The Mumbai Football League, also known as the Harwood League, is organised by

Mumbai Football Association Mumbai Football Association (MFA), formerly known as Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA), is an organisation that governs the football in and around the Indian city of Mumbai. It is a member of the Western India Football Association, w ...

(MFA) as a

ladder A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps used for climbing or descending. There are two types: rigid ladders that are self-supporting or that may be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rollable ladders, such a ...

-based competition involving a total of five divisions and over 300 teams. It is the top football league in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and the second oldest football league in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

after

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is off ...

. The league was known as Hardwood League, named after Colonel Hardwood, who founded the Bombay Football Association and became first president.

League structure

Elite Division

The ''MFA Elite Division'', formerly known as the ''MDFA Elite Division'', is the first tier of the Mumbai Football League competition. In March 2022, the MFA Elite Division was rechristened as the ''Harwood Premier League'', on the lines of the name that was once associated with the Mumbai's top division football stretching back to 1902.

Format

The teams play each other in two groups, ''MFA Elite Premier League'' for the private clubs and ''MFA Elite Corporate League'' for the institutional clubs, in a round-robin single leg format. The top three teams at the end of the league will be declared winners and runners up and will advance to the championship round called ''Harwood Champions League'' whose winner will win the top division. The teams finishing in the bottom at the end of the league phase will be relegated to the Super Division.

Winners by year

Super Division

The MFA Super Division, also formerly known as MDFA Super Division, is a men's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

league in Mumbai. The league serves as the second-tier, organized by the Mumbai District Football Association. The champions of the Super Division get promoted to the MFA Elite Division. The last place teams in the groups gets relegated to the First Division. It is contested by 33 clubs. The current champions are Reliance Foundation Youth Champs and Atlanta FC are runners up. The Super Division is the second highest division in MFL organised by Mumbai District Football Association.

Format

All the teams in the division are divided into four or more groups and shall play a preliminary phase of round-robin games. The top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs. The points and goals scored in the preliminary phase will not be carried forward to the next round. The top two teams at the end of the league will be promoted to the Elite Division.

All-time participants

Division One

# All the teams in the division will be divided into four or more groups and shall play a preliminary phase of round-robin games. # The top two teams from each group will advance to the post-season playoffs. # The points and goals scored in the preliminary phase will not be carried forward to the next round. # The team standing first and second after the completion of the round-robin playoff league shall be declared the winner and runner-up and will be promoted to the Super Division. # The teams in last place in each group after the completion of the preliminary league will be demoted to the Division Two.

Division Two

# All the teams in the division will be divided into six or more groups and shall play a preliminary phase of round-robin games. # The top two teams from each group will advance to the post-season playoffs. # The points and goals scored in the preliminary phase will not be carried forward to the next round. # The post season playoffs will include a league phase followed by a single-leg knock out format to decide who will contest the Division Two final. # All eight quarter-finalists will be promoted to the Division One

Division Three

# All the teams in the division will be divided into eight or more groups and shall play a preliminary phase of round-robin games. # The top two/three teams from each group will advance to the post-season playoffs. # The points and goals scored in the preliminary phase will not be carried forward to the next round. # The post season playoffs will include a league phase followed by a single-leg knock out format to decide who will contest the Division Three final.

References

External links

MFA Official Website
{{Sports leagues of India Mumbai Football League 5

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

Football in Maharashtra 1902 establishments in India Recurring sporting events established in 1902

League structure

Elite Division

Format

Winners by year

Super Division

Format

All-time participants

Division One

Division Two

Division Three

See also

References

External links