Football in India
The Indian Super League, a tournament just recently recognized by AFC or FIFA, was founded in 2013 in an effort to make football a top sport in India and to make Indian football a major player worldwide. The league operates along the lines of the Twenty20 cricket Indian Premier League, and Major League Soccer of the United States. Unlike the vast majority of football leagues around the world, the ISL does not use the promotion and relegation system. Instead, it uses an American style franchise system in which ten teams were specifically created to participate in the league. Each team in the ISL is composed of players from I league or state league, apart from the foreigners who may or may not be a part of the I league. Recently it was recognised as the second national league in India, which means ISL champions from 2017–2018 leagues will be eligible for an AFC Cup qualifying slot
FC Pune City (women)
In April 2016 it was announced by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) president, Praful Patel, that an Indian women's football league would begin in October 2016. Then, in July 2016, the AIFF hosted a workshop program for the proposed women's league at which Pune City, an Indian Super League side, were present. Finally, in October 2016, it was revealed that the Indian Women's League would kick off with a preliminary round on 17 October in which the top two teams during that round would qualify for a place in the league. Pune City were not part of this round.