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Association football competition in India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, the football governing body in the Indian state of West Bengal.[1] The IFA came into existence in 1893,[2] and was named after the association. The IFA Shield tournament was started in the same year. It is the third oldest football tournament in India, after Durand Cup and Trades Cup, and is among the oldest football competitions in the world.[3]
| |
| Organising body | Indian Football Association (West Bengal) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1893 |
| Region | India (primarily West Bengal) |
| Number of teams | Various |
| Related competitions | Women's IFA Shield |
| Current champions | Real Kashmir (2nd title) |
| Most successful club(s) | East Bengal (29 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | None |
| Website | ifawb |
 2024 IFA Shield | |
The royal houses of Patiala and Cooch Behar, A.A. Apcar of Armenian Club and J Sutherland of Dalhousie AC had financially contributed for the inception of the Shield. The coveted shield was designed by Walter Locke & Co. (Calcutta) and made by Messrs Elkington & Co. (London).[4]
During the initial years of the competition, the IFA Shield was dominated by British Army teams and the Royal Irish Rifles defeated W.D.R.A. to lift the first IFA Shield in 1893. However, their stranglehold over the Shield was broken in 1911,[5] when Mohun Bagan became the first all-Indian side to win the IFA Shield by defeating East Yorkshire Regiment by 2–1.[6][7][8] That was a historic moment for Indian football as well the struggle for independence, as the natives beat the Englishmen in their own game. While the Royal Irish Rifles remains the most successful British Army side with 5 titles, East Bengal Club has won the IFA Shield a record 29 times.
From 2015 to 2018, the IFA Shield was designed as an youth tournament wherein youth teams of all divisions were allowed to participate.[9] The decision was taken by IFA due to busy schedule of AIFF which includes Indian Super League, I-League, I-League 2nd Division, State leagues and Super Cup among others. In 2020, the tournament was once again organised as a senior event.[10]
Notes:
Though the tournament was dominated by the British Army teams during its initial years, yet British Indian teams too participated representing India prior to the independence, but very few were an all-Indian side. Mohun Bagan AC the first all-Indian side to win the tournament in 1911.
| No. | Team | Championships (Latest) |
Runner-ups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Bengal | 29 (2018) | 11 |
| 2 | Mohun Bagan | 22 (2003)[23] | 20 |
| 3 | Calcutta | 9 (1924) | 8 |
| 4 | Mohammedan | 6 (2014) | 4 |
| 5 | Dalhousie | 2 (1905) | 5 |
| 6 | Churchill Brothers | 2 (2011) | 1 |
| United | 2 (2015) | 1 | |
| 8 | Mahindra United | 2 (2008) | 0 |
| Real Kashmir | 2 (2021) | 0 | |
| 9 | Aryan | 1 (1940) | 2 |
| Police | 1 (1939) | 2 | |
| 10 | Sreenidhi Deccan FC | 0 | 1 |
Club Atlético Peñarol (1985)
Pakhtakor Tashkent FK (1993)
Finance and Revenue FC (2004)
FC Bayern Munich II (2005)
PAS Tehran FC (1970)
Pyongyang SC (1973)
FC Ararat Yerevan (1978) FC Shakhtar Donetsk (1985)
Irtysh Pavlodar FK (1993)
Mohammedan SC Dhaka (1995)
Al-Karkh SC (1996)
Palmeiras B (2001)
Santos FC (2008) Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club (2014)Since the 123rd edition of the tournament, the awards for the Best Coach of the tournament, the Best Player of the tournament, the highest goalscorer of the tournament and Fair Play has been renamed in honour of India's football icons- P. K. Banerjee, Chuni Goswami and Krishanu Dey,[24][25] and renowned sports photojournalist – Ronojoy 'Ronny' Roy.[26][27]
As of December 2020[update]
| Year | Player | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 |  Abegunrin Adefemi Lukman |
5 | Real Kashmir |
| 2021 |  Rahim Osumanu |
5 | Gokulam Kerala |
As of December 2020[update]
| Year | Head Coach | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 |  Ranjan Bhattacharya |
George Telegraph |
As of December 2020[update]
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 |  Mason Robertson |
Real Kashmir |
| 2021 | Mason Robertson |
Real Kashmir |
As of December 2021[update]
| Year | Club |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Real Kashmir FC |
| 2021 | Indian Arrows |
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