The matches will be held at three different locations: Mohun Bagan Ground in Kolkata, Kalyani Stadium, and Naihati Stadium.
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The I-League season will begin on December 26 in Kolkata, with a match between TRAU FC of Manipur and the All India Football Federation’s developmental side Indian Arrows. The matches will be held at three different locations: Mohun Bagan Ground in Kolkata, Kalyani Stadium, and Naihati Stadium. This season, the number of teams has increased to 13 thanks to three new entrants: Andhra Pradesh’s Sreenidi Deccan FC, Rajasthan United FC, and Kolhapur’s Kenkre FC. All of them, along with the referees, officials, and volunteers, will be housed in four different hotels across Kolkata inside bio-secured bubbles.
“The AIFF has been a pioneer in Indian sporting ecosystem in hosting sporting events from inside bio-bubbles, and we are happy to continue providing a safe haven for players, referees, and everyone else involved in running the league,” said AIFF Leagues CEO Sunando Dhar in a release.
“We need to thank all our partners, because the logistical and financial effort to house 13 teams in a bio-bubble for an entire season would not have been possible without their help,” he added.
Rajasthan United FC and Kenkre FC qualified for the I-League by finishing first and second in the qualifiers, respectively.
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According to the tournament format, all teams will play each other once in a round-robin format in Phase 1 before being divided into two groups in Phase 2 of the league. Group A will consist of the top seven teams, while Group B will consist of the bottom six.
After the divisions are determined at the end of Phase I, the teams in each group will compete in a single leg round-robin format. While teams in Group A compete to be champions, those in Group B compete to avoid relegation.
“The format of the League will be the same as the last edition with all teams playing each other once, and then divided into two groups. While the top half vying for the Championship will comprise 7 teams, the bottom half which will be battling it out for the relegation will have 6 teams. The number of matches will also be more this edition – a rise from 80 to 114,” Dhar had stated earlier.
“We are looking at a tentative date of mid-December onwards for kicking-off the Hero I-League. We are in talks with the Indian Football Association (Bengal), and also the Government of West Bengal to successfully organise the League in Kolkata and its suburbs like the last edition,” he had added.
