Mumbai Football Association

Mumbai Football Association (MFA),^[2] formerly known as Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA),^[3] is an organisation that governs the football in and around the Indian city of Mumbai.^[4][5][6] It is a member of the Western India Football Association, which is affiliated to the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The MFA organises Mumbai Football League, overlooking promotion and development of football in the bustling city of Mumbai.^[7]

Mumbai Football Association (Mumbai District Football Association)

Sport	Football
Jurisdiction	District
Abbreviation	MFA, MDFA[1]
Founded	1983; 42 years ago (1983)[2]
Affiliation	All India Football Federation (AIFF)
Regional affiliation	Western India Football Association
Headquarters	Mumbai
President	Aditya Thackeray
Official website
footballmfa.com

History

The Mumbai Football Association (MFA), which is a non-profit organization, was established in 1983 and is the official district body for development, conduct and organization of football in the city of Mumbai and its suburbs. The MFA is affiliated with the Western India Football Association (WIFA), a state association of Maharashtra.^[2] From a beginning of 57 football clubs affiliated to it, the association now caters to and conducts football activity for more than 10,000 players.

Mumbai had always been a center of football on the western coast of India from since the British rule. After the foundation of Western India Football Association as a result of the merger between Bombay Football Association and Bombay Rovers Cup Committee in 1911, it conducted the Harwood Football League and the prestigious Rovers Cup, an all India tournament,^[8] which has come as a legacy to MFA.^[9]

The MFA is managed by the Executive Council consisting of a president, 4 vice presidents, general secretary, treasurer, 4 assistant secretaries and 15 committee members. In addition to these, six members whose services would be beneficial to the association are also co-opted on the executive committee. The term of the executive Council is four years.

Olympians and internationals of MFA

Mumbai has produced a number of olympians and international players of high repute, who have proudly represented our country with excellence. Double olympian S. S. Narayan was the vice-president of MFA. Olympians Sanjeeva Uchil and Fortunato Franco also hail from Mumbai. Many international players have been produced under the aegis of MFA. They are Mario Gracious, Bandya Kakade, Derek D'Souza, Ranjit Thapa, Amar Bahadur, Yusuf Ansari, Godfrey Pereira, Khalid Jamil, Henry Menezes, Akhil Ansari, Bernard Pereira, Arthur Pereira, Santosh Kashyap, Steven Dias and Abhishek Yadav ,to name a few.

Competitions

Club Level

Men's Senior Mumbai Premier League Mumbai Super League MFA First Division Championship MFA Second Division Championship MFA Third Division Championship Men's Youth U-18 Boys U-16 Boys Division I U-16 Boys Division II U-14 Boys Division I U-14 Boys Division II U-12 Boys U-10 Boys U-8 Boys

Women's Senior MFA Women’s Premier League MFA Women’s Super League Women's Youth Girls U-17 Girls U-14

Mumbai Football League Pyramid

Mumbai Football League
Tier	Division
1 (5 on Indian Football pyramid)	Mumbai Premier League ↑promote (to I-League 3) ↓relegate
2 (6 on Indian Football pyramid)	Mumbai Super League ↑promote ↓relegate
3 (7 on Indian Football pyramid)	MFA First Division Championship ↑promote ↓relegate
4 (8 on Indian Football pyramid)	MFA Second Division Championship ↑promote ↓relegate
5 (9 on Indian Football pyramid)	MFA Third Division Championship ↑promote

Knockout tournaments

Men's

Time	Event	Teams
TBA	Republic Cup	Invitation - Mumbai Super League, First Division Championship , Second Division Championship
TBA	Independence Day Cup	Mumbai Premier League
TBA	Nadkarni Cup	Mumbai Premier League, 3 from Mumbai Super League

Football grounds

MFA conducts their events on the following grounds.

Ground	Location	Image
Cooperage Ground	Colaba
Mumbai Football Arena	Andheri
Goan Football Ground	Marine Lines
St Xaviers Ground	Parel
Neville D’Souza Turf	Bandra
MSSA Ground	Azad Maidan
Karntak Sporting Ground	Marine Lines

References

1. D'Costa, Valerian (26 November 2018). "Neville Dsouza Football Turf brings Mumbai's Football Fever to Bandra". bandrabuzz.com. Mumbai: Bandra Buzz. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
2. "MUMBAI FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION". MFA. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
3. Majumder, Rounak (24 November 2020). "MDFA distribute trophies for Season 2019-20". www.footballcounter.com. Football Counter. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
4. "History: The Harwood League". wifa.in. Western India Football Association. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
5. Neil Morrison. "India - List of Mumbai (Bombay) League Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
6. MDFA announce new season The Times of India. Retrieved 17 August 2021
7. "MFA Elite Division". The Away End. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
8. "The Harwood league". Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
9. Nirwane, Sarwadnya (18 January 2022). "Rovers Cup — the second oldest Football tournament in India". thesportslite.com. Mumbai: The Sports Lite. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.