The National Football League (NFL) was a league competition featuring

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 ...

clubs from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Founded in 1996 through the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the NFL was the first football league in India to be organized on a national scale. The AIFF then added a second division in 1997 and a third division was soon added by the governing body in 2006. The NFL was eventually replaced by the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

for the 2007–08 season in order to professionalize the sport in India. As well as league competition, clubs in the NFL would also participate in the two main domestic cup competitions, the

Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...

and

Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...

. The NFL champions would also participate in the Super Cup against the Federation Cup champion. NFL players could also participate in the state-based Santosh Trophy competition.

History

The National Football League was founded by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for

football in India Football in India has historically been among the top 3 most popular sport in terms of players participation and TV viewership, together with long time number one cricket and re-emerging kabaddi. India's current top domestic football league is ...

, in 1996. The aim of the league was to promote the development of the sport in the country.

JCT Mills Jagatjit Cotton & Textile Football Club (formerly known as JCT Mills FC; abbreviated as both JCT FC, or simply JCT) was an Indian professional football club based in Phagwara, Punjab. Founded in 1971, the club was sponsored by Jagatjit Cotton ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

won the inaugural season of the league. Then India international

Bhaichung Bhutia Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often ...

was the league's top goalscorer with 14 goals. To supplement the Premier Division, the AIFF began the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

of the NFL in 1997.

Tollygunge Agragami Tollygunge Agragami Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Tollygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1943, the club primarily competes in the Calcutta Premier Division League. It previously participated in the Natio ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

were the inaugural second division champions. In 2001, in order to help promote the development of young Indian players, the AIFF launched the under-19 league. The inaugural season of the under-19 league would see

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

crowned champions. Only three seasons of the under-19 league were held in 2001, 2002–03, and 2004–05. The AIFF also fielded the India under-16 side in the league when held. In July 2003, East Bengal made history for the NFL when they won the 2003 ASEAN Club Championship, becoming the first Indian side to win an Asian level competition. Prior to the 2006–07 season, the AIFF launched a third division, which was essentially just the qualifiers for the second division. After the season concluded, the AIFF announced that the NFL would be disbanded and replaced with a new fully-professional league, the

for the 2007–08 season.

Dempo Dempo Mining Corporation Limited is a prominent mining company from the western Indian state of Goa. The mineral business was founded by Mr. Vasantrao S. Dempo in 1941 along with his younger brother Mr. Vaikuntrao Dempo. Mr. Vasantrao S. Demp ...

finished as the final NFL champions.

Sponsorship

Clubs

Played in NFL Premier Division *

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the ...

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...

Churchill Brothers Churchill Brothers FC Goa, or simply known as Churchill Brothers, is an Indian professional football club based in Margao, Goa, that competes in the I-League, alongside Goa Professional League. Founded in 1988 in Margao, the club usually part ...

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

* Fransa-Pax *

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bangalore, India. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the worl ...

Indian Bank Indian Bank is an Indian public sector bank, established in 1907 and headquartered in Chennai. It serves over 100 million customers with 39,734 employees, 5,721 branches with 5,428 ATMs and Cash deposit machines. Total business of the bank has ...

Indian Telephone Industries ITI Limited, earlier known as Indian Telephone Industries Limited, is a central public sector undertaking in India. It is under the ownership of Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications , Government of India. It was founde ...

* JCT *

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperamen ...

* Kochin *

Mahindra United Mahindra United Football Club (formerly known as Mahindra & Mahindra) was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 1962, the club competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system, bef ...

* Mohammedan *

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

* Punjab Police * Salgaocar * Sporting Goa * State Bank of Travancore *

* Vasco

Champions

Premier Division

Second Division

Third Division

References

{{Sports leagues of India Defunct football leagues in India Sports leagues established in 1996 Organizations disestablished in 2007 Professional sports leagues in India

Football leagues in India