FC set to wear the badge in the 2023-24 season". www.sportskeeda.com.
  6. ^ "MOHUN BAGAN ARE ISL CHAMPIONS: THE GLORY, THE RECORDS AND THE HEROES". www.indiansuperleague.com.
  7. ^ Federation Cup. the-aiff.com (archived)
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