Mumbai FC's midfielder Nishant Mehra on Wecnesday tested positive for an in-competition prohibited substance -- tetrahydrocannabinol -- in the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) list. With this act he has gained the tag of being the first footballer in the history of the I-League to fail a dope test.
Robert Romawia Royte of the Mizo National Front has declared assets of Rs 55 crore, owns a popular football club and has a fleet of luxury cars.
Many Indian footballers have improved by leaps and bounds thanks to the exposure of playing in the Indian Super League in the last three seasons.
Mohun Bagan on Wednesday signed prolific Nigerian striker Odafe Onyeka Okolie for a record rupees two crore one-year contract, the highest ever deal in Indian football history.
Reigning I-League champions Salgaocar rode on a late strike by Edeh Chidi to pip Shillong Lajong FC 1-0 and advance to the final of the 33rd Federation Cup at the floodlit Yuba Bharati Krirangan, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
In his first season as a coach in an Indian club, East Bengal's English coach Trevor Morgan has drawn appreciation from all circles.
India left out most of their younger players who featured in the pre-Olympic qualifiers against Myanmar from the 23-member squad for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifying round tournament, starting on March 21 in Kuala Lumpur.
Away from the I-League, India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia is sweating it out for United Sikkim Football Club (USFC) in the 2nd Division League in Shillong.
I-League champions Dempo Sports Club began their AFC Cup campaign with a 2-1 win over Yemen's Al Tilal in Pune on Tuesday. Dempo scored through Brazilian midfielder Roberto Mendes Silva (53rd minute) and Nigerian striker Ranti Martins Soleye (67th minute), while Al Tilal striker Tafese Tesfaye pulled one back in the 75th minute of the Group A encounter.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
Rediff.com brings these and other big news from the sporting world, encapsulated in this photo feature...
Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri on Monday urged the entire nation to root for his club Bengaluru FC as they chase a historic final berth in the AFC Cup in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Bengaluru FC, the I-League football champions will host Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim FC -- in a crucial Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup second-leg semi-final. The first-leg semifinal ended in a 1-1 draw.
Runners-up Churchill Brothers and former title holders Mohun Bagan settled for a goalless draw in their 16th round I-league soccer match at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday.
Mumbai FC's unbeaten run came to an end after they slumped to a 1-3 home defeat to Salgaocar FC in an I-League Round-5 encounter at the Balewadi Sports Complex, in Pune, on Friday. A second half brace from striker Darryl Duffy (66th and 72nd minute), and a late goal by winger Gilbert Oliviera (90th) handed the visitors three points. Substitute Jayesh Rane pulled one back for the hosts in the 85th minute.
East Bengal on Saturday announced former Portugal assistant coach Manuel Gomes to be their chief coach for the upcoming 2010-11 season.
Promising striker Mohammed Rafi got the axe as India on Monday announced a 23-member squad, to be captained by Bhaichung Bhutia, for the Asian Cup football tournament starting on January 7 in Doha, Qatar.
Roped in as Mohun Bagan's technical director after the exit of Stanley Rozario, Subhas Bhowmick said his first aim was to save his job before promising any long term success to the club.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Mumbai FC notched their third win on the trot after defeating HAL Bangalore by a solitary goal in a third round I-League match in Kolhapur on Monday.
Hosts Dempo SC went down tamely 0-4 to Nasaf FC of Uzbekistan in a Group-A encounter of the AFC Challenge Cup, at the Balewadi Sports Complex, in Pune, on Tuesday.
If an Indian born player with valid Indian passport thinks that he can play football, then All India Football Federation's Chief operating officer (COO) for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Abhishek Yadav is looking for you.
Indian Arrows and Pune FC played out a dull goal-less draw in their Round 21 I-League match at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Gurgaon on Sunday.
Bengal's star performer Denson Devadas might be a Keralite but the regional factor does not matter for the diminutive midfielder.
Yusuf Yakubu scored a brace as Salgaocar demolished Viva Kerala 4-0 to climb to the top of the points table in their 14th round I-League match at the Nehru stadium in Margao on Sunday.
Indian goalkeeper Subrata Paul's four-day trial with Vancouver Whitecaps ended in disappointment with the Canadian football club deciding against offering him a contract.
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has launched a scathing attack on the club's manager Arsene Wenger, saying he could not make a case for the Frenchman to extend his reign beyond this season.
A late goal by Ndubuisi Opara helped Air India hold Salgaocar to a 1-1 draw in their Round 22 I-League match at the Nehru stadium in Margao on Friday. Salgaocar, who held territorial advantage in the first half, scored through Ekene Ikenwa.
Stephen Constantine said he has accepted the contract extension offered to him by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which will make him the longest serving national coach in the history of the sport.
Mohun Bagan's Moroccan coach Karim Bencherifa stepped down on Thursday following the club's ongoing poor performance in the I-League this season. Former Mohun Bagan midfielder Satyajit Chatterjee was named the team's coach for the remainder of the season.
I-League champions Dempo Sports Club of Goa are close to signing a deal with an unnamed English football club for acquiring technical knowhow as well as ideas on how to market the game and run the entity profitably.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
Influential skipper Sunil Chhetri has been ruled out of India's World Cup qualifier against Iran owing to a groin injury, dealing a body blow to the beleaguered outfit's prospects of putting up a fight. The match for Russia 2018 World Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 is slated to be played in Tehran on Thursday. A 22-member team on Monday left for the forthcoming game. Six players from the list of 28 probables, including injured striker Chhetri, didn't travel with the squad. "We had to take some bold decisions and we have to travel to Tehran without our influential captain Sunil Chhetri," national coach Stephen Constantine said. "He will be badly missed." Chhetri has been ruled out following a groin injury which he had picked up in the I-League.
Newly-crowned champions Dempo played out a 1-1 draw against Pune FC in their final round encounter of the I-League, at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa, on Thursday. Dempo, who had already clinched the title, thus finished their league engagement with a tally to 54 points from 26 matches.
Mahindra United bowed out of professional football in style, defeating JCT 2-1 in their concluding I-League encounter at the Cooperage ground in Mumbai on Thursday.
Shillong's Lajong Football Club continued their giant killing spree as they shocked I-League champions Churchill Brothers 1-0 to book their maiden final berth in the Federation Cup football tournament in Guwahati.
Substitute Vimal Pariyar's injury-time goal helped reigning champions Churchill Brothers, Goa, escape defeat and hold a spirited Viva Kerala to a 1-1 draw in thier ONGC I-League football match in Kozhikode on Thursday.
The 'sleeping giant' woke up to a new dawn with the Indian Super League putting Indian football on the global map, but the national team continued to paint a grim picture, plummeting to its worst-ever rankings in an eventful year for the sport.
Churchill Brothers put up a spirited fight before crashing out of the AFC Cup after losing 1-2 to Kuwaiti powerhouse Al Qadsia in the single-leg pre-quarterfinal match in Kuwait City.
With his team winning the I-League title for the fourth time, Dempo Sports Club coach Armando Colaco said what makes his team unique was the 'warmth and affection' shared by the players.
Salgaocar hung on to a first-half goal to edge past Mumbai FC 1-0 in a 24th round I-league encounter at the Nehru stadium, in Margao, Goa, on Thursday.