The royal houses of
Patiala and
Cooch Behar, A.A. Apcar of
Armenian Club and J Sutherland of
Dalhousie AC had financially contributed for the inception of the Shield. The coveted shield was designed by Walter Locke & Co. (
Calcutta) and made by
Messrs Elkington & Co. (
London). , the first all-Indian side to lift the IFA Shield. During the initial years of the competition, the IFA Shield was dominated by British Army teams and the
Royal Irish Rifles defeated W.D.R.A. to lift the first IFA Shield in 1893. However, their stranglehold over the Shield was broken in
1911, when
Mohun Bagan became the first all-Indian side to win the IFA Shield by defeating
East Yorkshire Regiment by 2–1. That was a historic moment for Indian football as well the struggle for
independence, as the natives beat the Englishmen in their own game. While the
Royal Irish Rifles remains the most successful
British Army side with 5 titles,
East Bengal Club has won the IFA Shield a record 29 times. , the most successful club in the tournament's history. From 2015 to
2018, the IFA Shield was designed as an youth tournament wherein youth teams of all divisions were allowed to participate. The decision was taken by
IFA due to busy schedule of
AIFF which includes
Indian Super League,
I-League,
I-League 2,
State leagues and
Super Cup among others. In
2020, the tournament was once again organised as a senior event. ==Results==