This edition of I-League qualifiers will have seven teams making their debut including Srinagar-based football club, Hyderya Sports FC.
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The Indian football domestic season is all set to kick-off with the I-League qualifiers in Bengaluru from October. 10 teams will fight it out for the lone I-League qualification spot at the Bangalore Football Stadium. Meanwhile, this edition of the qualifiers will see seven teams making their debut. Earlier, the AIFF had selected 10 teams from the list of 29 clubs nominated by the 18 state associations.
The seven teams making their debut are – Hyderya Sports FC (J&K), Corbett FC (Uttarakhand), Delhi FC (Delhi), Madan Maharaj FC (Madhya Pradesh), Rajasthan United FC (Rajasthan), Kerala United FC (Kerala) and Ryntih SC (Meghalaya).
Meanwhile, the likes of ARA FC (Gujarat), Kenkre FC (Maharashtra), and FC Bengaluru United (Karnataka), who have played in the competition before, complete the lineup.
The clubs have all gone through the process of nomination by their respective state associations and have successfully submitted the requested documents for the league and club licensing on time.
“It’s great to kick-off the Indian football domestic season once again with the Hero I-League Qualifiers. What makes the tournament all the more special this season is that we will have double the number of teams that played in the competition last year, and seven of the 10 teams are debutants,” said AIFF Leagues CEO Sunando Dhar.
“All the teams will be hosted in a central Bio Bubble, and that goes a long way in affirming that we are all firmly committed to taking Indian football forward together. I wish the participating teams all the best,” he further said.
The 10 participating teams will be split into two groups consisting of five teams each. The group stage will be conducted in a round-robin format with each team playing their rival club in their respective group once.
And then the top two teams from each group will proceed to the Final round, which will be played in another round-robin format with each of the four teams playing each other once. The team that finishes on top of the table at the end of the final round will qualify for the I-League 2021-22 season by virtue of winning the I-League 2021 qualifiers.
Srinagar-based football club, Hyderya Sports FC was on Monday selected by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) as the only team from J&K to compete in the upcoming I-League 2021 Qualifiers.
The nominated teams were selected by the AIFF based on their final league position or on sporting merit.
Meanwhile, the newly branded Kerala United FC will be the lone representation from the football fanatic state of Kerala. The team which primarily competed in the Kerala Premier League is looking to make their foray onto the national stage.
The Kerala outfit under the newly appointed boss Bino George had two impressive pre-season practice matches against Indian Super League (ISL) side Kerala Blasters. Winning the first match 1-0 and settling for a 3-3 draw in the second one a few days ago.
Bino George is a vastly experienced football coach in the country who played a vital role in Gokulam Kerala FC’s I-League triumph last season. He was the team’s Technical Director and before that the AFC Pro License coach was hired by Gokulam Kerala FC in their debut I-League season in 2017.
Kerala United FC is aiming to get to the Indian Super League and this will be their first step towards that goal.
