Bengaluru

In January 2013, it was reported Mumbai Tigers (then known as Dodsal FC) had failed to register for the upcoming I-League 2nd Division. It was also rumoured the club could instead enter the I-League, India's top football league, directly through cash payment to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and a promise to build a new football stadium. On 12 January, it was announced the AIFF had called for an executive meeting to decide whether to allow teams to enter directly the I-League for the 2013–14 season. At around the same time, uncertainty whether institutional clubs Air India, ONGC and then-suspended Mohun Bagan would be allowed to play in the league that season arose.

During the AIFF executive meeting on 15 January, it was officially announced the federation, in an effort to make the I-League more pan-Indian, would accept bids for two new, direct-entry clubs for the 2013–14 season from corporate groups. Corporate groups could bid to create teams outside Kolkata and Goa, and would have to create new infrastructure in their cities. The winning bids would be announced in March 2013 and the new clubs would be replacements for Air India and ONGC.

On 8 March 2013, it was reported JSW Group, which had previously considered forming a football club in Bangalore, was interested in bidding for a spot in the I-League. It was also reported AR Khaleel, the President of the Karnataka State Football Association and a senior official of the AIFF, had suggested Bangalore could be a host venue for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup and that a corporate team in the city could help build new infrastructure. On 15 May that year, it was announced the AIFF had received three bids for two direct-entry spots. The bids came from JSW Group, Dodsal Group, and a consortium from Kerala.

On 28 May 2013, it was officially announced JSW Group had won the rights to form a direct-entry team for the 2013–14 I-League season in Bangalore, which would be done through the sports branch, JSW Sports. It was also announced JSW Group would set up a youth academy in Bangalore and would construct new infrastructure. On 20 July, JSW Group officially launched the club as "Bengaluru Football Club" at launch event at the Bangalore Football Stadium, which was announced as the club's home stadium for the upcoming season. Along with the club name and stadium, the squad, club crest, colours and home kit for the season were revealed.

Immediately after winning the rights to form a direct-entry side, JSW Group began assembling a team. The club's first signing was midfielder Thoi Singh from Mumbai Tigers. On 2 July 2013, it was announced former Blackburn Rovers assistant manager Ashley Westwood would become the club's first head coach. On 16 July, JSW Group signed the club's first two foreign players, defenders John Johnson and Curtis Osano. Three days later, it was announced the club had signed the India national team captain Sunil Chhetri from Sporting Portugal B.

On 22 September that year, the club played their first official match in the I-League against Mohun Bagan at Bangalore Football Stadium. After a scoreless first-half, Bengaluru scored their first official goal in the 49th minute through Sean Rooney. In injury time, Mohun Bagan equalized through Chinadorai Sabeeth to end the match 1–1. Their next match brought Bengaluru's first win, defeating Rangdajied United 3–0 at the Bangalore Football Stadium.

The club played their first away game on 26 October 2013 against East Bengal at the Kalyani Stadium. In their first losing away game, Bengaluru lost 0–2 to the Kolkata-based side. Exactly a month later, the club won their first away match against Salgaocar at the Duler Stadium 2–1.

On 15 January 2014, Bengaluru played the first game in their first domestic cup competition, the Federation Cup, against Sporting Goa at the Manjeri Stadium. Bengaluru won 5–3 but went on to draw one match and lose another, and were knocked out in the group stage of the tournament.

On 21 April 2014, Bengaluru defeated Dempo 4–2 at the Fatorda Stadium to claim their first I-League title in their debut season. During the 2014–15 season, Bengaluru again participated in the Federation Cup, winning their first trophy on 11 January 2015 after defeating Dempo 2–1 in the final. Despite the cup victory and entering the season as defending league champions, Bengaluru lost the I-League title on the last day of the season, when they drew 1–1 against Mohun Bagan, who gained the title. Despite losing the title, Bengaluru ended the season with a 13-match unbeaten run. Bengaluru also participated in the Asian club competition for the first time but failed to qualify for the AFC Champions League; the team also reached Round 16 for the AFC Cup.

The next season, Bengaluru won their second I-League title, defeating Salgaocar 2–0 at home on 17 April 2016. The club also advanced further into the AFC Cup, reaching the quarter-finals after defeating Kitchee 3–2 in Round 16. Despite the club's achievement, Ashley Westwood left the club at the end of the season.

Bengaluru FC appointed former FC Barcelona assistant coach Albert Roca as the head coach for two seasons. In his first game in charge of the club, Bengaluru FC won 1–0 against Tampines Rovers in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup 2016, and became the third Indian team to qualify for the tournament's semi-finals. They reached the final on 19 October 2016, the first Indian team to do so, by defeating defending champions Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. 3–1 at home in the second leg of the semi-finals. On 5 November, Bengaluru played against the Iraqi club Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the final at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar, losing the game 0–1. Bengaluru's first 2016–17 I-League season under Roca was not as successful; the club finished the season in fourth position, the lowest since 2013, after a winless run of seven games in January and February 2017. The club won their second Federation Cup title under Albert Roca in 2017, defeating Mohun Bagan 2–0 in the final. The club also reached the Inter-zonal final in the 2017 AFC Cup.

After two seasons as an assistant coach at Bengaluru FC, Carles Cuadrat took over as the head coach in July 2018 for the first time in his career. In his debut season, Bengaluru won the fifth edition of the ISL for the first time. The season brought multiple records, including an 11-game undefeated run in the league and a six-game winning run. They became the first team to finish on top of the regular season twice in succession and the first team to win the title after finishing top in the league phase. In 2019–20, Bengaluru reached the ISL play-offs after finishing third in the league phase. Under Cuadrat, Bengaluru set new records in 2019–20, becoming the first team to keep 11 clean sheets and went on a 17-match unbeaten run at home, 2 full seasons not losing in their Kanteereva Stadium. Towards the end of the 2019–20 season, Bengaluru beat Paro FC 9–1 at the Kanteerava in the AFC Cup qualifiers; their biggest-ever win. In January 2021, Bengaluru FC parted ways with Carles Cuadret on mutual consent. The change of coach did not bring any benefit to the team, which worsened its position in the table with the new coach and only got 2 wins in the remaining 11 games of the championship.

On 12 February 2021, the club announced Marco Pezzaiuoli as their new head coach on a three-year performance-based contract. Under his stewardship, Bengaluru began its 2020–21 Indian Super League campaign on 20 November against NorthEast United with a 4–2 win, followed by a 7 match winless streak. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second time in a row, confirming the departure of Marco. On 14 December 2023, the club roped in Spanish tactician Zaragoza as new head coach until 2025.