Western India Football Association (WIFA) is the state governing body for

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 ...

in the

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 ...

n state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. It is affiliated with the

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry o ...

, the sports national governing body.

History

The Bombay Football Association was established in the

Bombay province The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

of 1902. It was amalgamated with the older Rovers Football Cup Committee to form the Western India Football Association on 12 July 1911. Justice Russel became president of the WIFA while P. R. Cadell became vice-president, and the objective of was to improve the sport of football in the

Bombay state Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...

, and in the present-day

. Before that, football games were organised for the

Rovers Cup The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India, organized by the Western India Football Association. It was the second oldest tournament in India after Durand Cup. History Rovers Cup was incorporated by some British football e ...

, which is India's second oldest football

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

started in 1890. Then in 2011, after the sudden rise in the popularity of

football in India Association football, 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 domest ...

, WIFA decided to revamp the Maharashtra Football System. The first thing they decided to do was renovate

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- ...

's only national football stadium, the

Cooperage Ground The Cooperage Football Ground is a football stadium located in Nariman Point, Mumbai, India. It is currently home to multiple Mumbai Football League clubs. The Western India Football Association has operated from the Cooperage Ground since 1969 ...

. After that they will work on starting the first ever statewide football league in Maharashtra known as ''the Maha League''. They also announced plans to revive the Rovers Cup which had its last tournament in 2001.

Maharashtra football pyramid

The Maharashtra pyramid consists of the district leagues, of which the

Mumbai Football League The Mumbai Football League, also known as the Harwood League, is organised by Mumbai Football Association (MFA) as a ladder-based competition involving a total of five divisions and over 300 teams. It is the top football league in Mumbai and t ...

is the primary league. There is no national state league yet, although the proposed first tier Maha League was never implemented. The lower district leagues are in second tier, followed by lower leagues.

District associations

References

External links

WIFA WebsitePoona District Football AssociationKolhapur United Football Association,(KUFA)
{{Football in Maharashtra Football governing bodies in India Football in Maharashtra 1902 establishments in India Sports organizations established in 1902 Organisations based in Mumbai