5 good things that happened in Indian football in 2016

#1 Bengaluru FC reaches the 2016 AFC Cup finals

This is one of the biggest achievements of Indian football in many years. Bengaluru FC qualified for the 2016 AFC Cup after winning the 2014-15 Indian Federation Cup. Mohun Bagan who got knocked out from the AFC Champions League also had represented India in the cup. Both the clubs got direct entry to the group stages due to unused slots.

Bengaluru were in group H along with last year's AFC Cup champions Johor Darul Ta'zim, Ayeyawady United and Lao Toyota FC. The Blues managed the runners-up spot in the group and qualify for the next round. The team overcame Hong Kong club Kitchee SC in the round-of-16 to face Tampines Rovers in the quarter-finals. Tampines Rovers had qualified to the round-of-8 after defeating Mohun Bagan, but couldn;t get the better of Bengaluru.

Bengaluru FC faced the biggest challenge in the semi-finals of the tournament, where they had to face defending champions Johor Darul Ta'zim. The Blues went into the game as the underdogs. The Indian club managed to clinch a 1-1 draw in the away leg of the fixture. However, the team made whole India proud by beating the reigning champions by 3-1 in the home game and qualifying for the finals of the AFC Cup.

The entire nation was proud of Bengaluru FC for their achievement and backed them in the finals against Iraqi team Air Force Club. Unfortunately, the Blues lost the game 1-0 and were left heartbroken. However, the players of the team will be given a heroes welcome when they return to India from Qatar.

Edited by Staff Editor