I-League 2
| File:I-League 2nd Division Logo 2015.png | |
| Organising body | All India Football Federation (AIFF) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997 (as NFL Second Division) 2008 (as I-League 2nd Division) |
| Country | India |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of clubs | 9 (2021) |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | I-League |
| Relegation to | State football leagues (qualifiers) |
| Domestic cup(s) | Durand Cup IFA Shield |
| Current champions | Rajasthan United (1st title) |
| TV partners | 1Sports (including Facebook live streaming) |
| Website | i-league |
| Current: 2022–23 | |
The I-League 2nd Division (or Hero 2nd division for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is an Indian men's professional football league.[1] It is the 3rd tier of Indian football behind Indian Super League and I-League. It operates as a system of promotion with I-League and final qualifying phase of state leagues teams. In 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic in India, the league format was changed into I-League Qualifiers.
The 2nd Division league was introduced from the 2008 season, having been previously known as the National Football League 2nd Division. State FA's nominate teams who have finished in the top of their respective state leagues, which are later to be approved by AIFF to participate in the consequent qualifiers.
History
I-League 2nd Division was introduced during the 2008 season, with first game played on 25 March between Mohammedan Sporting and Amity United.[2]
That season saw Mohammedan, Mumbai, Vasco and Chirag United are promoted to I-League. The next season saw Pune, Shillong Lajong, Viva Kerala and Salgaocar getting promoted.
Since 2010, only top 2 teams were promoted to I-League. ONGC and HAL in that year, in 2011 Shillong Lajong and Sporting Clube de Goa, with Lajong being promoted for the second time, while in 2012 ONGC and United Sikkim were promoted for upcoming season. The 2013 season saw Rangdajied United FC and Mohammedan qualifying for I-League.
In 2014, only one team got promoted from the 2nd Division, and similarly only one team got relegated from 2013–14 season.
In 2016, again only one team was promoted from the 2nd division (Aizawl F.C.), and only one was relegated from I-League (Dempo).
Due to the covid pandemic, the traditional final round format was scrapped in 2020. It was decided that the league will be rescheduled into a new format and all non-reserve teams from the preliminary stage will automatically progress to this round. It was officially named as I-League Qualifiers.[3]
Champions
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Sponsorship
From 2008 to 2011 the league was sponsored by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and was named the ONGC I-League 2nd Division. ONGC was also the title sponsor of the I-League. In October 2011 ONGC was dropped as a sponsor.
| Period | Sponsor | Tournament |
|---|---|---|
| 2008—11 | ONGC | ONGC I-League 2nd Division |
| 2011—2017 | I-League 2nd Division | |
| 2017— | Hero MotoCorp | Hero I-League 2nd Division / I-League Qualifiers (since 2020) |
Format
2008–2015
Previously, the league was formatted as a neutral venue competition with teams split into groups in which all the groups play in one stadium each. The final round is contested in a double round-robin format, after which the top two teams get promoted to the I-League.
2015–2017
The I-League core committee approved the plans for the 2015–2016 I-League 2nd division matches to be played on a home and away basis. The preliminary rounds will be played as the conference system with the teams being divided into Eastern and Western conferences. Top 3 teams from each conference will qualify for the final round of the 2015–2016 season of 2nd division I-League.[4]
To widen the football map of the country and to bolster the football structure, I-League committee decide to launch the 2nd division qualifier for 2016–2017 season. Participants from all the state associations would be invited to take part in 2nd division 2016–17 qualifiers. The state associations need to nominate two teams with best results, apart from the teams who would compete in Hero I-League and 2nd division league, from the state leagues to compete in the 2nd division qualifiers. The teams will fight it out amongst themselves in the zonal round followed by the final round. Eventually top two teams from the final round will get a nod to the 2nd division, provided that they fulfill the club licensing requirements in the due time.[5]
2017–2018
The format was further altered from 2017–2018 season, the league was divided in two stages: the Preliminary and the Final. The tournament will also feature reserve teams of Indian Super League clubs. In the preliminary stage, 18 teams are divided into three groups where all matches would be played on a home and away basis. The winners of each group plus the best second-placed team would qualify for the final round. However, if reserve teams of ISL clubs finishes as winners or runners-up in any group, the position is passed on onto the next non-ISL team. The final round will be played at a central venue, the winners of which would be promoted to the next tier of Indian Football.[6]
2018–2019
Sixteen teams were allowed to participate in this season by the league committee.[7]
Clubs
Clubs participated in 2021 I-League 2nd Division:[8]
| Team | City/State | Stadium | Founded | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARA FC | Ahmedabad, Gujarat | EKA Arena | 2016 | 22,000 |
| Corbett FC | Rudrapur, Uttarakhand | Amenity Sport Academy Ground | 2020 | 2,000 |
| Delhi FC | New Delhi, Delhi | Ambedkar Stadium | 1994 | 30,000 |
| FC Bengaluru United | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Bangalore Football Stadium | 2018 | 8,400 |
| Kenkre FC | Mumbai, Maharashtra | Cooperage Ground | 2000 | 5,000 |
| Kerala United FC | Malappuram, Kerala | Malappuram District Sports Complex | 1976 (rebranded in 2020) | 30,000 |
| Madan Maharaj FC | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | TT Nagar Stadium | 1992 | 15,000 |
| Rajasthan United FC | Bhilwara, Rajasthan | Rajasthan University Sports Complex | 2018 | 6,000 |
| Ryntih FC | Shillong, Meghalaya | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Shillong) | 1998 | 30,000 |
Source:[9]
Former clubs
Clubs participated in previous seasons of I-League 2nd Division:
Relegation
Relegated teams (from I-League to I-League 2nd Division)
| Season | Clubs |
|---|---|
| 2007–08 | Viva Kerala, Salgaocar |
| 2008–09 | Mohammedan, Vasco |
| 2009–10 | Sporting Clube de Goa, Shillong Lajong |
| 2010–11 | JCT, ONGC |
| 2011–12 | Chirag United Kerala, HAL |
| 2012–13 | Air India, United Sikkim |
| 2013–14 | Mohammedan |
| 2014–15 | Dempo |
| 2015–16 | None[a] |
| 2016–17 | Mumbai |
| 2017–18 | None[b] |
| 2018–19 | Shillong Lajong |
| 2019–20 | None[c] |
| 2020–21 | None[d] |
- ^ Aizawl FC were relegated, but reinstated to I-League due to withdrawal of 3 Goan clubs.[10]
- ^ Churchill Brothers S.C. were relegated, but reinstated to I-League after the appeal.[11]
- ^ Aizawl FC were relegated, but reinstated to I-League after inclusion of two I-League to Indian Super League
- ^ NEROCA FC were relegated,but were reinstated by AIFF after the viewing the situation of COVID-19 pandemic in India.[12]
Prize money
As updated on 28 February 2018[citation needed]
| Purse | |
|---|---|
| Champions | ₹ 50 Lakhs |
| Runners-up | ₹ 25 Lakhs |
| Matchday Subsidy | ₹ 50 Thousand |
| Match winner | ₹ 25 Thousand |
| Hero of the Match | ₹ 12.5 Thousand |
Winning coaches
| Head coach | Club | Wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
 L. Nandakumar Singh
|
Royal Wahingdoh, TRAU | 2 | 2014, 2018–19 |
 Dave Booth
|
Mumbai | 1 | 2008 |
| Peter Vales
|
Salgaocar | 1 | 2009 |
| Caetano Pinho
|
ONGC | 2010 | |
 Pradyum Reddy
|
Shillong Lajong | 2011 | |
 Philippe De Ridder
|
United Sikkim | 2012–13 | |
| Karsing Kurbah
|
Rangdajied United | 2013–14 | |
| Hmingthana Zadeng
|
Aizawl | 2014–15 | |
| Mauricio Afonso
|
Dempo | 2015–16 | |
| Gift Raikhan
|
NEROCA | 2016–17 | |
| David Robertson
|
Real Kashmir | 2017–18 | |
| Yan Law (sacked midway) |
Mohammedan SC | 2020 | |
| Vikrant Sharma
|
Rajasthan United | 2021 |
Top scorers
| Season | Top scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 |  Fredrick Okwagbe
|
HAL | 6 |
| 2009 | Badmus Babatunde
|
Viva Kerala | 6 |
| 2010 | Badmus Babatunde
|
ONGC | 4 |
| Joy Ferrao
|
Vasco | ||
| 2011 | Stanley Okoroigwe
|
Techno Aryan | 6 |
| 2012 | Daniel Bedemi
|
United Sikkim | 11 |
| 2013 | Badmus Babatunde
|
Rangdajied United | 8 |
 Hudson Lima Da Silva
|
Bhawanipore | ||
| 2014 | Daniel Bedemi
|
Bhawanipore | 8 |
| 2015 | Ajay Singh
|
Mohammedan | 11 |
| 2015–16 | Felix Chidi Odili
|
Dempo | 7 |
| Atinder Mani
|
Lonestar Kashmir | ||
| 2016–17 | Odafa Okolie
|
Southern Samity | 9 |
| Felix Chidi Odili
|
NEROCA | ||
| 2017–18 | Robert de Souza Ribiero
|
Ozone | 10 |
| 2018–19 |  Phillip Adjah
|
Mohammedan | 10 |
| Princewill Emeka
|
TRAU | ||
| 2020 | Syed Shoaib Ahmed
|
ARA | 7 |
| Ekombong Victor Philip
|
Garhwal | ||
| 2021 | Anwar Ali jr
|
Delhi FC | 4 |
References
- ^ "Hero I-League Qualifiers". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ I-League 2nd Division 2016-17 kolkatafootball.com. Retrieved 6 August 2021
- ^ "Hero I-League Qualifier 2020 to get underway on October 8 | Hero I-League". Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- ^ Abhishek Jain (26 August 2015). "Change in format for I-League 2nd division". Archived from the original on 27 August 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "AIFF LEAGUE COMMITTEE MEETS AT FOOTBALL HOUSE". 19 February 2018. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ^ "LEAGUE COMMITTEE MEETS AT AIFF HQ IN NEW DELHI". AIFF. 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ "Hero Second Division". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ "I-League Qualifiers: FCBU, Kerala United among 10 teams picked by AIFF". Khel Now. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ "I-League 2016/17: Aizawl FC reinstated after getting relegated last season, Salgaocar FC opt out". sportskeeda.com. 26 September 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ^ "AIFF reinstates Churchill Brothers in I-League". 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 18 November 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ "AIFF likely to keep relegation on hold in I-League". The Times of India. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
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