Football in India
National Football League, established in 1996 by governing body All India Football Federation (AIFF) was the first "semi-professional" football league in India. 
The League was renamed and restructured and the I-League was founded in 2006 after India's former top league the National Football League disbanded in a successful effort aimed at increasing the game in India. Links with clubs that were not in the I-League were maintained, and each season the bottom two clubs are relegated from the I-League and replaced by two from the I-League 2nd Division. The I-League is currently contested between 11 clubs. The Kolkata Derby in the I League (and other tournaments) played between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal is one of the most fierce rivalries in the world (featured in FIFA website) and one of the oldest derbies in the world (90 years). An average 80, 000 to 100, 000 supporters throng the stadium in this special fixture.
All India Football Federation
In 1977, the AIFF started the Federation Cup which was the first club based national tournament in the country. The Santosh Trophy, the national tournament for state teams, was started in 1941. In 1996, the AIFF began the first national league in the country, the National Football League. In 2007, the NFL was reformed as the I-League, the country's first professional football league.There are currently 36 state associations affiliated with the All India Football Federation.The following are on the board of the directors at the AIFF.