Which teams have won most IFA Shield titles
The IFA Shield 2026 will begin on 22nd September 2026.
The Indian Football Association (IFA) Shield is one of the oldest football leagues in Asia. It is organized by the IFA in West Bengal.
The IFA Shield 2026 is set to start on 22 September 2026, with a total of 6 teams participating from all over India. Those being, East Bengal FC, Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Mohammedan SC, Punjab FC, NorthEast United FC and Sreenidi Deccan.
The IFA shield started all the way back in 1893, the tournament was dominated by British Football teams in India mostly during the pre-independence era. However, later the tournament has been won mostly by Kolkata based clubs.
Mohun Bagan are the current champions of the IFA Shield, as they won the 2025 edition by defeating their bitter rivals East Bengal FC on penalties.
Between 2015-2018, the IFA Shield was remodeled to make the tournament exclusively for youth clubs, before reverting back to making the tournament for the Senior teams in 2020.
In this article, we will take a look at the clubs that have won the most IFA Shield titles, since its inauguration in 1893.
1. East Bengal FC – 29 Titles
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Kolkata giants East Bengal FC have won the IFA Shield 29 times, out of which their most recent win came in 2018, when their youth team defeated arch-rivals Mohun Bagan 4-2 in a penalty shootout, after the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Out of the top 5 teams with the most IFA titles, The Torchbearers won their first IFA shield in 1943. Since their first win, the team have seen multiple runs of success in the tournament, always scattered throughout the years. Their best years were in the 1970s, when the club won the trophy multiple times.
The club would not see the same type of success until 2 decades later, when they would win 5 IFA Shield titles in the 1990s.
Despite their success, the team have seen their fair-share of controversies. The biggest was in 2001, when the final match between East Bengal and Brazil’s Palmeiras B club was abandoned in the 35th minute due to an on pitch brawl between the players, which required police intervention to be settled.
Since the Brazilian club were winning 1-0, they declared themselves as champions and left the country. It was only after an investigation done by the IFA, when Palmeiras B were disqualified due to ‘gross indiscipline’ and East Bengal were crowned champions.
2. Mohun Bagan – 23 titles
It is not a surprise to see Mohun Bagan’s name in a list for most titles in Indian football. The oldest active club in India have won the IFA shield a total of 23 times.
Their first win came in the year 1911, when the Kolkata based team defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment by 2-0. The clubs most recent tournament win came in the 2025 IFA Shield, when they defeated rivals East Bengal FC in a penalty shootout.
Mohun Bagan have seen variable success through the history of the tournament. Despite being the first all Indian team to win the title, the team would go on a 36-year drought as they would next lift the trophy in 1947.
Mohun Bagan still remain to be the only team to have won the trophy 6 times in a row between, 1976-1982 (The 1980 IFA Shield was abandoned due to the Earlier Eden Gardens disaster). Although the team won the trophy many times in the 20th century, they have only won the title 2 times after 2000s so far.
3. Calcutta FC – 9 titles
Calcutta FC is a historic club based out of Kolkata, that was founded in 1872 by British soldiers for playing football.
The club was merged into the Ballygunge Cricket Club and the Calcutta Cricket Club in the year 1965. Since then the club has operated under Calcutta Cricket & Football club.
Calcutta FC won their first IFA Shield in 1896, after that the club went on to win the trophy 8 times, those being, 1900, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1915, 1922, 1923 & 1924.
4. Mohammedan SC – 6 titles
The club founded in 1891, won their first IFA shield all the way back in 1936. Mohammedan have won 6 out the 10 finals they have managed to reach.
Their latest IFA Shield win was in 2014, when the Black Panthers defeated Bangladeshi club Shiekh Jamal Dhanmondi Sports Club on penalties, after the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The club’s most successful time period was in the mid 1930s – 1950s, where the team won the title a total of 4 times, and reached the finals of the tournament 6 times.
Mohammedan SC are yet to reach the final since their last win and would hope to recreate some of their old magic in the tournament this time around.
5. Royal Irish Rifles – 5 titles
The first ever IFA Shield was won by the Royal Irish Rifles in 1893, when they defeated W.D.R.A. in the final match. The Royal Irish Rifles won the subsequent year, by defeating Rifle Brigade in the finals with a score line of 2-0.
The team would then go without the title 7 years running, until they would win their 3rd IFA Shield in 1901.
The Royal Irish Rifles would then go on a 11-year drought, until 1912, when they would beat Blackwatch – (Royal Regiment of Scotland) by 1-0.
The team would then win their 5th and final shield in 1913 when they would go on to defeat 91st Highlanders 2-0 in the finals.
Which team have won most IFA Shields?
East Bengal have won the most IFA Shields – 29 times.
Who won the first IFA Shield?
The first IFA Shield was won by the Royal Irish Rifles in 1893.
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