I-League

I-League

Countries	India
Confederation	AFC
Founded	2007
First season	2007-08
Number of teams	14
Levels on pyramid	1
Relegation to	I-League 2nd Division
Domestic cup(s)	Federation Cup (India) Durand Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Champions League AFC Cup
Current champions	Dempo (2009-10)
Most championships	Dempo
Website	[http:// Official website]
I-League 2010-11

I-League is the top tier league in the Indian football league system. It was started by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 2007-08. It replaced the National Football League which lasted for 11 seasons. The 2007-08 season was the first season for the I-League. The first game was played on 24 November 2007 and was contested between Dempo Sports Club and Salgaocar Sports Club which the former won by a three goal margin.

History

Following the decline of the NFL, the AIFF relaunched the national league for the 2007-08 season. The league was renamed the I-League and consisted of eight teams from the NFL plus two promoted teams from the former Division Two. The first ever I-league will be sponsored by ONGC, who were also the previous sponsors of the now defunct NFL. For the first time, clubs in the I-league were allowed to register four foreigners, though teams will only be allowed to field three during a match. All matches are telecast live and exclusive on Zee Sports.

Additional incentives have also been provided for Clubs participating in the I-League:
1. Subsidy of Rs. 250,000 for fielding a team in the U19 I-League and a subsidy of Rs. 250,000 for appointing administrative staff.
2. To promote greater attendances and improve the revenues of the Clubs, after deducting the stadium hire charges, 90% of the gate collection will go to the host club. The club will be responsible for the selling of tickets.
3. The club will be given two perimeter boards, six fence level boards and six boards at the first tier level at their home games.
4. Prize Money for Winners has been increased from Rs. 4 Million to Rs. 5 Million, while the Runners-up would get Rs. 2,8 Million, Rs 600,000 more than earlier.
5. The winners of each match will get Rs. 35,000, an increase of Rs 5,000.

2007-08 season

The first game was played on the 24th November 2007 between Dempo Sports Club and Salgaocar Sports Club. The introduction of the I-league seeks to change the way Indian clubs approach football. All club were required to have at least 14 professionals on their books and the introduction of a U/19 development team.

After an exciting 18 rounds, Dempo Sports Club won the championship on goal difference with Churchill finishing runners-up. Viva Kerala and Salgaocar Sports Club were both relegated and will play next season in the second division.

Following a AFC review of the I League's progress, the champions of the I-League had been awarded a spot in the prestigious AFC Champions League club championships in 2009.

2008-09 season

After a successful first season for the I League, the second season featured 12 teams from four different cities. And for the first time, the champions of the would qualify for the AFC Champions League while the runners-up qualify for the AFC Cup club championships in 2010. The bottom two teams will be relegated to I-League 2nd Division in the next season.

The I-League 2008-2009 season ran from September 26, 2008 and go until April 15, 2009 with a break in December for the Federation Cup and Durand Cup. Most games this season were played on Saturday's and Sunday's to attract a larger crowd.

As far as the prize money is concerned the winner walks away with Rs 5 Million while the runners-up would get Rs 2,8 Million. The third-placed team will be given Rs 2 Million and for the first time the team finishing 4th will also be given Rs 1 Million. The team winning the Fair Play award will be given Rs 100,000. Among the individual prizes there is Rs 50,000 for Best Striker, Rs 25,000 for the best Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder and Forward while the Best Player will also be given Rs 25,000. The Man of the Match award of every match will take away Rs 5,000. ^[1]

2009-10 season

The league has expanded to 14 clubs for the 2009-10 season. Salgaocar SC, Viva Kerala, Pune FC and Shillong Lajong have been promoted for this season.

2010-11 season

Only 14 clubs will play in 2010-11 season^[2],with AFC criteria being taken into consideration expansion has been halted.Franchises will be considered from 2011-12 season.^[3]

For the first time in history India U-21 team will be part of the league,it will be based in New Delhi and AIFF will run the club^[4].Its main agenda is to provide first team opportunities to youngsters and groom them for FIFA World Cup 2018.^[5]

After a long gap,Indian capital New Delhi and major city Bangalore are back to top flight.

Transfers

List of Indian football transfers 2010-2011

Clubs,stadium and Location

I-League 1st Division for the 2010-11 season

Two clubs were promoted to the I-League 1st Division for the 2010/11 season: ONGC FC, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited SC.AIFF will also include AIFF IX comprising of India U-21 players which will be based in New Delhi.

Salgaocar
Dempo SC
C.B

M.B
E.B
Chirag

ONGC
Mumbai FC
Air-India

Pune FC

JCT FC

AIFF XI

Viva Kerala

HAL SC

Locations of teams in the 2010-11 I-League

I-League 2nd Division for the 2009 Season

Bengal Mumbai
ONGC

Chandini FC

Salgaocar
SESA
Vasco SC

Amity United FC

Oil India Ltd FC

New Delhi Heroes
Simla Youngs FC

Titanium XI

George Telegraph
Mohammedan

Indian Bank

Location of teams in I-League.

Top Goal Scorers

All Time Scorers

Total scored in I-league,As of April 21st,2010

Place	Player	Total Goals
1	Odafe Onyeka Okolie	64
2	Ranty Martins	42
3	Felix Chimaokwu	29
4	Yusif Yakubu	27
5	Chidi Edeh	26
6	Junior Obagbemiro	25
7	Sunil Chhetri	24
8	Barreto	24
9	Baichung Bhutia	22
10	Muritala Ali	22

Season Top Scorers

Leading goal scorer for each season as of April 9th.

Season	Name	Club	Goals
2007 I-League 2007-08	Odafe Onyeka Okolie	Churchill Brothers SC	22
2008 I-League 2008-09	Odafe Onyeka Okolie	Churchill Brothers SC	26
2009 I-League 2009-10	Odafe Onyeka Okolie	Churchill Brothers SC	22

Leading Indian Goal Scorers

Leading goal scores for each season as of April 28th.

Season	Name	Club	Goals
2007 I-League 2007-08	Baichung Bhutia	Mohun Bagan AC	10
2008 I-League 2008-09	Sunil Chhetri	Kingfisher East Bengal FC	9
2009 I-League 2009-10	Madambillath Mohammed Rafi	Mahindra United	15

All Time Table

As of end of 2009-10 season

Institutional Football

Most football clubs in India are what are termed 'institutional' teams. That mean that they represent a company and the football club is merely a social aspect of the company for the benefit of workers. This is much the same model which was found in Japan before the introduction of the J-League. The positives are that the teams are usually well resourced with players earning decent money and the prospect of employment after their footballing days finish. On the negative side, teams only represent a few thousand workers rather than whole cities and thus do not gain broad support.

This is slowly changing with new teams such as Pune FC, New Delhi Heroes,Viva Kerala, Sporting Club-de-Goa and Mumbai FC building broad based club while retaining corporate ownership and support.

Indian I-League Ranking in Asia

P	National League	Grades
12	Thailand Premier League	Grade C
13	Indian I-League	Grade C
14	Vietnam V-League	Grade C

Champions

In Asia

Media and broadcasting

Zee Sports and TEN Sports are the media partners of the I-League for the 2007-08 season. Zee Sports signed a $70 Million deal for domestic rights for 10 years. The deal is set to be renewed for 10 more years.

References

External links

• ONGC I-League 2009-10 stats
• the-aiff.com Official website of the All India Football Federation
• I League: Goal.com
• [1] - India's Premier Football Site
• Indian Club Profiles
• [2] - I-League - The Home of India's Premier League