2002–03 National Football League (India)

The 2002–03 Indian National Football League, also known as the Oil PSU National Football League^[3] for sponsorship reasons, was the seventh season of National Football League, the top Indian league for association football clubs, since its inception in 1996. The season began on 17 November 2002^[4] and concluded on 28 April 2003.^[1] East Bengal won the title, their second, with a game to spare.^[5]

National Football League

Season	2002–03
Dates	15 November 2002 – 28 April 2003
Champions	East Bengal 2nd NFL title 2nd Indian title
Relegated	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Indian Telephone Industries
AFC Cup	East Bengal Mahindra United
Matches played	132
Top goalscorer	Yusif Yakubu (21 goals)[1]
Biggest home win	Vasco 8–0 HAL[2]
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

Overview

It was contested by 12 teams, and East Bengal won the championship under the coach Subhas Bhowmick and this was their second title. Salgaonkar came second and Vasco again came third. HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) and ITI (Indian Telephone Industries) were relegated from the National Football League next season.

League standings

JCT Mills

Indian Bank

Mahindra United

Kolkata

Kolkata clubs:
East Bengal
Mohun Bagan
Tollygunge Agragami

Goa

Goa clubs:
Churchill Brothers
Dempo
Salgaocar
Vasco

Bengaluru

Bengaluru clubs:
ITI
HAL

Locations of teams in the 2002–03 National Football League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	East Bengal	22	15	4	3	44	22	+22	49
2	Salgaocar	22	13	5	4	43	17	+26	44
3	Vasco	22	12	7	3	40	21	+19	43
4	JCT Mills	22	11	5	6	34	21	+13	38
5	Churchill Brothers	22	10	7	5	33	22	+11	37
6	Dempo	22	10	5	7	34	29	+5	35
7	Mohun Bagan	22	9	6	7	35	25	+10	33
8	Mahindra United	22	7	5	10	27	30	−3	26
9	Tollygunge Agragami	22	6	5	11	29	38	−9	23
10	Indian Bank	22	6	2	14	31	53	−22	20
11	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited	22	3	2	17	17	54	−37	11
12	Indian Telephone Industries	22	1	5	16	14	49	−35	8

Source: rsssf.com