AIFF wants to change its name to Football Federation of Bharat, approaches govt

Among other key decisions that were announced was to have ISL and IFL clubs keep one Indian striker on the field for "the entire 90 minutes" of matches, have the national anthem and "Vande Mataram" play in all "matches conducted under the aegis of the AIFF" and a start date of of September 4, 2026 for the 2026/27 season of the ISL.

AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey (PTI Photo)

3 min readJun 20, 2026 08:28 PM IST First published on: Jun 20, 2026 at 08:16 PM IST

Indian football’s governing body doesn’t want to call itself the All India Football Federation (AIFF) anymore. The federation said in a statement on Saturday that it will be submit a proposal to the sports ministry to change its name to the Football Federation of Bharat (FFB). Its current name has been in existence since its founding on June 23, 1937.

The submission of the proposal was one of many key decisions that it announced after a Special General Body Meeting which was held virtually on Saturday. “It was further resolved that a proposal be submitted to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) for renaming the All India Football Federation (AIFF) as the Football Federation of Bharat (FFB),” said the federation in its statement.

The AIFF’s announcement comes amid the 2026 FIFA World Cup that is underway in the USA, Canada and Mexico. India were knocked out in the first round of the qualifiers that was held from November 2023 and June 2024. While they progressed in the qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in the proces, they subsequently failed to make the final cut. This makes it the first time since 2019 that India had failed to qualify for Asia’s premier continental competition despite the tournament being expanded to 46 teams.

Among other key decisions included the announcement of a start date of September 4, 2026 for the 2026/27 season of the Indian Super League, asking clubs to field three foreign players and one holding an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card, and the National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and the National Song ‘Vande Mataram’ to be “played before the commencement of all football matches conducted under the aegis of AIFF.” It also said that the clubs in the ISL and the second tier Indian Football League (IFL), formerly called the I-League, are to have one Indian striker on the field for the “entire 90 minutes of the match”.

The AIFF is yet to decide on a structure for the new season of the ISL despite announcing a date of commencement. The federation and ISL clubs had earlier agreed in principle in a meeting with Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to adopt a model in which the clubs would helm the business side of the league.

Additionally, the general body also approved the revised AIFF Constitution, bringing it in line with the provisions of the National Sports Governance Act, 2025. “The revised Constitution had been prepared following the adoption of the NSGA 2025 at the Special General Body Meeting held on May 23, 2026, in Kolkata. The General Body deliberated on feedback received from the Member Associations, and the final draft of the AIFF Constitution shall now include points adopted by the AIFF General Body,” it said.