Indian Football Association

The Indian Football Association (Bengali: ভারতীয় ফুটবল এসোসিয়েশন), abbreviated as IFA, is the organization that administers association football in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the oldest Football Association in India and was founded in 1893. Among the founders was former England international Elphinstone Jackson.

Contrary to the name, the association does not administer the game in India, a task that falls to the All India Football Federation (AIFF). However, before the formation of the AIFF the IFA was in de facto control of football in India by virtue of its administration by Englishmen as well as its affiliation to the Football Association of England. The IFA was instrumental in creating the AIFF to govern football on a national basis.

Clubs from outside West Bengal complained about the lack of neutrality in the affairs of the IFA. This disillusionment of clubs and patrons led to the formation of associations such as the Western Indian Football Association, which preferred to be governed by themselves rather than by the IFA. Later, the IFA helped form the AIFF.

The IFA organizes tournaments such as the Calcutta Football League and the IFA Shield. IFA is planning to paint their building so that it looks beautiful to the tourists who would come to watch football in Kolkata to watch the 2017 Under 17 World Cup.