2006–07 National Football League (India)

The 2006–07 National Football League was the 11th and final season of the top Indian professional league for association football clubs before it is rebranded as the I-League from 2007–08 season. This change was part of a broader effort to professionalize the league.

National Football League

Season	2006–07
Dates	5 January – 19 May 2007
Champions	Dempo 2nd NFL title 2nd Indian title
Relegated	Mohammedan Sporting Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
AFC Cup	Dempo East Bengal
Top goalscorer	Odafa Onyeka Okolie (18 goals)[1]
Biggest home win	Mahindra United 9–0 Mohammedan Sporting (18 May 2007)[2]
Biggest away win	Mohammedan Sporting 1–4 Churchill Brothers (2 May 2007)[3]
Highest scoring	Mahindra United 9–0 Mohammedan Sporting (18 May 2007)[2]
Highest attendance	50,000[4]
Lowest attendance	200[4]
Total attendance	3,58,050[4]
Average attendance	3,978[4]
← 2005–06 I-League 2007–08 →

Overview

The league was contested by 10 teams with Dempo winning the championship under the guidance of coach Armando Colaco. This victory marked their second title in the league. JCT secured the second position, while Mahindra came third. Mohammedan and HAL (Hindustan Aeronotics Limited) were relegated from the league for the next edition of National Football League 2007-08.

League standings

JCT Mills

HAL

Kolkata

Kolkata clubs:
East Bengal
Mohammedan
Mohun Bagan

Goa

Goa clubs:
Churchill Brothers
Dempo
Sporting Goa

Mumbai

Mumbai clubs:
Air India
Mahindra United

Locations of teams in the 2006–07 National Football League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Dempo	18	11	3	4	37	21	+16	36	Champions
2	JCT Mills	18	9	4	5	31	19	+12	31
3	Mahindra United	18	8	6	4	29	14	+15	30
4	Churchill Brothers	18	7	8	3	30	23	+7	29
5	East Bengal	18	7	5	6	29	29	0	26
6	Sporting Clube de Goa	18	6	7	5	23	19	+4	25
7	Air India	18	4	9	5	20	23	−3	21
8	Mohun Bagan	18	5	6	7	15	21	−6	21
9	Mohammedan Sporting	18	2	6	10	17	42	−25	12	Relegated
10	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited	18	2	4	12	12	32	−20	10

Source: rsssf.com

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[5]
1	Odafa Onyeka Okolie	Churchill Brothers	18
2	Ranti Martins	Dempo	16
3	Edmilson Marques Pardal	East Bengal	13
	Dudu Omagbemi	Sporting Clube
5	Chidi Edeh	JCT Mills	12
	Sunil Chhetri	JCT Mills
7	Andrews Pomeyie Mensah	Mahindra United	11
8	Boniface Ambani	East Bengal	7
9	Anthony Pereira	Dempo	6
	Samson Singh	Air India

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref.
Mohammed Rafi	Mahindra United	Mohammedan Sporting	9–0 (H)	19 May 2007	[2]

Note: (H) – Home; (A) – Away

Season awards

Award	Recipient[4]	Club
Best Player	Sunil Chhetri	JCT FC
Best Midfielder	Roberto Mendes Silva	Dempo
Best Goalkeeper	Sandip Nandy	Mahindra United
Best Defender	Mahesh Gawli	Mahindra United
Fair Play	JCT Mills