2020–21 I-League

The 2020–21 I-League is the 14th season of the I-League, one of the top Indian professional football leagues, since its establishment in 2007.

I-League
Season2020–21
DatesTBD
2021–22 →
All statistics correct as of 14 August 2020.

Mohun Bagan were declared the champions of the 2019–20 season after the cancellation of matches, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, since the second placed team could not catch up even if all 20 games were completed.[1] However, ATK, a club which plays in the Indian Super League (ISL), merged with Mohun Bagan and as a result they will be playing in the 2020–21 ISL season.[2] Hence, for 2020–21 I-League season there is no defending champion.

Changes from last season

Changes in rules and regulations
  • Each club will have the option of signing a minimum of three and a maximum of four foreign players, but unlike the previous season, there should be at least one overseas player who hails from an AFC—affiliated country.[3]

Number of clubs

All India Football Federation (AIFF) issued an invitation to accept bids for new clubs from non I-League cities, like Delhi, Gangtok, Ranchi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mangalore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Calicut among many others, to join the league from 2020 onwards. The invitation mentioned that the entity which wins the bid will be granted the right to own and operate a new football club.[4] On 12 August, AIFF announced that Sudeva FC of Delhi would join the league from this season and Sreenidhi FC, which is based in Hyderabad, will be playing from Visakhapatnam from the following season.[5][6][7]

Mohun Bagan moved to the Indian Super League and began play as a merged club, ATK Mohun Bagan.

Promoted from the 2019–20 2nd Division League

Relegated clubs

Relegated from the 2019–20 I-League

Teams
Locations of the I-League clubs

Stadiums and locations

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, all the matches will be played in a single venue. AIFF declared Kolkata as the venue on 14 August. matches will be played in stadiums in and around the city.[8]

Personnel and sponsorship
Team Head coach Captain Kit Manufacturer Sponsor
Aizawl Stanley Rozario Vamos NECS Limited
Chennai City Akbar Nawas Uhlsport[9]
Churchill Brothers Nivia
East Bengal
Gokulam Kerala Kaizen Sree Gokulam
Group
Indian Arrows Shanmugam Venkatesh Six5Six Hero MotoCorp
NEROCA Gift Raikhan Vicky Transform Living 3D
Punjab Curtis Fleming Spartan [10] Apollo Tyres
Real Kashmir David Robertson Adidas J&K Bank
Sudeva
TRAU Nandakumar Singh Nivia

Head coaching changes
Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming coach Date of appointment
Gokulam Kerala Fernando Santiago Varela End of contract 16 June 2020 Pre-season

Transfers
Further information: List of 2020–21 I-League season roster changes

Foreign players

Minimum of three and maximum of four foreign players including one player from AFC—affiliated country per team.[11] Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign players as they are the AIFF developmental team.

Team Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC Player Former Players
Aizawl
Chennai City
Churchill Brothers
East Bengal
Gokulam Kerala Andre Ettienne Marcus Joseph Nathaniel Garcia
NEROCA Varney Kallon Philip Adjah
Punjab
Real Kashmir Mason Robertson Aser Pierrick Dipanda Kashif Siddiqi
Sudeva Jason Jude Starr
TRAU

In bold: Players who are capped for their National Teams.

League table

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Indian Arrows 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification for 2022 AFC Cup group stage
2 Aizawl 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 East Bengal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Punjab 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 TRAU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Real Kashmir 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Gokulam Kerala 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Chennai City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Churchill Brothers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 NEROCA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Sudeva 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source:
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

References
  1. "League Committee sends its recommendations to the AIFF Executive Committee | Hero I-League". Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  2. "Bengaluru FC to play in AFC Cup playoffs as AIFF confirms all three continental spots for ISL teams". Scroll.in. 4 June 2020.
  3. Banerjee, Debkalpa (8 May 2020). "ISL, I-League brace for upheaval as AIFF considers altering foreign player rules". The Indian Express. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  4. "AIFF invites bids for new clubs to join Hero I-League 2020 onwards". AIFF. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  5. "Sudeva and Sreenidhi granted playing rights in Hero I-League from 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively". AIFF. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  6. "Sudeva FC becomes first club from Delhi to play in I-League | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  7. "Sreenidhi Football Club". AIFF. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  8. "Hero I-League and Hero 2nd division Qualifiers to be held in Kolkata". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  9. "Chennai City announce strategic partnership with Uhlsports". AIFF. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  10. "Spartan sports will be the official kit sponsor of Minerva Punjab FC for the upcoming season". Minerva Punjab FC. Twitter. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  11. "AIFF Implements '3+1' rule for I-League 2020-21". Indo-Asian News Service. Times Now. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
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