The National Football League (commonly known as the NFL) was an association football league competition in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 between 1996 and 2007 which was organised into three divisions. The league is now transformed into the I-League

I-League

The I-League is an Indian football league for association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 14 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation of two teams each year with the I-League 2nd Division...

 and continues with that name. The Premier Division of the league was first introduced in 1996, though the country already had a long history in the sport thanks to the likes of the IFA Shield

IFA Shield

The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. It is the fourth oldest club cup competition in the world after the English and Scottish FA cup's and the Durand Cup.-Results of IFA Shield:...

 and the Federation Cup

Federation Cup (India)

The Federation Cup is an annual knockout style club football tournament in India. It has started in 1977. From its inception till I-League has been started in 1997 , it was the most prestigious national level club football tournament in India...

.

A Second Division was added to the league in 1997, as Football in India

Football in India

Association football is one of India's most popular sports, next to cricket. It is a very popular sport in states like West Bengal, Goa, Kerala and the entire North-East India, especially Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim....

 grew to challenge cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 for the title of India's most popular sport.