An ambitious project to awaken a sleeping giant of Asian soccer looks like confirming Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's famous remark that India pricks up its ears only when comparisons with China are made. With China embarked on a multi-billion dollar mission to become a soccer superpower by 2050, India looks set to follow suit with its own plan to raise its status in the game to match its burgeoning economic power. Come October, India, most famously described as soccer's sleeping giant by former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, will launch a programme to engage more than 11 million children in soccer-related activities.
Though a bid cannot be expected from either of the two Kolkata giants just because the document has been taken up for consideration, this is a sign that both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are easing their stance against the IMG-Reliance owned league.
East Bengal said they will travel to Srinagar for their match against Real Kashmir on February 28 if 'forced' to do so by the AIFF.
There have been at least 1,641 cases of the virus in the Gulf region. Dubai has postponed its March boat show until November and Abu Dhabi postponed the ITU World Triathlon event this month, after earlier cancelling a cycling event in which two riders were diagnosed with the virus.
The AIFF also asked its state units not to allow their players to participate in the 'unauthorised and unofficial Futsal league'.
Former Newcastle United striker Michael Chopra is ready to surrender his British passport to represent the country of his origin, India, and realise his dream of playing senior-level international soccer.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly was among the first in the Indian sporting fraternity to take to Twitter to pay his tributes to Diego Maradona.
Veteran India goalkeeper Subrata Paul on Wednesday earned a massive reprieve after the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) revoked his provisional suspension, letting him off with a warning with regards to violation of anti-doping rule earlier this year.
With the nationwide lockdown in place to fight the spread of COVID-19, the first condolence meeting held on virtual platform. Banerjee had died on March 20 after a prolonged illness while Goswami succumbed to cardiac arrest on April 30.
Described as a "nonsensical" tournament by national coach Bob Houghton, Santosh Trophy will not feature any member of the Indian senior football team this year.
India get three slots for AFC competitions in 2023-24 season.
Asian Football Confederation president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa inaugurated the refurbished Cooperage stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday and said hosting the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 will boost development of the game in the country. The refurbishing of Cooperage was done under FIFA's 'Win in India, With India' project.
Turambekar's story is inspiring, to say the least. Read on as she recounts her remarkable journey in conversation with Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi.
In its bid to restructure the country's football, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has formed a task force and one of the decisions taken is to hold the popular Indian Super League (ISL) over a longer period, according to its General Secretary Kushal Das.
'The football teams have also been given a relaxation, and so, Dipa too should be considered. We have received positive response from SAI. She is likely to get cleared this week.'
The All India Football Federation believes that the FIFA U-17 World Cup, beginning October 6, can be a catalyst for the sport.
The AFC said the unsuspended portion of the fine - US$750 -- shall be settled within 90 days from the date of the communication of the decision.
With exactly 10 days to go for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Local Organising Committee chairman Praful Patel, on Tuesday, declared that India is "100 per cent ready" to host the event.
A post by striker Sunil Chhetri on social networking site Twitter in support of national coach Bob Houghton in the ongoing racial abuse case has irked the All India Football Federation.
FIFA is set to shift India's Under-17 World Cup matches from Mumbai to Delhi as the apex soccer body has taken the host government's request 'very seriously'.
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday lauded World Athletics' decision to award USD 50,000 to all its gold-medallists in the Paris Olympic Games and said he would like to see such incentive being given in other global competitions as well.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has served a show cause notice on Churchill Alemao, patron of Goan football club Churchill Brothers, for his recent comments against match officials and referred him to the disciplinary committee.
Former India footballer and hero of the 1956 Olympic team, Syed Abdus Salam is bed-ridden and facing a financial crisis.
'Things changed for us and all the children in the valley when we won the Second Division' 'When we played our I-League home matches it was always a full house. Rain, snow, sunshine, our fans came to cheer for us'
"Every Indian national in Pakistan and Pakistani in India has to report to the local police station," said AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Dennerby is in charge of the women's team for FIFA U-17 World Cup which will be held in November.
'All clubs will be allowed to register four (3 foreigners and one Asian) for all tournaments including I-League (Division 1 and 2), Federation Cup, All-India tournaments and local leagues for this season only,' a statement of the AIFF said. 'However, only three of the foreign players can be in the actual playing eleven,' the statement added.
The legendary PT Usha will be officially elected as the first woman president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) during the governing body's polls on Saturday, ushering in a new era in country's sports administration.
Churchill Brother take on Ever-Ready whle Indfian Bank meet Army XI in the opening matches of the league.
Former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia said on Tuesday that a merger of the newly floated Indian Super League (ISL) and the long-running I-League is neither going to happen nor is it advisable.
Opposition from national football coach Bob Houghton and captain Bhaichung Bhutia has led to a rethink by the All India Football Federation on the five-foreigner quota in the I-League. The AIFF has also sought views of state associations on the issue.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) may see nothing wrong in allowing five foreigners in each I-League club from this season, but national football captain Bhaichung Bhutia feels that the new rule will let one too many overseas players to compete in the event.
Incumbent Praful Patel is set to be re-elected unopposed as the president of All India Football Federation for his third term at its Annual General Meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday after the Delhi High Court vacated a stay on the elections of the national sports body on Tuesday.
Uncertainty over the inaugural edition of India's Premier League Soccer (PLS) increased on Saturday when organisers disputed a claim from the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that the competition had been cancelled.
The members of the victorious inaugural Indian Super League Football Championship Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) were felicitated by West Bengal government.
His agent Simon Bayliss said the 22-year-old striker is not interested in playing for India and is all set to pursue his career in England.
Buoyed after the country was awarded the 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup'S hosting rights, the All India Football Federation is set to bid for the 2015 and 2016 editions of the Club World Championships.
"The remuneration of a referee per match is very low. In state leagues, a referee gets Rs 2500 to Rs 5000, and in national leagues from Rs 8000 to Rs 10,000. This comes up to Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh a year, which is insufficient for a referee to maintain his family by doing refereeing only.
