SSC
The Indian Football Association (IFA) was established in:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option A — 1893
Detailed Solution
The Indian Football Association (IFA) was founded in 1893 in Calcutta (now Kolkata). It is one of the oldest football associations in Asia.
About the IFA:
It was set up mostly by British administrators and clubs, and in its early years Indians had little say in its running. It was later run by Indians.
Today it is the governing body for football in the state of West Bengal and is affiliated with the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
It organises the IFA Shield, one of the oldest football tournaments in the world, first held in 1893, and the Calcutta Football League (CFL), started in 1898, which is one of the oldest football leagues in Asia.
The IFA Shield and its history:
In 1911, Mohun Bagan defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 in the IFA Shield final, becoming the first Indian club to win a major tournament against a British team. The players were mostly barefoot. This win is a landmark in Indian sports and the freedom struggle.
Key dates in Indian football:
- 1888: Durand Cup started (Dagshai, near Shimla).
- 1889: Mohun Bagan founded.
- 1891: Rovers Cup started in Bombay.
- 1893: Indian Football Association and IFA Shield.
- 1920: East Bengal Club founded.
- 1937: All India Football Federation (AIFF) formed; it joined FIFA in 1948.
- 1941: Santosh Trophy started.
- 1951 and 1962: India won Asian Games football gold.
1956: India finished fourth at the Melbourne Olympics, the best Olympic result by an Asian football team at that time. Neville D'Souza scored a hat-trick against Australia, the first by an Asian player in the Olympics.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1889 is the year Mohun Bagan was founded.
- ✗1920 is the year East Bengal Club was founded.
- ✗1937 is the year the All India Football Federation (AIFF) was formed.
Quick tip
Remember: Indian Football Association = 1893, Calcutta (IFA Shield, now West Bengal's body); AIFF = 1937; Mohun Bagan = 1889; East Bengal = 1920.
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore Sports Questions
View all ›More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
Sports — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Sports, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers sports GK: major tournaments and their venues, trophies and cups associated with each sport, sports terms, the number of players in a team, sports awards in India, Olympic and Asian Games facts, and famous sportspersons and their achievements. Common questions ask which sport a trophy belongs to (such as the Durand Cup for football or the Ranji Trophy for cricket), which term is used in which sport, and where a tournament was held. Records and results change after every season, so pair static facts such as team sizes and terms with recent results from current affairs. Practise the sports questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.