The Football Association of Odisha League (also known as the MGM FAO League for sponsorship reasons, often abbreviated to the FAO League) is the top
state football league of the
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n state of
Odisha
Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
, organised by
Football Association of Odisha
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' generally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
(FAO) in association with Department of Sports & Youth Services (DSYS),
Government of Odisha
The Government of Odisha and its Districts of Odisha, 30 districts consists of an executive branch, executive, led by the List of Governors of Odisha, Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch.
Like other states in India, the ...
.
History
The major domestic league in the state held at Cuttack was known as Cuttack Football League until 2010 when FAO decided to restructure the league as FAO league. It continues as the top tier competition for Cuttack based football clubs.
The FAO League was brought up as ''Siddhartha Odisha First Division League'' in 2010 as Odisha's premier level football league. FAO introduced the league system to provide the footballing talents of the state a platform to showcase their abilities. The league system continued with the same format for seven years, until its revamp in 2018.
Since the inception of the FAO League, a total of five clubs have been crowned champions. Sunrise have won the most titles in league history, being crowned champions four times.
Odisha Police
The Odisha Police, abbreviated either as OP or OPS, is the law enforcement agency for the state of Odisha in India. It is headquartered in Cuttack, the former capital of Odisha.
The Odisha Police is headed by a Director General of Police, curr ...
have won the league twice whereas
East Coast Railway
The East Coast Railway (abbreviated as ECoR) is one of the 19 railway zones of Indian Railways. It came into existence on 01-April-2003. It headquarters are located at .
History
Consequent upon the parliament's approval, East Coast Railway wa ...
,
Sports Odisha
Sports Odisha is an Indian institutional multisports club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It is owned by Government of Odisha and most of the club's players are selected from the Odisha State Sports Hostel scheme, due to which the team also comp ...
, Radha Gobinda Club, and Radha Raman Club have each won it once.
In a total competition revamp, FAO League was converted to a threeptier first division highest level footballing league of the state in 2018. The First Division League currently has three tiers, ''Diamond'', ''Gold'' and ''Silver'' leagues, followed by the Second Division.
League structure
Venues
Bhubaneswar
*
Kalinga Stadium
The Kalinga Stadium is a Multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose international sports complex in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Its foundation stone was laid by then chief minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik in 1978. It is best known as the home ground ...
Cuttack
*
Barabati Stadium
The Barabati Stadium is an Indian sports stadium used mostly for cricket and association football, and also sometimes for concerts and field hockey, located in Cuttack, Odisha. It is a regular venue for international cricket and is the home gr ...
*
Odisha Police Ground
* Satyabrata Stadium
Diamond League
2024 clubs
*Bidanasi Club
*Radha Raman Club
*
Rising Student Club
Rising Students Club is a professional multisports club based in Cuttack, Odisha, India. The club plays in the FAO League, the fourth tier of Indian football and top tier of Odisha state football. It played in the Indian Women's League, the to ...
*Rovers Club
*
Sports Odisha
Sports Odisha is an Indian institutional multisports club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It is owned by Government of Odisha and most of the club's players are selected from the Odisha State Sports Hostel scheme, due to which the team also comp ...
*Sunrise Club
*Rising Star Club
*Young Utkal Club
Champions
Championships by team
Gold League
2024 clubs
*Chand Club
*East Coast Railway
*Independent Club
*Jay Durga Club
*Kishore Club
*Mangala Club
*
Odisha Police
The Odisha Police, abbreviated either as OP or OPS, is the law enforcement agency for the state of Odisha in India. It is headquartered in Cuttack, the former capital of Odisha.
The Odisha Police is headed by a Director General of Police, curr ...
Winners
Silver League
2024 clubs
Silver A
*Azad Hind Club
*Junior Gallant Club
*Radha Gobinda Club
*Sunshine Club
Silver B
*Chauliaganj Club
*Eleven Gun Club
*SAI STC Cuttack
*Town Club
Winners
FAO Second Division League
See also
*
I-League 3
The I-League 3 is an Indian men's professional football league. It forms the fourth tier of the Indian football league system, below the I-League 2 and above the State leagues.
History
For the first time, the AIFF introduced qualifiers for ...
*
Football in India
Association football is one of the most popular sports in India. The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the first FIFA event the country hosted. It was called the most successful FIFA U-17 World Cup ever, with a record-breaking attendance of 1,347,133 ...
References
{{Sports leagues of India
Regional Football leagues in India
FAO League
2010 establishments in Orissa
Sports leagues established in 2010
Football in Odisha
Sports competitions in Odisha