What’s new in I-League: Two new clubs, change in number of foreign players, format unchanged
The new season of the I-League, India’s second division in domestic football, will see the introduction of two clubs, Namdhari FC and Inter Kashi, in the upcoming season but its format will remain the same.
The decision, which was taken by the All India Football Federation’s League Committee through a virtual conference on Friday, also saw a slight change in the foreigner rule.
The 2023-24 season will have 13 clubs (subject to fulfilment of the Club Licensing process) in action, one more than last season, playing on a home-and-away double round-robin basis.
The tournament will have 156 matches played throughout the season, with each team playing 24 games. Though the league is yet to announce the official dates, Sportstar can confirm that the league will start in October.
The club finishing at the top of the table at the end of the league will be declared champion and will be eligible for promotion to the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 provided it fulfils the club-licensing criteria.
“The new I-League season will see more teams than the previous season and the prospect of qualifying for the Indian Super League (ISL) will definitely make the league more competitive,” Lalnghinglova Hmar, the league’s chairman, told Sportstar.
“We have stuck to the previous format (round-robin) because it has been tried and tested and with two new teams, the competition will only get better.”
Last season’s champion Punjab FC (formerly called RoundGlass Punjab FC) has already been promoted to the ISL.
The two relegated sides from I-League 2022-23 - Mumbai Kenkre FC and Sudeva Delhi FC - have been replaced by Delhi FC and Shillong Lajong FC from I-League 2, the third division of Indian football.
And then there were two
The AIFF, in its Annual General Body Meeting in Bengaluru last month, had approved five bids for corporate entry into the I-League.
YMS Finance Pvt Ltd from Kolkata, Namdhari Seeds Pvt Ltd from Punjab, Nimida United Sports Development Pvt Ltd from Bengaluru, Concatenate Advest Advisory Pvt Ltd from Delhi and Bunkerhill Pvt Ltd from Gurugram had all placed bids and all were approved by the Federation.
However, on Friday, only two were announced as I-League clubs – one by YMS Finance Pvt Ltd (Inter Kashi) and the other by Namdhari Seeds Pvt Ltd (Namdhari FC).
“In the meeting (last month), we had just approved the bids. But three of them eventually withdrew their bids and so we announced the two clubs in the league,” Shaji Prabhakaran, the general secretary of the AIFF, told Sportstar.
Change in foreigner’s rule
Since India lost its AFC competition spot for the upcoming season in May 2023 due to its low coefficient ranking among Asian countries, it is no longer mandatory for Indian clubs to have at least one foreigner from an Asian country at any point on the field.
For the upcoming season, the I-League clubs are allowed to register a maximum of five foreign players, with not more than three allowed on the field at one time.
No foreigners will be allowed in the I-League second division.
Committee chairperson Mr Hmar said, “Earlier, we did not have a properly-tiered league structure, but that has changed. Now, the ISL, the I-League, Second Division and Third Division are all connected with each other to create a strong league structure.”
For the newly-formed 3rd Division League, nine state FAs fulfilled the criteria for nominating teams - Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
For the newly-formed 3rd Division League, nine state FAs fulfilled the criteria for nominating teams - Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
From Kerala, KPL 2022-23 Champions Kerala United (Sheffiled United Group) is nominated.
The following clubs were nominated for the 3rd Division League by nine state FAs, which complied with the nomination criteria:
Chhattisgarh FA: RKM Football Academy and New Friends Club Dantewada Football Delhi: Vatika FC and Garhwal FC Goa FA: Dempo SC and Sporting Clube de Goa Gujarat SFA: Baroda FA and ARA FC Karnataka SFA: Sporting Club Bengaluru and Kickstart FC Punjab FA: International Football Club Phagwara, Doaba United FC Madhya Pradesh FA: Lake City FC Rajasthan FA: Jaipur Elite FC WIFA (Maharashtra): Millat FC
The League Committee entrusted the responsibility of defining the format of the 3rd Division League to the AIFF Secretariat.
Meanwhile, nominations received from 10 other states will be confirmed after following certain due diligence as instructed by the League Committee. The state FAs are: All Manipur FA, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu FA, Kerala FA, Pondicherry FA, Sikkim FA, Uttar Pradesh FA, Assam FA, FA of Odisha, Telangana FA and IFA (West Bengal).
AIFF President meets I-League clubs; Federation assures an increased ‘upto 8-camera HD broadcast’ production & geo-optimised fixtures
In a bid to boost the upcoming I-League season, All India Football Federation (AIFF), on Monday, August 12, 2024, assured the elite clubs on quality broadcast production ‘upto 8 high-definition cameras’ and a club-centric optimised fixture, provided the participating clubs meet a minimum infrastructure mandate.
The important decision was taken during a constructive and a progressive interaction with the I-League clubs in a two-hour long meeting called by AIFF President Mr. Kalyan Chaubey in the capital. Eight of the 12 club owners/co-owners attended the meeting at the Football House, while four joined virtually.
Addressing the feedback received from the clubs, AIFF has assured to work with the stakeholders on proactive steps to help raise the I-League profile with renewed focus on its marketing and promotion, broadcast, fixture and refereeing. Moving ahead, as an immediate step, the AIFF has formed various task force groups with representatives from I-League clubs to work on each of these aspects, to collaborate and propose a way forward.
AIFF is keen to schedule the I-League games on prime time with an increased ‘upto 8 camera’ HD broadcast kit. The Federation has requested clubs to revert with updates on their home stadium infrastructure including commitment on pitch quality of international standard throughout the season, and their ability to install/upgrade 1800 lux floodlights – a minimum mandate for quality broadcast production.
It was decided that venues where home clubs are able to commit meeting the minimum mandated infrastructure, AIFF will allocate prime time broadcast schedule with increased camera kit. Such games will also be marked as marquee events in the fixtures for marketing purposes.
However, for venues which may not be able to meet the minimum requirements this season, AIFF will allocate a minimum of two to six camera kit, considering the availability of the infrastructure. For the 2023-24 fixtures, it has been decided that AIFF competition department in consultation with the club owners and the relevant task force, will present a best-scenario scheduling, geographically mapping clubs travelling and to optimise away games fixture in a way to reduce the clubs' travel cost and time.
The I-League clubs, Federation and the Task Force is scheduled to meet on 26 August 2024 to review the reports, suggestions and to decide on next course of action.
The only problem is Ranjan Chaudhary is a quota coach of Kalyan. He helped with Chattisgarh Ramakrishna mission sports where Kalyan got good PR. How the hell is he is back coaching now to U-20 ?? I don't want to disrespect Ranjan Chaudhary but this is purely based on their comfort than finding who is best coach out there.
How about our youth coaches like Bibiano, Pinto, Climax Lawrence or anyone else who have better youth coaching experience and potential? At smaller level if we keep doing quota then how will we ever progress?
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What’s new in I-League: Two new clubs, change in number of foreign players, format unchanged
The new season of the I-League, India’s second division in domestic football, will see the introduction of two clubs, Namdhari FC and Inter Kashi, in the upcoming season but its format will remain the same.
The decision, which was taken by the All India Football Federation’s League Committee through a virtual conference on Friday, also saw a slight change in the foreigner rule.
The 2023-24 season will have 13 clubs (subject to fulfilment of the Club Licensing process) in action, one more than last season, playing on a home-and-away double round-robin basis.
The tournament will have 156 matches played throughout the season, with each team playing 24 games. Though the league is yet to announce the official dates, Sportstar can confirm that the league will start in October.
The club finishing at the top of the table at the end of the league will be declared champion and will be eligible for promotion to the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 provided it fulfils the club-licensing criteria.
“The new I-League season will see more teams than the previous season and the prospect of qualifying for the Indian Super League (ISL) will definitely make the league more competitive,” Lalnghinglova Hmar, the league’s chairman, told Sportstar.
“We have stuck to the previous format (round-robin) because it has been tried and tested and with two new teams, the competition will only get better.”
Last season’s champion Punjab FC (formerly called RoundGlass Punjab FC) has already been promoted to the ISL.
The two relegated sides from I-League 2022-23 - Mumbai Kenkre FC and Sudeva Delhi FC - have been replaced by Delhi FC and Shillong Lajong FC from I-League 2, the third division of Indian football.
And then there were two
The AIFF, in its Annual General Body Meeting in Bengaluru last month, had approved five bids for corporate entry into the I-League.
YMS Finance Pvt Ltd from Kolkata, Namdhari Seeds Pvt Ltd from Punjab, Nimida United Sports Development Pvt Ltd from Bengaluru, Concatenate Advest Advisory Pvt Ltd from Delhi and Bunkerhill Pvt Ltd from Gurugram had all placed bids and all were approved by the Federation.
However, on Friday, only two were announced as I-League clubs – one by YMS Finance Pvt Ltd (Inter Kashi) and the other by Namdhari Seeds Pvt Ltd (Namdhari FC).
“In the meeting (last month), we had just approved the bids. But three of them eventually withdrew their bids and so we announced the two clubs in the league,” Shaji Prabhakaran, the general secretary of the AIFF, told Sportstar.
Change in foreigner’s rule
Since India lost its AFC competition spot for the upcoming season in May 2023 due to its low coefficient ranking among Asian countries, it is no longer mandatory for Indian clubs to have at least one foreigner from an Asian country at any point on the field.
For the upcoming season, the I-League clubs are allowed to register a maximum of five foreign players, with not more than three allowed on the field at one time.
No foreigners will be allowed in the I-League second division.
Committee chairperson Mr Hmar said, “Earlier, we did not have a properly-tiered league structure, but that has changed. Now, the ISL, the I-League, Second Division and Third Division are all connected with each other to create a strong league structure.”
For the newly-formed 3rd Division League, nine state FAs fulfilled the criteria for nominating teams - Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
https://sportstar.thehindu.com/football/indian-football/aiff-decides-i-league-2023-24-format-promotion-relegation-no-of-foreigners/article67183600.ece
From Kerala, KPL 2022-23 Champions Kerala United (Sheffiled United Group) is nominated.
The following clubs were nominated for the 3rd Division League by nine state FAs, which complied with the nomination criteria:
Chhattisgarh FA: RKM Football Academy and New Friends Club Dantewada
Football Delhi: Vatika FC and Garhwal FC
Goa FA: Dempo SC and Sporting Clube de Goa
Gujarat SFA: Baroda FA and ARA FC
Karnataka SFA: Sporting Club Bengaluru and Kickstart FC
Punjab FA: International Football Club Phagwara, Doaba United FC
Madhya Pradesh FA: Lake City FC
Rajasthan FA: Jaipur Elite FC
WIFA (Maharashtra): Millat FC
The League Committee entrusted the responsibility of defining the format of the 3rd Division League to the AIFF Secretariat.
Meanwhile, nominations received from 10 other states will be confirmed after following certain due diligence as instructed by the League Committee. The state FAs are: All Manipur FA, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu FA, Kerala FA, Pondicherry FA, Sikkim FA, Uttar Pradesh FA, Assam FA, FA of Odisha, Telangana FA and IFA (West Bengal).
https://www.the-aiff.com/article/aiff-league-committee-introduces-youth-quota-for-i-league
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In a bid to boost the upcoming I-League season, All India Football Federation (AIFF), on Monday, August 12, 2024, assured the elite clubs on quality broadcast production ‘upto 8 high-definition cameras’ and a club-centric optimised fixture, provided the participating clubs meet a minimum infrastructure mandate.
The important decision was taken during a constructive and a progressive interaction with the I-League clubs in a two-hour long meeting called by AIFF President Mr. Kalyan Chaubey in the capital. Eight of the 12 club owners/co-owners attended the meeting at the Football House, while four joined virtually.
Addressing the feedback received from the clubs, AIFF has assured to work with the stakeholders on proactive steps to help raise the I-League profile with renewed focus on its marketing and promotion, broadcast, fixture and refereeing. Moving ahead, as an immediate step, the AIFF has formed various task force groups with representatives from I-League clubs to work on each of these aspects, to collaborate and propose a way forward.
AIFF is keen to schedule the I-League games on prime time with an increased ‘upto 8 camera’ HD broadcast kit. The Federation has requested clubs to revert with updates on their home stadium infrastructure including commitment on pitch quality of international standard throughout the season, and their ability to install/upgrade 1800 lux floodlights – a minimum mandate for quality broadcast production.
It was decided that venues where home clubs are able to commit meeting the minimum mandated infrastructure, AIFF will allocate prime time broadcast schedule with increased camera kit. Such games will also be marked as marquee events in the fixtures for marketing purposes.
However, for venues which may not be able to meet the minimum requirements this season, AIFF will allocate a minimum of two to six camera kit, considering the availability of the infrastructure. For the 2023-24 fixtures, it has been decided that AIFF competition department in consultation with the club owners and the relevant task force, will present a best-scenario scheduling, geographically mapping clubs travelling and to optimise away games fixture in a way to reduce the clubs' travel cost and time.
The I-League clubs, Federation and the Task Force is scheduled to meet on 26 August 2024 to review the reports, suggestions and to decide on next course of action.
https://www.the-aiff.com/article/aiff-president-meets-i-league-clubs-federation-assures-an-increased-upto-8-camera-hd-broadcast-production-geo-optimised-fixtures
Former India Int’l Ranjan Chaudhary to lead the Blue Colts
https://x.com/90ndstoppage/status/1823060888573849727
How about our youth coaches like Bibiano, Pinto, Climax Lawrence or anyone else who have better youth coaching experience and potential? At smaller level if we keep doing quota then how will we ever progress?