Madhya Pradesh Premier League returns for 7th season — MPFA names India Khelo Football as Official Grassroots Development Partner

The Madhya Pradesh Football Association today announced the 7th season of the Madhya Pradesh Premier League, the state’s top-tier football competition, alongside a partnership with India Khelo Football to build a talent pathway from Madhya Pradesh’s 55 districts into the league.

MPFA has appointed India Khelo Football as its Official Grassroots Development Partner for the state.

Madhya Pradesh has over 11,000 registered footballers and more than 500 affiliated clubs across 54 district associations. The gap has never been talent. It has been the route from a district ground to a professional trial.

That route is what the partnership will build. India Khelo Football will run grassroots programmes and talent identification across the state, feeding players toward MPPL clubs and beyond. The organisation will also bring Project Naari Shakti, its girls-exclusive football programme, to Madhya Pradesh, and extend IKF Pathway 360 — a career pathway for the ninety-nine percent of young footballers who will not turn professional, but who can still build a life inside the game as coaches, referees, physios, and administrators.

India Khelo Football has worked with over 50,000 players across 135 cities and villages in five years, reaching border towns, tribal belts, Naxal-affected regions, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Seven programmes have already run in Madhya Pradesh.

Mr. Amit Ranjan Deb, Hony Secretary, Madhya Pradesh Football Association, said:
“The Madhya Pradesh Premier League has given our state a competitive stage for six seasons. What we have needed is a stronger pipeline into it. India Khelo Football brings a proven grassroots record and a philosophy that matches ours — every district, not just the big cities. MPFA welcomes them as our Official Grassroots Development Partner and asks all our district associations and clubs to work with them.”

Phani Bhushan, Founder, India Khelo Football, said:
“Madhya Pradesh has eleven thousand registered players and eight approved grounds. That arithmetic tells you everything — the problem was never the player, it was the pathway. MPFA has built the stage. Our work is to make sure the boy in Chhindwara and the girl in Rewa can find their way onto it. Football is our entry point. What we are really building is a career, and a life, inside the game.”

The 7th Madhya Pradesh Premier League season begins 26-September 2026.

Media contact:
MPFA contact — Col. Goutam Kar, 9871174117, mpfa@the-aiff.com
IKF contact — Nirja Shekhawat, 8551960669, nirja@indiakhelofootball.com

India Khelo Football is a pan-India grassroots football development organisation working across 135+ cities and villages since 2020. Fully Schedule VII CSR compliant across education, health, gender equity, livelihood, and sports development.