I-League

I-League
Full name	Indian Professional Football League
Association	All India Football Federation
First edition	November 24, 2007
Teams	10 (2017/18)
master	Minerva Punjab (1st title)
Record champions	Dempo SC (3 wins)
Current season	2017/18
Website	i-league.org
Qualification for	AFC Champions League
↓ I-League 2nd Division

The Indian Professional Football League (I-League) is a professional football competition in India . The I-League was founded in 2007 and replaced the National Football League , which was founded under the umbrella organization of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), as the highest Indian league alongside the newly founded Indian Super League .

The I-League is divided into 1st and 2nd divisions. Every season there is a sporty promoter or relegator. In addition, the I-League also offers the option of direct entry by a newly founded team based on the model of the American " expansion team ". Therefore, up to 16 teams could participate in the I-League in the 2014/2015 season. In 2017/18, however, only ten teams played in the league.

Since the beginning of the league, seven teams have won the I-League title: Aizawl FC (1), Bengaluru FC (2), Churchill Brothers SC (2), Dempo SC (3), Salgaocar FC (1) and the current champions Minerva Punjab (1).

history

origin

In 1996 the first national league in India was founded under the name National Football League. The goal of the new league was the professionalization of Indian football, which despite great ambitions could never be achieved. The league suffered from the poor infrastructure of the country, as well as the unprofessionalism of the clubs. The FC Kochin broke up in 2002 after it was revealed that no salaries were paid for 2 years and the club already incurred before debt of 25 million rupees per season. After a decade, the All India Football Federation decided to change course and to re-market the Indian top league and in 2007 introduced the I-League as the highest Indian division.

founding

In its inaugural season, the league consisted of ten teams from five different cities. Eight teams came from the 2006/07 National Football League season, plus the two promoted teams from the second division. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) remained the main sponsor of the newly formed I-League for the 2007/08 season. A new regulation made it possible for the clubs to sign up to four foreigners for the new season. The games of the first season were broadcast by the new contract partner Zee Sports. The first 10 teams of the newly formed I-League were: Air India FC , Churchill Brothers , Dempo SC , East Bengal , JCT , Mahindra United , Mohun Bagan , Salgaocar Sports Club , Sporting Goa , and Viva Kerala .

The first years (2007-2010)

The first season began on November 24, 2007 with the encounter between Salgaocar Sports Club and Dempo Sports Club, which the latter won 3-0. The league's first goalscorer was Chidi Edeh . The decision about the championship was close and was only decided on the last match day. At the end of the season, both Dempo SC and Churchill Brothers SC had 36 points each; Dempo SC, however, was able to prevail due to the four goals better goal difference. Dempo SC had won both the last NFL title and the first I-League championship. Salgaocar and Viva Kerala were relegated at the end of the season. Since the league was increased from ten to twelve clubs for the 2008/09 season, four clubs in the second division rose. These were, Mohammedan Sporting Club, Chirag United Sports Club, Mumbai FC and Vasco Sports Club. Thus eleven of the twelve participating teams from only three different Indian cities were in the top Indian league, which led to initial criticism of the new "national" league. In the following season 2008/09 the Churchill Brothers could decide the championship for themselves. Before the 2009/10 season, the league was increased by two teams to a total of 14 clubs. This year, with Salgaocar, Viva Kerala, Pune, and Shillong Lajong, four clubs from the second division were promoted to the I-League. By accepting these clubs, the I-League clubs from seven different countries could muster and thus counteract the criticism of the national league. Champion of the 2009/10 season was Dempo Sports Club, which won their second championship. After the reform of the AFC Champions League in 2009, the Indian champions have been participating in the qualification for this competition since then and no longer play directly in the AFC Cup as before. The Dempo Sports Club could not prevail in the qualification for the Champions League and took part in the AFC Cup.

2010 until today

Since 2010 Dempo SC and Bengaluru FC have each celebrated the championship twice. While Dempo is currently playing in the second division , Bengaluru switched to the professional Indian Super League in 2017 . For the 2017 season, the national football association AIFF brought the Indian Arrows development team into the league, which takes part in the game but cannot be relegated. The team consists largely of players from the Indian U17 national team who took part in the 2017 domestic World Cup .

Clubs and their venues 2017/18

logo	team	city	State	Home stadium	capacity
	Aizawl FC	Aizawl	Mizoram	Rajiv Gandhi Stadium	20,000
	Chennai City	Coimbatore	Tamil Nadu	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium	30,000
	Churchill Brothers SC	Salcete	Goa	Tilak Maidan Stadium	06,000
	Kingfisher East Bengal	Kolkata	West Bengal	Salt Lake Stadium	68,000
	Indian Arrows	Delhi	New Delhi	Ambedkar Stadium	35,000
	Gokulam Kerala	Kozhikode	Kerala	EMS Corporation Stadium	54,000
	Minerva Punjab	Ludhiana	Punjab	Guru Nanak Stadium	15,000
	Mohun Bagan AC	Kolkata	West Bengal	Salt Lake Stadium	68,000
	NEROCA FC	Imphal	Manipur	Khuman Lampak Main Stadium	30,000
	Shillong Lajong FC	Shillong	Meghalaya	Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium	30,000

Final table 2017/18

rank	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
01.	Minerva Punjab	18th	11	02	05	24:16	+8	35
02.	NEROCA FC	18th	09	05	04th	20:13	+7	32
03.	Mohun Bagan AC	18th	08th	07th	03	28:14	+14	31
04th	Kingfisher East Bengal	18th	08th	07th	03	32:19	+13	31
05.	Aizawl FC (M)	18th	06th	06th	06th	21:18	+ 03	24
06th	Shillong Lajong FC	18th	06th	04th	08th	17:25	- 08	22nd
07th	Gokulam Kerala	18th	06th	03	09	17:23	- 06	21st
08th.	Chennai City	18th	04th	07th	07th	15:24	- 09	19th
09.	Churchill Brothers SC	18th	05	02	11	17:28	−11	17th
10.	Indian Arrows (N)	18th	04th	03	11	13:24	−11	15th

Minerva Punjab FC win the championship for the first time. The Churchill Brothers are relegated as the Indian Arrows are an AIFF development team that cannot relegate.

Champion of the I-League

year	society
2008	Dempo SC
2009	Churchill Brothers SC
2010	Dempo SC
2011	Salgaocar Sports Club
2012	Dempo SC
2013	Churchill Brothers SC
2014	Bengaluru FC
2015	Mohun Bagan AC
2016	Bengaluru FC
2017	Aizawl FC
2018	Minerva Punjab FC
2019	Chennai City

Sponsors and television rights

Until 2011 the official sponsor of the league was ONGC . AIFF and Zee Sports signed a ten-year contract for television rights for 70 million US dollars , which guarantees Zee Sports the exclusive rights within India.

Web links

• Final table 2013/14 on i-league.org
• Indian Football Association website (not available!)
• List of the highest football divisions within the AFC

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Event information. In: the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation, archived from the original on June 3, 2012 ; accessed on January 10, 2015 . 
2. ↑ http://www.newindianexpress.com/sport/AIFF-Invites-Bids-for-I-League-Clubs/2014/05/04/article2204656.ece
3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/first-indian-professional-football-club-fc-kochin-faces-closure-as-players-migrate/1/219886.html
6. ↑ http://ileague.in/history/
7. ↑ http://www.rediff.com/sports/2007/nov/21aiff.htm
8. ↑ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/I-League-partners-ONGC-cry-foul/articleshow/2579593.cms
9. ↑ http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/ILeague-Clubs-have-Too-Many-Foreigners-Bhutia/668120
10. ↑ http://www.televisionpoint.com/news2007/print.php?id=1195724736 ( Memento from March 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
11. ↑ http://news.oneindia.in/2007/11/24/dempo-beat-salgaocar-3-0-with-chidis-brace-1195916716.html
12. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/sport/football/dempo-sc-is-ileague-champion/article3336931.ece
13. ↑ http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/sports/salgaocar-viva-kerala-relegated-from-i-league_10018495.html
14. ↑ http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/is-the-ileague-a-national-tournament-/364621/
15. ↑ http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/is-the-ileague-a-national-tournament-/364621/
16. ↑ http://www.foxsportspulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=0-996-0-0-0&sID=12633&articleID=8880625&news_task=DETAIL
17. ↑ http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090419/jsp/sports/story_10842811.jsp
18. ↑ http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090419/jsp/sports/story_10842811.jsp
19. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/sport/football/dempo-sc-is-ileague-champion/article3336931.ece