National Football League (India)
The National Football League (commonly known as the NFL) was an association football league competition in India between 1996 and 2007 which was organised into three divisions. The league is now transformed into the I-League and continues with that name. The "Premier Division" of the league was first introduced in 1996, though the country already had a long history in the sport thanks to the likes of the IFA Shield and the Federation Cup. In fact, the Santosh Trophy (started in 1941) was the top football competition in the country before the then National Football League started.
Federation Cup (India)
The Federation Cup, also known as Hero Federation Cup for sponsorship reasons, was an annual single round robin and knockout style club football tournament in India that started in 1977. From its inception, until I-League was started in 1997 (then called NFL), it was the most prestigious national level club football tournament in India. Until 2017, it was the most important club tournament after the I-League, to which it became a "de facto" League Cup. The winning club of the Federation Cup gained a chance to compete in the continental level in AFC Cup.