Western India Football Association

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Western India Football Association
Wifa logo.jpg
AbbreviationWIFA[1]
Formation1902
HeadquartersMumbai
Region served
Maharashtra
President
Praful Patel
AffiliationsAll India Football Federation
Websitewifa.in

Western India Football Association (WIFA)[2] is the state governing body for football in Maharashtra, India.[3][4] It is affiliated with the All India Football Federation, the sports national governing body.

History[]

The Bombay Football Association was established in the Bombay province of 1902, it was amalgmated with the older Rovers football club to form the Western India Football Association on 12 July, 1911.[5] The objective of WIFA was to improve the sport of football in the Bombay state, and in the present-day Maharashtra. Before that, football games were organised for the Rovers Cup, which is India's second oldest football tournament started in 1890.

Then in 2011, after the sudden rise in the popularity of football in India, WIFA decided to revamp the Maharashtra Football System. The first thing they decided to do was renovate Mumbai's only national football stadium, the Cooperage Ground.[6] After that they will work on starting the first ever statewide football league in Maharashtra known as the Maha League. They also announced plans to revive the Rovers Cup which had its last tournament in 2001.[7]

Maharashtra football pyramid[]

The Maharashtra pyramid consists of the national state league, The Maha League, at the top, district leagues in second, followed by lower leagues.

Level

League(s)/Division(s)

State National League

The Maha League
(proposed)

District National League

Mumbai Football League
(MFA Elite Division)
26 clubs

NDFA Elite division league
10 clubs

Kolhapur Senior League
16 Clubs

Pune Football League
(Pune Super Division)
16 clubs

Aurangabad Football League
To Be Announced

Thane Super Division
11 clubs

Nashik Football League
To be Announced

Palghar Football League
To be Announced

District League

MFA Super Division
32 clubs

Pune First Division
18 clubs

3

Mumbai Division One
Mumbai Division Two
Mumbai Division Three
Pune Division Two
Pune Division Three

Nagpur Division Super league

Nagpur Division Senior League

District associations[]

Zone President Website
Mumbai Austin Coutinho
Dr. Vishwajeet Kadam Pune District Football Association
Shri Harish Vora
Captain Rafat Afandi
Alphonso Santiago Thane District Football Association

References[]

  1. ^ Neil Morrison. "India - List of Nadkarni Cup Finals". rsssf.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ^ Chittu Shetty (11 August 2019). "Why this would be the right time to bring back 'Rovers Cup'". footballcounter.com. Football Counter. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  3. ^ History: The Harwood League wifa.in. Retrieved 17 August 2021
  4. ^ India - List of Mumbai (Bombay) League Champions RSSSF. Retrieved 17 August 2021
  5. ^ https://books.google.co.in/books?id=uuYJEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT136&dq=Bombay+football+association&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjdqNnL28z0AhXsTWwGHXjZCJsQ6AF6BAgJEAM#v=onepage&q=Bombay%20football%20association&f=false
  6. ^ Mumbai FC returns to Cooperage Football Stadium the-aiff.com. Retrieved 13 September 2021
  7. ^ http://wifa.in/?page_id=93

External links[]

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