2020–21 I-League
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | TBD |
← 2019–20 2021–22 →
All statistics correct as of 14 August 2020. | |
The 2020–21 I-League is the 14th season of the I-League, one of the top Indian professional football leagues, since its establishment in 2007.
Mohun Bagan were declared the champions of the 2019–20 season after the cancellation of matches, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, since the second placed team could not catch up even if all 20 games were completed.[1] However, ATK, a club which plays in the Indian Super League (ISL), merged with Mohun Bagan and as a result they will be playing in the 2020–21 ISL season.[2] Hence, for 2020–21 I-League season there is no defending champion.
Changes from last season
Changes in rules and regulations
- Each club will have the option of signing a minimum of three and a maximum of four foreign players, but unlike the previous season, there should be at least one overseas player who hails from an AFC—affiliated country.[3]
Number of clubs
All India Football Federation (AIFF) issued an invitation to accept bids for new clubs from non I-League cities, like Delhi, Gangtok, Ranchi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mangalore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Calicut among many others, to join the league from 2020 onwards. The invitation mentioned that the entity which wins the bid will be granted the right to own and operate a new football club.[4] On 12 August, AIFF announced that Sudeva FC of Delhi would join the league from this season and Sreenidhi FC, which is based in Hyderabad, will be playing from Visakhapatnam from the following season.[5][6][7]
Mohun Bagan moved to the Indian Super League and began play as a merged club, ATK Mohun Bagan.
Promoted clubs
Promoted from the 2019–20 2nd Division League
Relegated clubs
Relegated from the 2019–20 I-League
- None[1]
Teams
Stadiums and locations
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, all the matches will be played in a single venue. AIFF declared Kolkata as the venue on 14 August. matches will be played in stadiums in and around the city.[8]
Personnel and sponsorship
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aizawl |  Stanley Rozario
|
Vamos | NECS Limited | |
| Chennai City |  Akbar Nawas
|
Uhlsport[9] | ||
| Churchill Brothers | Nivia | |||
| Gokulam Kerala | Kaizen | Sree Gokulam Group | ||
| Indian Arrows | Shanmugam Venkatesh
|
Six5Six | Hero MotoCorp | |
| NEROCA | Gift Raikhan
|
Vicky Transform | Living 3D | |
| Punjab |  Curtis Fleming
|
Spartan [10] | Apollo Tyres | |
| Real Kashmir |  David Robertson
|
Adidas | J&K Bank | |
| Sudeva | ||||
| TRAU | Nandakumar Singh
|
Nivia |
Head coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gokulam Kerala |  Fernando Santiago Varela
|
End of contract | 16 June 2020 | Pre-season |
Transfers
Foreign players
Minimum of three and maximum of four foreign players including one player from AFC—affiliated country per team.[11] Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign players as they are the AIFF developmental team.
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aizawl | ||||
| Chennai City | ||||
| Churchill Brothers | ||||
| East Bengal | ||||
| Gokulam Kerala |  Andre Ettienne
|
Marcus Joseph
|
Nathaniel Garcia
|
|
| NEROCA |  Varney Kallon
|
|||
| Punjab | ||||
| Real Kashmir | Mason Robertson
|
 Kashif Siddiqi
| ||
| Sudeva | ||||
| TRAU |
In bold: Players who are capped for their National Teams.
League table
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian Arrows | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for 2022 AFC Cup group stage And Promotion to 2021-22 Indian Super League |
| 2 | Aizawl | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Punjab | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Real Kashmir | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Gokulam Kerala | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | TRAU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | Chennai City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Churchill Brothers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | NEROCA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | East Bengal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | Sudeva | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
References
- ^ a b "League Committee sends its recommendations to the AIFF Executive Committee | Hero I-League". Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ "Bengaluru FC to play in AFC Cup playoffs as AIFF confirms all three continental spots for ISL teams". Scroll.in. 4 June 2020.
- ^ Banerjee, Debkalpa (8 May 2020). "ISL, I-League brace for upheaval as AIFF considers altering foreign player rules". The Indian Express. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ "AIFF invites bids for new clubs to join Hero I-League 2020 onwards". AIFF. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ "Sudeva and Sreenidhi granted playing rights in Hero I-League from 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively". AIFF. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ "Sudeva FC becomes first club from Delhi to play in I-League | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Sreenidhi Football Club". AIFF. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Hero I-League and Hero 2nd division Qualifiers to be held in Kolkata". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ "Chennai City announce strategic partnership with Uhlsports". AIFF. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ "Spartan sports will be the official kit sponsor of Minerva Punjab FC for the upcoming season". Minerva Punjab FC. Twitter. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ^ "AIFF Implements '3+1' rule for I-League 2020-21". Indo-Asian News Service. Times Now. Retrieved 14 May 2020.