2023–24 I-League

The 2023–24 I-League will be the 17th season of the I-League, second season as the second tier of Indian football league system.[2]

I-League
Season2023–24
Dates28 October 2023 – April 2024[1]

Changes from last season

Relegated to I-League 2

Corporate entries

The AIFF accepted five bids for direct entry to I-League.[11][12][13]

Bunkerhill Pvt Ltd (Ambala) withdrew its bid after inking a majority shareholding in Mohammedan. Nimida United Sports Development Pvt Ltd (Bengaluru United) and Concatenate Advest Advisory Pvt Ltd (Delhi) were unable to fulfill the bid conditions.[16][17]

Inter Kashi, from a tier-2 city (Varanasi), will have relegation immunity for two seasons; while Namdhari FC, from a tier-3 city (Sri Bhaini Sahib village), will be free from relegation for one season.[18]

Rules

After the clubs requested to increase the maximum number of players allowed in a squad, the Committee decided to increase the player quota from 30 to 35. Clubs will also have to sign eight U-22 players.[19]

Format

AIFF proposed to revamp the league format by dividing the 16 teams into two conferences or zones, similar to Major League Soccer, with the top 4 teams from each conference qualifying for the playoffs and the bottom four battling to avoid relegation, instead of traditional home-away format.[20][21] The change was suggested to make the league cost-effective for clubs by reducing travel time. However, with only 13 teams left to participate in the league, the proposed changes were dropped in favor of the traditional home-away format.[6][22]

Teams

13 teams to compete in this edition of the I-League; nine from the previous season, two promoted from the 2022–23 I-League 2, and two with direct entry.[6][5] Five teams are set to play their home games out of their home state or city because of various reasons.[23]

2023–24 I-League clubs
Locations of I-League clubs
Club State/UT City Stadium Capacity
Aizawl Mizoram Aizawl Rajiv Gandhi Stadium 20,000
Churchill Brothers Goa Vasco Tilak Maidan 5,000
Delhi[n 1] Delhi New Delhi Namdhari Stadium 1,000
Gokulam Kerala Kerala Kozhikode EMS Stadium 50,000
Inter Kashi Uttar Pradesh Varanasi Ekana Football Stadium 2,000
Mohammedan West Bengal Kolkata Naihati Stadium 20,000
Namdhari Punjab Bhaini Sahib Namdhari Stadium 1,000
NEROCA[n 2] Manipur Imphal Kalyani Stadium 20,000
Rajasthan United[n 3] Rajasthan Jaipur Deccan Arena 1,500
Real Kashmir Jammu & Kashmir Srinagar TRC Turf Ground 11,000
Shillong Lajong Meghalaya Shillong SSA Stadium 5,000
Sreenidi Deccan Telangana Hyderabad Deccan Arena 1,500
TRAU[n 4] Manipur Imphal Kalyani Stadium 20,000

Personnel and sponsorship
Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Aizawl Netherlands Erol Akbay India Lalchhawnkima Philippines Vamos[24] NECS Limited[25]
Churchill Brothers Argentina Edgardo Malvestiti India Track-Only [26] Churchill Brothers
Delhi India Yan Law India Gurtej Singh India Nivia Colordesign India[27]
Gokulam Kerala Spain Domingo Oramas Cameroon Aminou Bouba India Do's[28] CSB Bank[29]
Inter Kashi Spain Carlos Santamarina India SIX5SIX Cello
Mohammedan Russia Andrey Chernyshov India SIX5SIX[30] Openion Edge[31]
Namdhari Spain Francesc Bonet
NEROCA Malaysia Jacob Joseph Sierra Leone David Simbo India King GOELD Frozen Foods[32]
Rajasthan United India Pushpender Kundu India Ao Sports[33]
Real Kashmir England Gifton Noel-Williams Germany Adidas[34] Hotel CH2 Srinagar[34]
Shillong Lajong England Stuart Watkiss India Atlanson Kharmaw India King
Sreenidi Deccan Portugal Carlos Vaz Pinto Colombia David Castañeda India Vallion Sreenidhi Sports Academy
TRAU India Nandakumar Singh Saint Kitts and Nevis Gerard Williams India SIX5SIX[35] HVS

Coaching changes
Team Outgoing head coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Round Table Incoming Date of appointment Ref.
Gokulam Kerala Spain Francesc Bonet End of contract 31 May 2023 Pre-season Spain Domingo Oramas 6 June 2023 [36]
Delhi India Surinder Singh End of contract 31 May 2023 India Yan Law 25 June 2023 [37]
Inter Kashi Inaugural manager Spain Carlos Santamarina 29 June 2023 [38]
Churchill Brothers India Mateus Costa End of contract 31 May 2023 Argentina Edgardo Malvestiti 29 July 2023 [39]
Mohammedan India Mehrajuddin Wadoo Sacked 22 August 2023 Russia Andrey Chernyshov 29 August 2023 [40]
Aizawl India Caetano Pinho End of interim period 31 May 2023 Netherlands Erol Akbay 2 September 2023 [41]
NEROCA India Khogen Singh End of contract 1 October 2023 Malaysia Jacob Joseph 8 October 2023 [42]
Namdhari Serbia Marko Djerkovic End of contract Spain Francesc Bonet 6 October 2023 [43]

Foreign players

Note: Players in bold have senior international cap(s) for their respective nations.

Initially, the Committee decided to reduce registered foreign players to five in the squad and three in the starting line-up and remove the mandatory Asian quota.[44][45]

However, on 22nd August 2023, the AIFF decided to retain the number of foreigners a club can sign in the I-League. Like the 2022–23 season, clubs can register six foreign players (including one from an AFC Member Association) in their matchday squad. However, they can field only four (one must be from an AFC Member Association) at any given point during a match.[46]

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 AFC player
Aizawl Serbia Ivan Marić Poland Rafał Zaborowski Brazil Gustavo Silva Ivory Coast Manucho Tajikistan Ansar Maksari
Churchill Brothers Uruguay Martín Cháves Argentina Emiliano Callegari Argentina Ricardo Dichiara Iran Meysam Shahmakvandzadeh
Delhi Brazil Aroldinho Brazil Sérgio Barboza Brazil Hudson Dias Senegal Pape Gassama Egypt Alla Nasr
Gokulam Kerala Cameroon Aminou Bouba Nigeria Justine Emmanuel Spain Álex Sánchez Spain Edu Bedia Spain Nili Perdomo Tajikistan Komron Tursunov
Inter Kashi England Peter Hartley Spain Fran Gómez Spain Jordan Lamela Spain Julen Pérez Spain Mario Barco
Mohammedan Argentina Alexis Gómez Ghana Joseph Adjei Ghana Prince Opoku Honduras Eddie Hernández Uzbekistan Mirjalol Kasimov
Namdhari Colombia Olmes García Ghana Stephen Acquah Spain Imanol Arana
NEROCA Guinea Younoussa Camara Jamaica Fabian Reid Sierra Leone David Simbo Romania Bogdan Gavrila Romania Marius Leca Lebanon Haidar Awada
Rajasthan United Brazil Dário Júnior Brazil Jefferson Oliveira Brazil Paulo Vyctor Ghana Richard Gadze Ghana Ibrahim Moro Ghana Richardson Kwaku
Real Kashmir Senegal Abdoulaye Sané The Gambia Mussah Barroew Burkina Faso Souleymane Sakandé Ivory Coast Gnohere Krizo Syria Shaher Shaheen
Shillong Lajong Brazil Daniel Gonçalves Senegal Abdou Karim Samb Brazil Renan Paulino Japan Takuto Miki
Sreenidi Deccan Brazil Eli Sabiá Brazil William Alves Ivory Coast Ibrahim Sissoko Colombia David Castañeda Nigeria Rilwan Hassan Afghanistan Faysal Shayesteh
TRAU Senegal Ibrahima Balde Saint Kitts and Nevis Gerard Williams Brazil Willian Reis Brazil Thawan Marcos Ghana Abraham Okyere

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Aizawl 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Champions and promotion to 2024–25 Indian Super League
2 Churchill Brothers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Delhi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Gokulam Kerala 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Inter Kashi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Mohammedan SC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Namdhari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 NEROCA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Rajasthan United 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 Real Kashmir 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Shillong Lajong 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 Sreenidi Deccan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to 2024–25 I-League 2
13 TRAU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: I-League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots

Attendances

Overall statistical table
Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 NEROCA NA†
2 Real Kashmir NA†
3 Gokulam Kerala NA†
4 Aizawl NA†
5 TRAU NA†
6 Churchill Brothers NA†
7 Mohammedan NA†
8 Rajasthan United NA†
9 Shillong Lajong NA†
10 Sreenidi Deccan NA†
11 Delhi NA†
12 Inter Kashi n/a*
13 Namdhari n/a*
League total NA†

Source: I-League
Notes:
† Teams played previous season in I-League 2.
* Teams that joined I-League through corporate direct entry.

Attendances by home matches
Team \ Match played 1234567891011 12Total
Aizawl
Churchill Brothers
Delhi
Gokulam Kerala
Inter Kashi
Mohammedan SC
Namdhari
NEROCA
Rajasthan United
Real Kashmir
Sreenidi Deccan
Shillong Lajong
TRAU

Legend:   Highest   Lowest
Source: I-League

See also

References
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  1. The club is based in Delhi but will play its home games in Punjab for the 2023–24 season due to the unavailability of stadiums.
  2. The club is based in Manipur but will play its home games in West Bengal for the 2023–24 season due to the 2023 Manipur violence
  3. The club is based in Rajasthan but will play its home games in Hyderabad for the 2023–24 season due to the unavailability of stadiums.
  4. The club is based in Manipur but will play its home games in West Bengal for the 2023–24 season due to the 2023 Manipur violence
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