Mumbai Football League The Mumbai Football League organised by Mumbai District Football Association is a ladder-based competition involving a total of six divisions and 300+ teams. Out of this massive total, twelve teams make up the Women's Football League which is the traditional curtain raiser of the season.
The MFL features teams from all over the city from Churchgate/C.S.T all the way up to Virar /Thane. Teams at the top level i.e. - MFL Elite and Super Divisions have a professional / semi-professional setup and usually practice thrice a week on average and the players are on a previously agreed monthly stipend.
Certain clubs are institutional ex- Bank teams and Government teams (Union Bank, State Bank, RBI, Railways, BEST, MMC). These teams are mostly made up of bank employees - recruited through their respective sports quotas. Sadly, this particular trend which was at its peak during the 80's is almost extinct today as employment through football has become a rarity today.
Ex-Students Associations, Church Parishes, Sport Clubs, School/Colleges, Companies and Football Academies make up some of the most common types of teams seen in the League today. Off-late, with the easily affordable registration fees for the lower divisions, there has been a huge influx of individually owned outfits.
Instead of a monthly stipend, players in the lower divisions are given match fees per game which usually range between 50-300 rupees per game depending on the result - apart from conveyance allowances. (Certain low-budget teams do not provide any monetary benefit.)
These teams usually conduct practices one a week on an average.
Apart from a coach and team manager, most teams do not have any support staff like physios or nutritionists. While the manager handles all the financial matters of the club, everything else is handled by the team coach.
Trails are conducted by all clubs in the pre-season phase after which the final team of twenty two players is registered with the Mumbai District Football Association. No player can play for two teams in the same calendar year.
While the initial round-robin phase generally lasts for a period of three months, the top teams continue their campaign in another month-long post-season phase to determine the champions and the promoted teams.
A few high-budget teams have an extended season with out-station trips to play private tournaments in other cities. Bombay Muslims, Akbar Travels and Union Bank of India are three teams that regularly go on football tours.