I-League

The I-League, officially known as the Hero I League due to sponsorship reasons, is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. Contested by 9 clubs (currently), it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the I-League 2nd Division as well as a system of direct-entry.

Seasons run from January to May, with teams playing 18 matches each, totalling 90 matches in the season. Most games are usually played in the afternoons during the weekends or midweeks. It is currently sponsored by Hero.

The competition, formed as the ONGC I-League in 2007 in an effort to professionalize the game in India after holding the old National Football League for eleven seasons, replaced the NFL as the primary competition in the country. The league's first official broadcaster was Zee Sports. The first goal for the league was to have 16 teams by the third season, by which the league would be spread all around India.

Since the league inception, a total of five clubs have been crowned champions of the I-League. Of the 21 clubs to have competed since the inception of the I-League in 2007, the teams to have won the title are Mohun Bagan A.C. (1), Bengaluru FC (1), Churchill Brothers (2), Dempo (3), and Salgaocar (1). The title has only been won twice by a team from outside of the state of Goa with the first six of eight editions of the league being won by Goan sides. The current champions of the I-League are Mohun Bagan A.C. beating the 2013-14 season champions Bengaluru FC by drawing the season finale fixture at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore. This is Mohun Bagan A.C.'s first National title in 13 years.

2015–16 I-League

The 2015–16 I-League will be the ninth season of the I-League, the Indian professional football league, since its establishment in 2007. The season will commence on 9 January 2016, after the Indian Super League finishes, and will conclude in May 2016.

Mohun Bagan will enter the season as the reigning champions while Aizawl and DSK Shivajians will enter the league for the first time in their history, Aizawl through promotion from the I-League 2nd Division and DSK Shivajians through a direct-entry spot.

Teams

After the 2014–15 I-League season, three-time I-League champions, Dempo, were relegated to the I-League 2nd Division.Mizo club, Aizawl, were promoted from the 2nd Division earlier in May following a 4–2 victory over Chanmari.DSK Shivajians were announced as the direct-entry club for this season on 12 November 2015.

In August 2015, it was first reported that Pune clubs, Pune, and Bharat FC, the direct-entry side from the previous season, would be withdrawing from the I-League due to the lack of a "long-term vision" for the league. Then, towards the end of October, it was announced that both Pune and Bharat FC had failed to compile to the AFC-licensing criteria needed to participate in the I-League. On 21 November 2015, it was confirmed that Royal Wahingdoh, another debutant club from the previous season, were withdrawing from the league.

2009–10 I-League

This season marks the addition of four new teams, with Lajong SSC, Pune FC, Salgaocar Sports Club and Viva Kerala are confirmed to participate in the I-League. With the inception of these four clubs, many club transfers have been undergone within India, and around the world. The length of the regular season will be longer than in previous years, with 26 rounds rather than 22.

The season kicked off on October 1, 2009 with Mahindra United hosting defending champions Churchill Brothers in Mumbai.

Rule Changes

India became the latest member association to adopt AFC’s 3+1 rule which will allow clubs to recruit one player of Asian origin in addition to their regular quota of three foreigners.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) executive committee decided to embrace the new AFC rule which encourages the mobility of talented Asian players and provides a fillip to the regional game.

Season So Far

League

League may refer to:

See also

League (unit)

A league is a unit of length (or, in various regions, area). It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The word originally meant the distance a person could walk in an hour. Since the Middle Ages, many values have been specified in several countries.

Different definitions

English-speaking world

On land, the league was most commonly defined as three miles, though the length of a mile could vary from place to place and depending on the era. At sea, a league was three nautical miles (6,076 yards; 5.556 kilometres). English usage also included any of the other leagues mentioned below (for example, in discussing the Treaty of Tordesillas).

Ancient Rome

The league was used in Ancient Rome, defined as 1.5 Roman miles (7,500 Roman feet, 2.2 km, 1.4 mi.). The origin is the "leuga gallica" (also: leuca Gallica), the league of Gaul.

Argentina

The Argentine league (legua) is 5.572 km (3.462 mi) or 6,666 varas: 1 vara is 0.83 m (33 in).

Sports league

A sports league is a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an international professional league making large amounts of money and involving dozens of teams and thousands of players.

Terminology

Synonyms

In many cases, organizations that function as leagues are described using a different term, such as association, conference, leaderboard, or series. This is especially common in individual sports, although the term "league" is sometimes used in amateur individual sports such as golf.

The term "league" is also sometimes applied to competitions that would more traditionally be called tournaments, such as the UEFA Champions League, which is organized with multiple small round-robin competitions followed by a single elimination tournament to choose an overall winner.

Leagues and league systems