AIFF Junior League (Under-16)
by All India Football Federation (AIFF)
₹5,00,000 to the winning team
AIFF's national club football league for under-16 boys, from preliminary and zonal rounds to a 16-team Final Round and a ₹5,00,000 prize.
Mode
In-Person
Fee
Free
Duration
About six months, from the qualifier round to the final
Format
Team · Teams of 40
Time needed
Regular training with the club and league matches through the season, including travel to away grounds
Eligibility
- Age range
- 13 to 16 years
- Gender
- Male only
- Location
- Nationwide
Academic requirement
Entry is through a club or academy that enters the league. There is no individual entry.
Prerequisites
- Born in the season's under-16 birth years
- TW3 bone age rating within the season's limit
- Registered with a club or academy that enters the league
- Pre-competition medical assessment (PCMA-3) cleared
Boys in AIFF's under-16 birth-year band, registered by a club or academy that enters the league. AIFF names the birth years in each season's regulations and also applies a TW3 bone age limit. For 2026-27 the band is boys born between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2013. A team may include at most two Overseas Citizens of India or Persons of Indian Origin.
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Rewards and recognition
Award
₹5,00,000 to the winning team
The winning team receives ₹5,00,000 and the runner-up ₹1,50,000. The prize goes to the team.
Prizes
Trophy and medals for the top two
The winning team lifts the trophy. Players and officials of the winner and the runner-up receive medals.
Recognition
National Junior League champions
Skills your child builds
How to apply
- 1Join a club or academy that enters the league
- 2The club registers the player on the AIFF system with proof of age
- 3The club submits the medical assessment, the TW3 consent form and body measurements
- 4The team plays its group rounds, and the best 16 reach the Final Round
About this opportunity
The AIFF Junior League (Under-16) is the All India Football Federation's national club league for boys in its under-16 age band. Clubs and academies from across India enter teams, not individual players.
The Junior League runs as its own tournament, with its own regulations, fixtures, Final Round and champion. A season starts with qualification and preliminary rounds in groups, moves to zonal groups played home and away, and ends with a Final Round of 16 teams and knockout matches to the final. Matches are 90 minutes, with up to five substitutes from a matchday list of 18.
AIFF sets the eligible birth years for the under-16 band in each season's regulations, and every player must also pass AIFF's TW3 bone age test within the limit those regulations set. Each team registers a squad on the AIFF system with a minimum number of home-grown players, meaning players born where the club is based, and a head coach with at least an AFC C license.
The winning team receives a trophy and ₹5,00,000, and the runner-up ₹1,50,000, with medals for both teams' players and officials. Teams pay their own costs until the Final Round, where AIFF gives outstation teams a travel subsidy and ₹1,000 a day per person for boarding and lodging.
Rounds & format
Phase one has a qualification round where needed, a preliminary round in groups, zonal groups played home and away, and play-offs where needed. The best 16 teams reach phase two, the Final Round, which ends in knockout matches to the final. Matches are two halves of 45 minutes, and a level semi-final or final goes straight to penalties.
How entries are judged
Matches are won by the team that scores more goals in 90 minutes. Group places decide who moves on from each round, and a knockout match level after 90 minutes is settled by penalty kicks.
Selection process
Teams enter, not individuals. The league is open to Indian Super League and Indian Football League clubs, the winner and runner-up of each state association's youth league, teams AIFF invites, and the previous season's champion. AIFF-accredited 1-star academies can earn a place through a qualification round. Each club picks its registered squad from its own players, and results in the preliminary and zonal rounds decide the 16 teams that reach the Final Round, where knockout matches settle the title.
Academic details
Difficulty: Advanced
Frequently asked questions
Who can play in the Junior League 2026-27?
Boys born between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2013, registered by a participating club or academy. Each player also needs a TW3 bone age rating of 16.24 or below. Players born in 2013 may also play in the Sub-Junior League, and players born in 2011 in the Elite Youth League.
Can a family enter a player directly?
No. Only clubs and academies enter, and the club registers its players with AIFF. A player takes part as a member of a participating club's squad.
What is the TW3 test?
An X-ray based bone age assessment that AIFF uses so players compete within one physical age band. A player rated above 16.24 may be moved to the Elite Youth League at the team's request. AIFF pays for any re-test it orders.
What does the winning team receive?
A trophy and ₹5,00,000. The runner-up receives ₹1,50,000, and players and officials of both teams receive medals.
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