|
|
The Durand Cup football tournament, the world's third oldest tournament, was started in Shimla in 1898 by the then India's Foreign Secretary, Sir Mortimer Durand. In 1911, the Mohun Bagan Club caused a stir by becoming the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India.
Gradually a number of clubs and tournaments proliferated all over the country leading to the formation of the All India Football Federation in 1937. The AIFF got affiliated to the world body FIFA in 1948 and was one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954.
The 1951 to 1962 decade was the golden age for Indian football as the country put up a commendable show in a number of international competitions. India won the gold medals in the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games at New Delhi and Jakarta respectively and in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics became first Asian nation to reach the Olympic football semi-final.
