India has participated for the first time in FIFA U-17 World Cup as hosts in the 2017 edition of the tournament.

This was the first time ever[2] that a team representing India would participate in the finals of a FIFA organized world tournament.

On 6 October 2017, India played their first ever match in FIFA-U17 World Cup history against United States in front of 47,000 spectators.

[3] India also failed to qualify for 2019 edition when they lost by 1–0 in the Quarter final match against South Korea at the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship.

[4] The AFC U-16 Championship is the top level tournament for under-16 football teams in Asia and began in 1985.

[6] The team qualified again for the tournament in 1996 where they finished last in their group which included Bahrain, China, Iran, and Thailand.

India played its group stage matches against Vietnam, Iran and Indonesia at the 2018 edition in Malaysia.

In the quarter finals they were defeated 1–0 by heavy weights South Korea, ending their run in the tournament.

[15][16] In 2023, India was clubbed with Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Japan in group stage of 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup in Thailand.

India began their Asian campaign with a draw with Vietnam by 1–1 with a spectacular long shot by Malemnganba Singh Thokchom but fell to Uzbekistan by a solitary goal.

[18] India fared much better in the 2013 edition, finishing first in their group of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, before defeating Afghanistan in the semi-final on penalties.

[19] As reigning champions, India entered the 2015 edition of the tournament with a 5–0 victory over Sri Lanka.

In the final they faced Nepal whom they easily defeated by 7−0 margin, thus scoring 28 goals in 5 matches, becoming champions for the third time.

India began their SAFF campaign with a comfortable 3-0 win over Bhutan but surprisingly lost to Nepal by 1–3.

[23][24] At the 2023 edition India entered into semi-final, defeating Nepal and Bangladesh by the scoreline of 1–0 in both games.