The Chennai Football League, formerly known as the Madras Football League, is the group of state-level football leagues in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, including the top-level CFA Senior Division League. The League is organised by the Chennai Football Association (CFA), which is affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Football Association (TNFA), the official football governing body of the state.
History The Madras Football Association was formed on 26 October 1933, with had the jurisdiction over the undivided province of Madras in British India. It was formed by the members of the Madras United Club. The Madras Football Association league championship was started in 1934 with the inaugural 1934-35 league championship won by the Pachaiyappa football club. The MFA started conducting the First division league from 1936, and the Second division from 1937. In the year of 1972, Madras city clubs formed a separate association and the federation became a part of the Tamil Nadu Football Association.
The league was suspended since the 2018 edition due to the legal disputes between Chennai FA and Tamil Nadu FA, but eventually resumed in 2022.
Competition structure There are five divisions in the league under the Chennai Football Association (CFA), with the CFA Senior Division being the top-most league, followed by four lower tiers.
Chennai Football LeagueTierDivision1(5 on Indian Football pyramid)CFA Senior Division↑promote (to I-League 3) ↓relegate2(6 on Indian Football pyramid)CFA First Division↑promote ↓relegate3(7 on Indian Football pyramid)CFA Second Division↑promote ↓relegate4(8 on Indian Football pyramid)CFA Third Division↑promote ↓relegate5(9 on Indian Football pyramid)CFA Fourth Division↑promote
Venue The matches are held at Nehru Stadium and ICF Stadium.
Clubs
2025–26 season The teams participating in the 2025–26 season:
+ No. Team 1 AGORC 2 Central Excise 3 Chennai City Police 4 Chennai Customs 5 Dawood Memorial FC 6 DBYC Kilpauk 7 ICF 8 Income Tax 9 Indian Bank 10 Octopus Marine 11 Tamil Nadu Police 12 Thalapathi Stalin FC
Champions Season Champion 1934–35 Pachaiyappa FC 1936–1949 No data 1950 WIMCO (Western India Match Company) 1951 WIMCO 1952 WIMCO 1953 WIMCO 1954 WIMCO 1955 WIMCO 1956–1969 No data 1970 SBI 1971–1974 No data 1975 WIMCO 1976 WIMCO 1977–1987 No data 1988 Southern Railway 1989–1992 No data 1993 ICF (Integral Coach Factory) 1994 ICF 1995 ICF 1996 No data 1997 Indian Bank 1998 Indian BankIndia regional tournaments 1997/98 . Rsssf. Retrieved 16 August 2021. 1999–2000 No data 2000–01 Indian Bank 2001–02 AGORC 2002–03 Indian Bank 2003–04 Madras Sporting Union 2004–05 ICF 2005–06 ICF 2006–07 ICF 2007–08 Indian Bank 2008–09 Nethaji SC 2009–10 Chennai Customs 2010–11 AGORC 2011–12 Chennai Customs 2012–13 Arrows 2013–14 ICF 2014–15 Hindustan Eagles 2015–16 Disputed 2016–17 Chennai City 2017–18 Indian Bank 2018–21 League suspended (CFA-TNFA dispute) 2021–22 Viva Chennai 2022–23 Swaraj FC 2023–24 Not held 2024–25 ICF 2025–26 AGORC
See also Tamil Nadu Football Association All India Sevens Football
References