I-League

The I-League is an Indian football league for association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 14 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation of two teams each year with the I-League 2nd Division. Seasons run from October to May, with teams playing 26 matches each, totalling 182 matches in the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. The competition formed as the ONGC I-League in 2006 following the disbanding of the National Football League.

Since 2007, a total of three clubs have been crowned champions. Of the sixteen to have played in the league since the inception of the I-League in 2006, three have won the title: Dempo (2 titles), Churchill Brothers (1), and Salgaocar (1). The current champions are Salgaocar, who won the title during the 2010-11 season.

History

Formation

Following the decline of the National Football League (NFL), the All India Football Federation 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 was 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 would be also telecasted live and exclusive on Zee Sports. ^[1]

The following additional incentives have also been provided for clubs participating in the I-League: ^[1]

1. A subsidy of 250,000 for fielding a team in the U19 I-League and a subsidy of 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 4 million to 5 million, while the runners-up would get 2.8 million, 600,000 more than earlier.

5. The winners of each match will get 35,000, an increase of 5,000.

The early years (2007-2011)

The first game was played on November 24, 2007 between Dempo Sports Club and Salgaocar Sports Club. ^[2] The introduction of the I-League was an attempt to seek to change the way Indian clubs approach football. All clubs were required to have at least 14 professionals on their books and the introduction of an U19 development team.

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

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

Then the next season, after a successful first season for the I-League, featured 12 teams from four different cities. And for the first time, the champions of the league 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 the I-League 2nd Division in the next season.

The I-League 2008-09 season ran from September 26, 2008 to April 15, 2009 with a break in December for the Federation Cup and Durand Cup. Most games that season were played on Saturday's and Sunday's to attract a larger crowd.

The league expanded to 14 clubs for the 2009-10 season. Salgaocar, Viva Kerala (now Chirag United Club Kerala), Pune and Shillong Lajong were promoted for that season. Dempo later won the I-League to earn a spot into the AFC Champions League 2011.

Only 14 clubs played in 2010-11 season, ^[3] with AFC criteria being taken into consideration expansion has been halted.

For the first time in the league the India U-21 team (called the AIFF XI) was part of the league, it was based in New Delhi and AIFF ran the club. ^[3] Its main agenda was to provide first team opportunities to youngsters and groom them for FIFA World Cup 2018.^[4] After a long gap, Indian capital of New Delhi and major city Bangalore were back to the top flight. After 26 matches played by all 14 sides Salgaocar came out as the winners while ONGC and JCT FC were relegated to I-League 2nd Division.

A rocky new beginning and a hopeful future (2011-present)

After the 2010-11 season closed the All India Football Federation announced that there was going to be major changes happening to the I-League starting from the 2011-12 I-League. To start the league and federation decided to cut ONGC as the title sponsors of the league and would just have the name of the league as I-League. To continue with the loss of ONGC sponsorship, the federation decided to design a new logo for the league. The new logo was unveiled on October 13, 2011. The league also announced that extra measures would be taken towards the clubs as the I-League would now be the ones in charge of organizing there home games unlike the state associations like it was in the past. Also new measures in AFC Club Criteria would be taken as all 14 I-League clubs would have to have passed the AFC Criteria by the end of the 2011-12 season in order to participate in the 2012-13 I-League and onwards. In October 2011, the AIFF announced that they had reached a one year deal with TEN Action+ to broadcast 70 full matches for the 2011-12 season. This would be the first time the league would be shown on TV since the 2009-10 season. The new TV deal was expected to bring new marketing opportunities and popularity for the league and federation.

The beginning of the 2010-11 season started off brightly as the promises the federation promised were in action. On October 28, 2011, the league gained a boost when 11,000 people showed up for Shillong Lajongs match against HAL. The league gained an even bigger boost when 90,000 people showed up for the Kolkata derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. These two matches gave hope that finally the league was gaining popularity among the normal football fans in India. The league suffered a setback though when it became known that the league had lost its spot in the AFC Champions League, the biggest club competition in Asia due to the league not fulfilling the AFC Criteria set for 2012. ^[5]

Competition format

Competition

There are 14 teams in the I-League. During the course of a season (from October to May) each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 26 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion.

AFC Qualification

The I-League champions gain one spot into the AFC Cup group stage round, while the Federation Cup winners will play in the AFC Cup group stage as well.

Sponsorship

The I-League has been sponsored since 2007. There has been one sponsor since the league's formation.

• 2007–2011: ONGC (ONGC I-League)
• 2011 onwards: To Be Announced

Official logo

Media coverage

India

Television will play a major role in the history of the I-League. The money from television rights will be vital in helping to create excellence both on and off the field. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to Zee Sports in 2007 was at the time a radical decision. After going three years into a 10 year deal Zee Sports terminated its deal with the All India Football Federation which meant that the 2010-11 I-League season went on with no televised channel except for the Kolkata teams which managed to get a one-year TV contract with a Calcutta TV corporation to televise all home games for East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and United Sports Club. On September 30, 2011, it was announced that the AIFF broadcast partners IMG Reliance have struck a deal for the I-League to be shown regionally in Bengal and North-Eastern India on News Time Bengla and News Time Assam for the 2011-12 season. This new deal will mean that up to 75 matches will be shown live on TV for the season. ^[6] On October 4, 2011, it was announced that TEN Sports will broadcast the 2011-12 season nationally across India along with the regional broadcasters and would also show at least 75 matches this season. ^[7]

Criticisms

Financial situation

The I-League has experienced a lot of financial problems since the old National Football League. It has been reported that most I-League clubs fail to have any marketing plan when it comes to supporters which explains average crowds of 3913 in the I-League 2010-11, making it difficult for Indian clubs to make money.^[8] Since to formation of the I-League, two clubs, Mahindra United (2010) and JCT FC (2011), have disbanded due to financial troubles. Also some people say that the reason that attendance at I-League matches is so low is because of the timing of I-League matches which is usually around 4:00pm Indian Standard Time which is said to be a bad time because people are at work at that time and kids might still be a school. People have suggested that matches should be changed to 7:00pm IST because it is colder and people will be free to see the matches.^[9]

Foreign impact

Many football experts have suggested that the reason India does not do well nationally is because of the amount of foreign players playing in the I-League, mainly in attacking areas.^[10] Since the I-League began in 2007 the league has not seen an Indian take the golden boot while two Nigerians have.

Clubs, stadiums and locations

The following 14 clubs are competing in the I-League during the 2011-12 season.

Managers

Managers in the I-League are involved in the day to day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and player acquisition. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the ownership of the club and the relationship of the manager with fans. Managers are required to have a Asian Pro License which is the final coaching qualification available, and follows the completion of the AFC 'B' and 'A' Licences. The AFC Pro Licence is required by every person who wishes to manage a club in the I-League on a permanent basis. Caretaker appointments are managers that fill the gap between a managerial departure and a new appointment. Several caretaker managers have gone on to secure a permanent managerial post after performing well as a caretaker.

Only one manager, Armando Colaco, has remained in his position since the formation of the I-League in 2007. The most recent appointment was Prasanta Banerjee as manager of Mohun Bagan. Currently 8 of the managers are from India.

Stats and players

Seasonal statistics

^[11]

Top goal scorers

Players in the I-League compete for Golden Boot award every season which is awarded to the player with the most I-League goals. Currently former Churchill Brothers and current Mohun Bagan player Odafe Onyeka Okolie holds the record for most golden boots with three. Odafe and Dempo player Ranty Martins Soleye are the only players to win the award. Odafe is also the top goal scorer in I-League history with a total of 89 goals.

Nigerian Ranty Martins is the leader when it comes to goals scored in one season when he scored 30 goals during the 2010-11 season. Some people say that Odafe would have done better than 30 though if the 2007-08 was also 26 games long like in 2010-11 unlike the 18 it was in 2007-08. Currently 6 goals is the record for most goals scored in a single match, this was done by Ranty Martins on May 30, 2011, when Dempo (Ranty's club) beat Air India FC 14-0.

The highest scoring match in the I-League was on May 30, 2011, when Dempo SC won 14-0 against Air India.

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, Sporting Clube de Goa, United Sikkim, Royal Wahingdoh and Mumbai building broad based clubs while retaining corporate ownership and support.

Champions

In Asia

For more information on Indian clubs in Asia go to Indian clubs in the Asian Football

References

External links

• the-aiff.com Official website of the All India Football Federation
• I-League: Goal.com
• Indian Club Profiles
• I-League: kolkatafootball.com