This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
All Indian Football Federation was formed in the year 1937. It took almost a decade before it was affiliated with FIFA. In the year 1948, FIFA announced a ban on the barefoot play. Indian players though insisted on playing on bare feet while other nations took to playing in boots. In that same year, it is said that the Indians refused to play because of the ban that was imposed by FIFA but most feel that this was just a result of the AIFF decision made.
In the golden phase of Indian football that is in the years 1951 and 1962, the Indian team won several tournaments like the Asian Games. When they later agreed to start using boots in the year 1956, they reached the semis of Melbourne Olympic football hence becoming the first Asian country to ever go that far. In the year 1962, India won again the gold medal in the Asian Games.
In the year 2014, India was the host of the Unity World Cup in Goa Hyderabad. They participated in the FIFA U-17 for the first time. In 2018, India defeated the football giants, Argentina U-20 in the Confit cup and also Iraq in U-16.
These facts show that India has been actively involved in football and even won big matches. Be sure to catch the upcoming ISL matches that will feature teams from India competing against one another from this November.