The I-League, (formerly known as National Football League) is one of the two co-existing premier football leagues in Indian football system along with Indian Super League.[3] For sponsorship reasons, the league is officially known as the Hero I-League. It is currently contested by 11 clubs across the country.
The competition was founded in 2007 as the successor to the National Football League (NFL) and competition commenced in November 2007.[4] The league was launched as India's first ever professional football league and with the aim to increase the player pool for India's national team.[4] Unlike the Indian Super League, the I-League operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the I-League 2nd Division.[4] For the clubs that become I-League champions, they are granted the opportunity to participate in the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary international club competition.
In 1996, the first domestic league was started in India known as the National Football League.[5] The league was started in an effort to introduce professionalism to Indian football.[5] Despite that ambition, that not been achieved to this date. During the National Football League days, the league suffered from poor infrastructure and unprofessionalism from its clubs. One of the clubs in the league, FC Kochin, went defunct in 2002 after it was revealed that the club had not paid salaries since 2000 after running up 2.5 crores in losses a season.[6]
After a decade of decline with the National Football League, the All India Football Federation decided it was time for a change. This resulted in the modern day iteration of the top-tier in India.[7]
Formation
After the 2006–07 NFL season, it was announced that the National Football League would be relaunched and rebranded as the I-League for the 2007–08 season.[8] The league's first season consisted of eight teams from the previous NFL campaign and two teams from the 2nd Division to form a 10 team league.[8]Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the title sponsors of the previous NFL, were named as the title sponsors of the I-League before the league kicked off in November 2007.[9] The league also announced a change in their foreign-player restrictions with the new rule being that all the clubs could sign four foreigners – three non-Asian and one which must be Asian.[10] The league also announced that, for the first season, matches will be broadcast on Zee Sports.[11]
The first ever I-League match took place on 24 November 2007 between Dempo and Salgaocar. The match, which took place at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, ended 3–0 in favour of Dempo with Chidi Edeh scoring the first ever goal in league history in the third minute.[12] After eighteen rounds it was Dempo who came out as the first ever champions in the I-League.[13]Viva Kerala and Salgaocar, however, ended up as the first two teams to ever be relegated from the I-League.[14]
The next season the I-League was expanded from 10 to 12 teams. Mumbai, Chirag United, Mohammedan, and Vasco were all promoted from the I-League 2nd Division to make the expansion possible.[15] This however brought up early concerns over how "national" the I-League was. The 2008–09 season would see eleven of the twelve teams come from three different cities. The previous season saw all ten teams come from four different cities.[15]Bhaichung Bhutia, then captain of the Indian national team, said that it was the federations job to spread the game across the country and that it needed to happen.[15]
Regardless of the early criticism, the I-League went on as scheduled and once the 2008–09 season concluded. it was Churchill Brothers who came out on top.[16] Then, before the 2009–10 season, the league was once again expanded from 12 teams to 14. In order to make this happen Salgaocar, Viva Kerala, Pune, and Shillong Lajong were all promoted from the 2nd Division to the I-League.[17] This helped the I-League retain some criticism about how national the league was as now the league would be played in seven different cities/states: Goa, Kerala, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Punjab, and Shillong.[17]
After the 2009–10 season it was Dempo who came out on top for the second time in I-League history.[13]
On 9 December 2010 the All India Football Federation signed a 15-year, 700-crore deal with Reliance Industries and International Management Group of the United States.[18] The deal gave IMG-Reliance exclusive commercial rights to sponsorship, advertising, broadcasting, merchandising, video, franchising, and rights to create a new football league.[18] This deal came about after the AIFF ended their 10-year deal with Zee Sports five years early.[19]
Two months later, on 8 February 2011, it was reported that twelve of the fourteen I-League clubs held a private meeting in Mumbai to discuss the ongoing issues related to the league.[20] It was never revealed what was exactly talked about at this meeting.[20] Then, on 22 February, it was announced that the same twelve I-League clubs that attended the meeting would not be signing the AFC–licensing papers needed to play in the I-League.[21] The reasoning for this was because the I-League clubs were not happy over the fact that IMG-Reliance had so far done nothing to promote the I-League and that they demanded the I-League be made a separate entity from both the AIFF and IMG-Reliance.[21] At this time however there were rumours that IMG-Reliance had been planning on revamping the I-League along the same lines as Major League Soccer of the United States for the 2012–13 season.[21]
On 11 March 2012, following the disbanding of two former I-League clubs – JCT and Mahindra United, it was announced that the I-League clubs would be forming their own organization known as the Indian Professional Football Clubs Association (IPFCA) in order to safeguard their interest and promote football in India.[22] Every club, except for HAL and AIFF–owned Pailan Arrows, joined the newly formed organization.[22] Soon after, it was announced that there would be a meeting held between the AIFF, IMG-Reliance, and the IPFCA on 20 April 2012. In this meeting, IMG-Reliance would present their plan on how they would grow the I-League but the meeting never occurred for reasons unknown.[23]
Then, on 4 May 2012, the AIFF hosted the last ad hoc meeting – an annual meeting between the AFC and AIFF to assess the growth of Indian football. The AFC president at the time, Zhang Jilong, was also in attendance at this meeting.[24] It was reported that the IPFCA would use this meeting to voice their displeasure at the AIFF and IMG-Reliance but the association never showed up at the meeting.[24]
On 18 June 2012 the IPFCA was officially sanctioned under the Society's Act of 1960.[25]
Despite the ongoing war between the AIFF, IMG-Reliance, and the IPFCA, the league did manage to improve its product on the field and awareness did increase during this period. It all started when the India national team participated in the AFC Asian Cup in 2011 for the first time in 27 years.[26] Despite being knocked-out in the group stage after losing all three of their games, India came back home more popular than ever. Subrata Pal, of Pune gained the most popularity after his impressive performances in goal for India during the Asian Cup.[27] At the same time, before the Asian Cup, Sunil Chhetri became the second Indian footballer in the modern footballing era to move abroad when he signed for the Kansas City Wizards in Major League Soccer in 2010. He also became the first exported Indian from the I-League.[28]
The league was then given a major boost from its main derby, the Kolkata derby, between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. On 20 November 2011, 90,000 people watched at the Salt Lake Stadium as Mohun Bagan defeated East Bengal 1–0.[29] The league also saw more expansion to others areas with the promotion of United Sikkim from the 2nd Division,[30] however, their reign was short lived as financial troubles saw them relegated the next season.[31]
Meanwhile, while the league continued to grow, so did the players' demand. During this period plenty of Indian players were wanted on trial by foreign clubs, mainly in Europe. After his return from MLS, Sunil Chhetri and international teammate Jeje Lalpekhlua were called for trials at Scottish Premier League side Rangers in 2011.[32] Subrata Pal had trials at RB Leipzig before finally signing for Vestsjælland in 2014.[33] And Gurpreet Singh Sandhu underwent trials at then Premier League side Wigan Athletic and finally signing for Stabæk Fotball, Norway in 2014.[34]
↑ Matches after 14 March 2020 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mohun Bagan were declared the champions having huge point difference between the second placed club and no runners-up were announced as remaining clubs were very closely placed in the points table.[lower-alpha 2]
The following is a list of clubs who have played in the I-League at any time since its formation in 2007 to the current season. Teams playing in the 2019–20 I-League season are indicated in bold. Defunct teams are indicated in italic. A total of 32 teams have played in the I-League. The table is accurate as of the start of the 2019–20 season.
Since the league began in 2007 the rules of the league have changed almost yearly. Currently, the league has 11 teams. Each club played each other twice during the season, once at home and the other away from home. The team that wins a match receives three points while both teams earn point if they draw. A loser is not awarded any points. At the end of the season, the team with the most points wins the league. In the case of a tie then head to head record is looked upon. further, in the case of a tie, the goal difference is looked upon of the tied teams.[38]
AFC qualification
Clubs from the I-League primarily participate internationally in the AFC Cup, however, some I-League clubs have had the chance to qualify for the AFC Champions League. From 2007 to 2011 the champions of the previous season of the I-League were allowed to play in a qualifier for the Champions League.[39] Then from 2011 to 2013 no I-League club played in a qualifier till Pune in 2014 after the club passed the AFC Licensing Criteria.[40] However, to this day, no I-League club has actually qualified for the AFC Champions League group stage.
Sponsorship
Since the original National Football League, the Indian league has always been sponsored. When the I-League began in 2007 the last sponsor from the old National Football League, ONGC, were brought in as the sponsors, making the league be known as the ONGC I-League.[41] However, after the 2010–11 season, the deal with ONGC was not renewed and the I-League was left without a sponsorship deal till 2013.[42] On 24 September 2013, it was announced that telecommunications company, Airtel would be the new title sponsor of the I-League, thus making the league known as the Airtel I-League.[43] In December 2014, it was announced that Hero MotoCorp would replace Airtel as the title sponsor for the league and hence the league would be known has Hero I-League.[44]
Since 2007 the I-League has managed to find a way to be telecast, which is drastic in increasing the profile and popularity of the league. Before the inaugural 2007–08 season, the All India Football Federation reached a deal with Zee Sports to broadcast 45 of the 90 matches that season with TEN Sports broadcasting 15 matches in the inaugural season.[45] The deal with Zee Sports was a continuation of the 10-year deal reached between the AIFF and Zee Sports in 2005.[46] However, in October 2009, Zee Sports reportedly sent a letter to the AIFF asking for the Federation to review the 10-year contract after concerns were raised by the broadcaster that the league was not attracting as many sponsors as they would have liked.[46] In August 2010 it was revealed that there were crunch talks between the AIFF and Zee Sports over these concerns and that there was a provision in the 10-year deal that said it could be reviewed after the first five years.[47] AIFF has signed a three-year deal with Lex Sportel Vision Pvt. Ltd. to broadcast the I-League on DSport starting 2019–20 season. The 13th edition of I-League is scheduled to commence from 30 November, featuring 11 teams and 110 matches. Separately, AIFF has commissioned Instat Limited – an Ireland-based company to produce feed of the live audio-visual coverage for the broadcast on DSport. Instat will produce all games with an 8-camera setup. AIFF's agreement with Instat Limited will run for three years. I-League for past two seasons was showcased on Star Sports. However, as per the request of the I-League clubs, the AIFF and FSDL (Football Sports Development Limited) negotiated the deal with the new broadcast partner providing exclusive rights for on-air and digital content.[48][49]
One of the major criticisms of the I-League has been the league's continuing financial instability.[50] Since the league began in 2007 the league has seen four clubs disband their operations – Chirag United Kerala, JCT, Mahindra United, and Pailan Arrows.[51][52] When JCT disbanded, head of operations, Samir Thapar stated that the lack of any credible exposure and money as a major reason for JCT disbanding.[50] The majority of clubs in the league rely on main sponsors the fund the team through a season at least. This is mainly due to the fact that clubs in the I-League do not rely on income from merchandise sales or ticket sales and that television revenue goes directly to the All India Football Federation instead of the clubs.[50]
Currently, attendance in the I-League is suffering as the 2013–14 season only averaged 5,618 per game.[53]Mohun Bagan averaged the most spectators that season with an average of 17,068 while Shillong Lajong ended up being the only other I-League club to finish with an average attendance over 10,000 when the finished at 11,308 per game.[53] Part of the reason for these attendances other than the lack of marketing has been cited as being the fact that most I-League matches start in the afternoon, when it is uncomfortably hot for fans, rather than during the cooler evenings.[54]
Institutional football
Most football clubs in India are what are termed Institutional teams, in other words controlled or owned by an industrial business.[55] That means it is difficult for players or coaches to turn into complete professionals.[55] The players who play for institutional teams would also work on a full-time job outside the game for his company the team was sponsored by.[55] This is much the same model which was found in Japan before the introduction of the J. League.[56] The positives are that the teams are usually well resourced with players earning decent money and the reassuring prospect of employment after their footballing days finish.[55] On the negative side, teams only effectively represent an individual business with a few thousand workers, rather than whole cities, and thus do not gain broad general support.[55]
On 21 February 2014 it was officially announced that the two remaining institutional clubs in the I-League – Air India and ONGC – had been expelled from the I-League and that all other institutional clubs would not be allowed to participate in the league.[57]
The role of the head coach in the I-League varies from club to club. Some clubs in the I-League like to appoint technical directors as well as head coaches and the technical directors for the most part are given the power the select the squad and sometimes the entire team management.[61] The All India Football Federation does impose licensing requirements for head coaches in the I-League, the rule being that the head coach must have an AFC A-License in order to coach in the I-League, however, some clubs and coaches like Subhash Bhowmick, Subrata Bhattacharya, Sukhwinder Singh, and Bimal Ghosh are known for accepting a technical directors role in order to bypass the head coaching requirements without an A-License.[61] This has bought about a lot of controversial news in the I-League, most recently being when Churchill Brothers won the I-League after the 2012–13 season with Subhash Bhowmick running the entire team on and off the field but not winning the "Coach of the Year" award due to being listed as the technical director and not the head coach.[61]
Seeing this, the AIFF technical director, Rob Baan, as well as others, advocated that the federation make it mandatory for both technical directors and head coaches to have an AFC A-License.[61] On 14 May 2014 this was officially put into act by the AIFF during their I-League licensing committee meeting.[62]
In terms of coaching performance, after the first seven seasons of the I-League, an Indian head coach has won the I-League four times while a foreign head coach has won it three times. Zoran Đorđević of Serbia was the first ever foreign head coach to win the I-League[63] while the second coach was Karim Bencherifa of Morocco.[64]EnglishmanAshley Westwood was the most recent foreign coach to win the I-League in the 2014–15 season.[65]
Armando Colaco was the first Indian coach to win the I-League in the league's opening season and he has the most I-League championships at three.[66]Mariano Dias and Khalid Jamil the only other Indian coach to win the I-League.[67]
Season after season, players in the I-League compete for the golden boot title, which is awarded at the end of each season to the top scorer throughout the entire season. The most recent winners of the golden boot are Sunil Chhetri, Darryl Duffy, and Cornell Glenn, who all won the golden boot at the end of the 2013–14 season after scoring 14 goals each. Odafe Onyeka Okolie and Ranti Martins are both currently the holders of the most golden boot titles with three and four each. The two Nigerians make up the seven golden boots won by Nigerians, the most of any nationality in the league.
1 2 3 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the league was suspended after 14 March 2020. Only champions were awarded and remaining prize money in the league was equally divided among the remaining participating clubs and no individual prize money was also not awarded.[lower-alpha 2] However, Aser Pierrick Dipanda of Minerva Punjab scored the highest number of goals, having scored 12 goals in 15 matches; whereas, Rochharzela of Aizawl scored 6 goals in 15 matches, highest among Indians.[lower-alpha 3]
The I-League has only been awarding a proper trophy to the champion since 2013 when the 2012–13 season champions, Churchill Brothers, won the league.[86] Before 2013 the I-League champions received a basic trophy.[86] The new trophy was designed in Europe and is modeled along the lines of the champion trophies in the top European leagues.[86] Regarding the trophy, the AIFF general secretary, Kushal Das, said "It is the endeavour of AIFF to practice the best principles of other leagues and accordingly we thought to create a more contemporary look to the I-League trophy in line with trophies given in European leagues".[86]
Player and coach awards
End of season I-League awards are currently conducted by the Football Players' Association of India since 2009. The awards include best head coach, best foreign player, best Indian player, best young player, and the fans player of the year. The AIFF give out the best referee award.
Traditionally, I-League clubs have done particularly well in the AFC Cup. In 2008Dempo managed to reach the semi-finals of the AFC Cup before being defeated by Al-Safa of Lebanon.[99]East Bengal also managed to reach the semi-finals in 2013 before being knocked-out by Kuwait SC.[100]Bengaluru FC have recently made it to the AFC Cup Final.[101]
In the AFC Champions League however, no I-League club has ever managed to make it past the qualifiers.[102]
Ranti Martins Soleye is a retired Nigerian professional footballer who played as a striker. Martins is one of the best foreign players to play in the Indian I-League, with a record 214 goals across all seasons. He set a single-season record for goals in the I-League by scoring 32 goals during the 2011–12 season for Dempo.
This season marks the addition of four new teams, with Lajong SSC, Pune FC, Salgaocar Sports Club and Viva Kerala are confirmed to participate in the I-League. With the inception of these four clubs, many club transfers have been undergone within India, and around the world. The length of the regular season will be longer than in previous years, with 26 rounds rather than 22.
Jeje Lalpekhlua is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a central forward for the India national football team and SC East Bengal in the Indian Super League.
The 2010–11 I-League is the fourth season of the I-League, the highest football league competition in India. It ran from 3 December 2010 to May 2011. Dempo are the defending champions. On May 30, 2011 Salgaocar SC won the title by beating JCT FC 2–0 in the final match of the season.
Manandeep Singh is an Indian footballer who plays as a striker for Minerva Punjab in the I-League.
The 2011–12 I-League is the fifth season of the I-League, the topmost level of the Indian football pyramid. The season began in October 2011 and ended in May 2012. Salgaocar are the defending champions, having won their maiden title in the previous season.
The 2011–12 season is the 133rd season of competitive football in India since the Durand Cup started in 1888.
The 2012–13 I-League was the sixth season of the I-League, the Indian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 6 October 2012 and finished on 12 May 2013 with Churchill Brothers crowned champions in matchday 25.
Pronay Halder is an Indian footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Indian Super League club ATK Mohun Bagan and India national football team.
The 2012–13 Pailan Arrows season was the club's third season since their formation in 2010 and their second under the name Pailan Arrows. They finished 12th in the I-League.
The 2012–13 Mohun Bagan A.C. season is the 123rd season of Mohun Bagan A.C. since the club's formation in 1889 and their 16th season in the I-League which is India's top football league. The team finished runners-up in the Calcutta Football League and a dismal tenth in the I-League. They were crowned Champions in the Airlines Cup after Mohammedan refused to play the finals and gave a walkover. Mohun Bagan crashed out in the group stage of the Federation Cup and were defeated by arch rivals East Bengal in the semi finals of the IFA Shield.
Tarif Saikh Ahmed is a former Indian professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his career with Mumbai based club ONGC. He had also played for Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan S.C., Tollygunge Agragami, and Mahindra United. Ahmed also played internationally for India from 2006 to 2007.
The 2013–14 I-League was the seventh season of the I-League, the top-tier Indian professional league for football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 21 September 2013, and ended on 28 April 2014.
Bengaluru Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The club competes in the top league of Indian football, the Indian Super League.
The 2013–14 season is East Bengal's 94th season since its formation in 1920.
Rino Anto is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a right back for the East Bengal in the Indian Super League.
The 2014–15 I-League is the eighth season of the I-League, the Indian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 17 January 2015, after the conclusion of the Federation Cup and finished on 31 May 2015 with a title deciding match between defending champions Bengaluru FC and Mohun Bagan. Mohun Bagan scored a late equalising goal to win the championship by two points. It was to be their first I-League title and fourth Indian championship in total
The 2015–16 I-League was the ninth season of the I-League, the Indian professional football league, since its establishment in 2007. The season commenced on 9 January 2016, after the Indian Super League finished, and concluded on 24 April 2016.
The 2016–17 I-League was the 10th season of the I-League, the top Indian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 7 January 2017 and concluded on 30 April 2017.
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