Category: Football

The Indian women’s football team continued its encouraging preparatory phase for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 with a hard-fought 1–0 victory over German club side Hertha BSC Frauen at the S&B Sport Football Complex in Antalya, Türkiye, on Monday. A composed finish from Grace Dangmei in the 37th minute proved decisive, as the Blue…

2025 was a defining year for the U17 Men’s Team, dominating the South Asian Football Federation U17 Championship to retain the title, facing China in two closed-door friendly matches and then qualifying for the AFC U17 Asian Cup. The year showed the team’s overall growth and tactical resilience. The spirited performances highlighted that the team…

India’s campaign at the SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship 2026 took a sharp turn on Monday as the Young Tigresses went down 0–2 to Bangladesh at the Pokhara Rangasala Stadium in Nepal. The result leaves India in a tight race for the second spot in the final, despite having opened the tournament with a morale-boosting 1–0…

India’s U17 women’s football team began its SAFF U19 Women’s Championship 2026 campaign in the best possible manner, edging hosts Nepal 1–0 in a tense opening-day encounter at the Pokhara International Stadium. In a match that demanded patience, discipline and maturity well beyond their years, India relied on a first-half strike from Pearl Fernandes to…

Indian women’s football is entering the most ambitious and technically sophisticated phase of its history as the Blue Tigresses prepare for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 in Australia. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has launched a high-performance international programme that stretches across Türkiye and Australia, combining elite-level competition, modern sports science and global…

Kerala Blasters FC are approaching the 2025–26 Indian Super League season not as a club chasing short-term stardom, but as one that has fundamentally rebuilt its sporting and organisational foundations. After a turbulent 2024–25 campaign that ended without a playoff berth and was followed by administrative and licensing challenges, the Kochi-based club has responded with…

The race in Group A of the 2025–26 Santosh Trophy Final Round took a dramatic turn on Wednesday in Dhakuakhana, Assam, as both Uttarakhand and Assam opened their accounts with impressive victories, while tournament favourites West Bengal were forced to settle for a draw for the first time in the competition. Three contrasting matches ensured…

Indian football’s second tier is on the verge of its most significant structural overhaul in nearly two decades. From February 21, 2026, the I-League the competition that once served as the country’s top division is proposed to return in a new avatar as the Indian Football League (IFL), with a radically different format, governance structure,…

Chennaiyin FC have taken another significant step in reshaping their squad for the upcoming Indian Super League season by completing the signing of Spanish midfielder Alberto Noguera. The Madrid-born playmaker has penned a deal until the end of the season, becoming the Marina Machans’ second new recruit after the recent arrival of Indian attacker Imran…

The stage is set for one of South Asia’s most fiercely contested youth tournaments as the SAFF U-20 Championship 2026 prepares to kick off in Malé, Maldives, from March 23 to April 3. With the official group stage draw now confirmed, India’s young Blue Colts find themselves in a demanding Group B alongside regional heavyweights…

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has officially released the fixtures for the Indian Super League, ISL 2026 season, setting the stage for another high-intensity campaign that promises drama, rivalries, and packed stadiums across the country. With a marquee opening day on February 14 and the iconic Kolkata Derby scheduled for May 3, the calendar…

Chennaiyin FC have taken another measured step in shaping their squad for the remainder of the season by securing the services of experienced Indian attacker Imran Khan. The 30-year-old joins the Marina Machans until the end of the current campaign, bringing with him more than a decade of experience across the Indian football pyramid and…

Kerala Blasters FC’s signing of French winger Kévin Yoke on January 26, 2026, is far more than just another ISL Season addition. It is a statement of intent from a club that has been forced to reinvent itself amid one of the most uncertain periods in Indian Super League history. With the league compressed into…

Gokulam Kerala FC have made a statement signing ahead of the decisive phase of the I-League season by bringing in Afghanistan international defender Amid Arezou from Norwegian club Arendal, adding experience, physicality and leadership to a backline that will be under immense pressure in the race for promotion. The 29-year-old centre-back becomes Gokulam’s latest overseas…

The All India Football Federation’s decision to appoint Pamela Conti as head coach of the Indian U-17 women’s national team is more than a routine staffing change. It is a deliberate intervention at the most sensitive layer of the national pipeline the age group that now carries India’s best chance of qualifying for a FIFA…

Asian youth football is in the middle of its most ambitious structural overhaul in more than six decades. The Asian Football Confederation’s sweeping reforms to the U17 and U20 Asian Cups are not merely administrative adjustments they represent a complete re imagining of how young footballers across 47 member associations are identified, developed, and tested…

When Kerala Blasters confirmed the signing of Rowllin Borges on January 25, 2026, it was more than just another winter-window transfer. It was an admission of where the club had gone wrong and a statement of how it plans to fix it. Over the last 18 months, Kerala Blasters have suffered not from a lack…

The race for the knockout stages of the Santosh Trophy 2025–26 remains delicately poised after a dramatic day of draws ensured that no team was able to pull away in Group B. At the end of Saturday’s action, Kerala and Meghalaya continue to sit joint top with four points each, but Railways and Services are…

Kerala Blasters FC’s decision to mutually terminate the contract of Spanish striker Koldo Obieta is not simply a squad update it is a snapshot of an Indian Super League club fighting to stay financially and structurally afloat amid the deepest crisis the league has ever faced. Obieta’s exit symbolises a strategic realignment driven not by…

Asian club football stands at one of the most consequential crossroads in its modern history. Barely two seasons after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) compressed its premier competition into the newly branded AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE), the governing body is already preparing for another fundamental change an expansion from 24 to 32 clubs. On…

The transformation of Indian football over the past decade has been one of the most striking developments in the country’s sporting landscape. Once marginalised by social barriers, limited infrastructure and negligible commercial interest, the game has now entered a phase of genuine professionalisation. At the heart of this change lies a new kind of partnership…

The Indian women’s football team opened a new chapter under head coach Amelia Valverde with a hard-fought 2–1 victory over Swiss club FC Schlieren in a closed-door friendly at the Emirhan Sport Center in Manavgat, Türkiye. The result, achieved through goals from Anju Tamang and Grace Dangmei, not only delivered India’s first win of the…

Indian Football is currently undergoing a challenging period as there are multiple issues at the administrative level in the AIFF (All India Football Federation), alongside financial irregularities. The AIFF, which is the governing body overseeing the sport, is trying hard to fix the age-old problem. Amidst this, there is something to cheer about for football…

When Jamshedpur FC announced the return of Owen Coyle as head coach on January 24, 2026, it was more than a nostalgic reunion. It was a strategic decision taken in the middle of one of the most turbulent periods Indian football has ever faced. With the Indian Super League entering a shortened, high-pressure format and…

Defending champions West Bengal and a quietly efficient Rajasthan continued their winning runs on a dramatic Friday in Group A of the 79th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy Final Round, as late goals, comebacks and missed chances shaped a gripping day of football in Dhakuakhana and Silapathar. While West Bengal edged past a resilient…

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) took a significant step towards securing the future of the Indian Super League (ISL) on Friday by holding a virtual pre-bid conference for the league’s 2025–26 commercial and broadcast rights. The meeting, chaired by AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey and Deputy Secretary General M. Satyanarayan, brought together some of the…

Indian football’s return to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 is far more than a routine continental appearance. For the Blue Tigresses, the opening Group C fixture against Vietnam on March 4, 2026, at Perth Rectangular Stadium (HBF Park) is a decisive inflection point that could define their entire World Cup cycle. The tournament,…

The 79th Santosh Trophy Final Round opened in dramatic fashion in Assam, and from the very first whistle it was clear why Group B has already earned the tag of the “Group of Death.” With Kerala, Punjab, Services, Railways, Meghalaya and Odisha drawn together, this pool carries an unmatched weight of history, tactical variety, and…

As Indian Football prepare to step back onto the continental stage at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 in Australia, the spotlight is no longer only on players like Manisha Kalyan, Sangita Basfore or Panthoi Chanu. Behind this team sits the most sophisticated coaching structure ever assembled for Indian women’s football a hybrid, high-performance unit…

The 79th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2025–26 burst into life on Wednesday, January 21, with a high-energy opening day across Dhakuakhana and Silapathar in Assam, setting the tone for what promises to be a fiercely contested Final Round. Defending champions West Bengal announced their intent in emphatic fashion, while Tamil Nadu and…

The Indian men’s football team began 2026 with a modest but symbolic rise in the FIFA Rankings, moving up one place to 141st in the latest January update. While the Blue Tigers did not play a single international match since their defeat to Bangladesh in November, the reshuffle in global rankings has still worked in…

A new season of the Santosh Trophy has begun, with 12 teams competing against each other. This year the tournament began on the 21st of January 2026 in Assam. This is the 79th edition of the tournament. The first edition of the Santosh Trophy was played in 1941. In the ongoing edition, there are two…

Bengaluru FC’s decision to appoint Renedy Singh as head coach ahead of the Indian Super League 2025–26 season is far more than a routine managerial change. It is a declaration of intent not about chasing glamour or expensive signings, but about survival, sustainability, and redefining what success means in Indian football’s most turbulent year. Announced…

The 79th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy is set to kick off on January 21, 2026, with Assam hosting the prestigious tournament for the seventh time in its long and chequered history. As India’s oldest and most storied domestic football competition returns, the focus is not only on silverware but also on how…

Kerala Blasters FC are set to enter the 2025–26 Indian Super League season amid one of the most turbulent logistical phases in the club’s history, with an agreement in place to shift their home matches to the EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode. The move, driven by a breakdown in operational confidence at the Jawaharlal Nehru…

The arrival of Inter Kashi in the Indian Super League for the 2025–26 season marks one of the most significant shifts in the geography and narrative of Indian football in recent years. A club rooted in Varanasi, a city better known for its spiritual legacy than sporting ambition, Inter Kashi enter the top tier not…

The 2025–26 Indian Super League season has not even kicked off, yet it is already shaping up to be one of the most disrupted and uneven campaigns in the league’s history. At the centre of this turmoil sits Chennaiyin FC, a two-time champion now facing the very real prospect of beginning its Indian Football season…

As the All India Football Federation (AIFF), along with Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League clubs, moves towards a proposed long-term 20–21 year roadmap for Indian football, the absence of any clear, binding focus on improving the quality of football, competitiveness, and fan engagement remains deeply concerning. Governance structures and ownership models may change, but…

The global story of women’s football is often narrated through dominant federations and powerhouse nations, but its real evolution has been shaped by individuals who navigated its most unstable phases. Few careers reflect this transition better than that of Pamela Conti. Born in Palermo in 1982, Conti’s journey from a teenage prodigy in southern Italy…

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has formally issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the media rights of the 2025–26 Indian Super League (ISL), with February 1 set as the final date for submission of bids for Indian Football. While on the surface this appears to be a routine commercial exercise, the RFP in…

Indian women football team endured a difficult start to their European training camp, going down 0–2 to Metalist 1925 Kharkiv in an international friendly played behind closed doors in Turkiye on Sunday. While the scoreline suggests a competitive contest for much of the match, the overall performance raised serious concerns, particularly in defence, as India…

The 2025–26 season of Indian football stands as one of the most turbulent yet defining periods in the sport’s modern history. Long before a ball is kicked, the campaign has already become a case study in governance under crisis, shaped by commercial collapse, legal intervention, and an urgent need to keep the professional pyramid alive….

The Indian women’s football team has taken an important step in its preparations for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026, departing for a training camp in Türkiye on Thursday, January 15, 2026. With a 26-member squad, the camp marks the beginning of a decisive phase in India’s build-up to the continental showpiece, where the…

The mutual termination of José Manuel ‘Chema’ Núñez Martín, Chema Núñez’s contract with Northeast United FC on January 15, 2026 marked more than the departure of a foreign midfielder. It became a telling reflection of the shifting economic and structural realities of the Indian Super League (ISL) during the 2025–26 season, where ambition was forced…

Manisha Kalyan’s transfer to Alianza Lima in January 2026 is more than just another overseas move by an Indian footballer. It represents a structural shift in how Indian women footballers are positioning their careers and how global clubs are beginning to view Indian talent not as developmental projects, but as ready-made professionals capable of contributing…

The mutual termination of Juan Rodríguez Martínez’s contract with Kerala Blasters FC, announced on January 14, 2026, was officially framed as a pragmatic decision taken in the best interests of both parties. In reality, the Spanish center-back’s return to Europe to join Marbella FC is another stark indicator of how administrative uncertainty in Indian football…

Indian football has suffered a significant continental setback with the confirmation that India will no longer have a direct group-stage slot in the AFC Champions League Two (ACL 2) for the next season. Under the revised AFC slot allocation, both the Indian Super League (ISL) champions and the Super Cup winners will now be forced…

The mutual termination of Jon Miquel Toral Harper’s, or Jon Toral’s, contract with Mumbai City FC on January 14, 2026, marked more than the departure of a high-profile foreign signing. It symbolized a decisive moment of transition for the club and offered a revealing snapshot of how institutional change, economic uncertainty, and player durability intersect…