Football History of 1 and only Awesome Assam
Assam, a state in India, is now a developing state in the northeast. Now, we have budding, talented youth who show interest in sports, crafts, music, and many other fields. Before independence, in British time, the most loved sport was cricket but by the time British people started to teach football to tea garden people and later youth showed interest in learning to play it. This led to some informal clubs in this field, later, the ASSAM FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION emerged in 1946, one year before the independence.
The emerging state in the field
Assam was a state that was remote and had always been a less developed region; this became the reason why the youth of this state struggled to gain national recognition earlier. But the love for football between the youth started growing more. Here the All India Football Federation took over the AFA (Assam Football Association) in 1947 when India got their independence.
AFA is now the 37 Indian state football association affiliated with the AIFF. Currently, the president of AFA is Mr. Naba Kumar Dole, and the honorary secretary is Dr. Sangrang Brahma, who is leading and growing the association. Now, we even have popular gems from Assam like Gilbertson Sangma, Rocus Lamare, Holicharan Narzary, and many other gems who brighten up their name in the field of football.
Power teams of the state
Since independence, Assam has had several teams which have given the chance for both men and women to participate.
- For men – Assam Football Team, Assam Under 20 Football Team, Assam Under 15 Football Team, Assam Under 13 Football Team.
- For women – Assam Women’s Football Team, Assam Women’s Under 19 Football Team, Assam Women’s Under 17 Football Team.
A dedicated and hardworking team has now touched the sky by making their name on the winning list by achieving their dreams. They have faced a lot of challenges throughout their journey which we will see more in brief.
Achievements and contributions
Four achievements and contributions in history made by Assam are listed below –
- Post-independence, after all the challenges Assam faced, it somehow managed to make its entry into the Santosh Trophy, also known as FIFA Santosh Trophy, which is a semi-professional inter-state national football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the sport’s governing body in India.
- AFA organized ASPL (Assam State Premier League), the state-level football league, in the year 2008, 16 years before today. But in between, for some reason, this league stopped for 7 years since 2015, and recently, in 2023, it was reinstated again with some modifications in the playing rules. Currently, it has 8 teams total under it. Assam riffle have won this title 3 times.
- The AFA oversees numerous district leagues, which have been instrumental in discovering local talent. The Guwahati Football League, among others, has been a prominent platform for local clubs to compete and nurture young footballers.
- Teenagers need to find what they are good at at an early age, for AFA organizes under – 14, under – 15, and under – 19 tournaments, a field where they can cultivate their talents.
Guwahati’s Nehru Stadium will be demolished and rebuilt for international standard, like A level field for football and cricket, announced by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, announced in March month of 2024 said soon the work will start. The aim is that the next football FIFA World Cup match in 2026 between India and Afghanistan could be played here. This shows how far the Assam State has come after all the difficulties they faced in the past.
Challenges
The history of football started in Calcutta in 1872 when a kid named Nagendra Prasad felt like playing a new game from his feet; inspired by him, all the other people started playing, the Britishers noticed that and learned it too and started to spread all over India. Who knew that this game would be so loved by the people that now he would be called the Father of Indian Football? Those Britishers taught tea garden people in the state, and seeing them, other people from the state learned the same.
Although Northeastern was never developed before independence, neither had a proper place to play, equipment, or any exposure. Because of less exposure, state people had to face a lot of tough competition, challenges in making a footballing powerhouse, and a lack of infrastructure.
Just after the independence, the AFA got help from other governments for financial support and private organizations to improve facilities for the youth to play; later on, AFA became affiliated with AIFF for the wide opportunities to make their name in the nation and internationally. Previously, Assam was not just Assam; it had other states like Meghalaya and Manipur who all together used to play, but after they became an independent state in 1976 and 1973, they started to participate independently under AIFF.
Since the recent timings, people from Assam started to participate more in tournaments and local leagues. AFA was fully motivated to bring out the talented people in the state, which made a stronger footballing culture in the state; since then, the state has been developing and identifying young talent that can make a mark at the national and international levels.
Conclusion
ASSAM FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION was founded in 1946, and later on, it became affiliated with AIFF in 1947, the year of independence of India. AFA is now the 37th Indian state football association. AFA under AIFF even succeeded to reach in Santosh Trophy, AFA organized ASPL, Guwahati Football League, has been a prominent platform for local clubs to compete and nurture young footballers, and AFA organizes under – 14, under – 15, and under – 19 tournaments.
Lastly, Guwahati is soon to be developed as an Olympic-level place. The state has been developing and identifying young talent that can make a mark at the national and international levels since then. Assam went through a lot of challenges, but now it is all worth it.