I-League 2nd Division

The I-League 2nd Division is the 3rd highest division overall in the Indian football league system after the I-League. It is also known as Hero 2nd Division League for sponsorship reasons.

I-League 2nd Division
Founded2008 (2008)
1997-2007 (as Second Division)
CountryIndia
Number of teams18
Level on pyramid3
Promotion toI-League
Domestic cup(s)Durand Cup
Current championsTRAU
(2018–19)
TV partnersKolkata TV (Only home games of Mohammedan)
Facebook (Final Round)
WebsiteI-League 2nd Division
2019–20 2nd Division League

The I-League 2nd Division was introduced for the 2008 season, having been previously known as the National Football League 2nd Division. The State FA's nominates the teams who have finished in the top 5 of their respective State Leagues, which are later approved by the All India Football Federation to participate in the consequent 2nd division league.

History
I-League 2nd Division Champions
Season Champions
2008 Mumbai FC
2009 Salgaocar
2010 ONGC
2011 Shillong Lajong
2012 United Sikkim
2013 Rangdajied United
2014 Royal Wahingdoh
2015 Aizawl
2015–16 Dempo
2016–17 NEROCA
2017–18 Real Kashmir
2018–19 TRAU
Further information:
Indian football champions

The I-League 2nd Division was introduced during the 2008 season. The first game was played on 25 March 2008 between Mohammedan and Amity.

The 2008 season saw Mohammedan, Mumbai, Vasco, and Chirag United get promoted to the I-League. The next season in 2009 saw Pune, Shillong Lajong, Viva Kerala, and Salgaocar promoted to the I-League.

Since 2010, only 2 teams were promoted to I-League. ONGC and HAL promoted in 2010. In 2011 Shillong Lajong and Sporting Clube de Goa were promoted with Lajong being promoted for the 2nd time. In 2012, ONGC and United Sikkim were promoted for 2012–13 season. The 2013 season saw Rangdajied United F.C and Mohammedan qualifying for I-League 2013–14.

In 2014, only one team got promoted from the 2nd division and similarly only one team got relegated from 2013–14 season.

The official logo for the second tier football club competition of India – the 2nd Division League – has been officially introduced by the All India Football Federation on 17 March 2015.[1] That year only one team got promoted from the 2nd division (Aizawl F.C.) and similarly only one team got relegated from I-League(Dempo).

Sponsorship

From 2008 to 2011 the league was sponsored by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and was named the ONGC I-League 2nd Division. ONGC was also the title sponsor of the I-League. In October 2011 ONGC was dropped as a sponsor.

Period Sponsor Tournament
2008—11 ONGC ONGC I-League 2nd Division
2011—17 No Sponsor I-League 2nd Division
2017—Present Hero Motocorp Hero I-League 2nd Division

Media Coverage
Period TV Telecast Online Streaming
2017–present Kolkata Tv MyCujooTV, Facebook

Structure of the league

2008–2015

Previously, the league was formatted as a neutral venue competition with teams split into groups in which all the groups play in one stadium each. The final round is contested in a double round-robin format, after which the top two teams get promoted to the I-League. But from 2015 there was a change in format. There was no preliminary round and no division of team based on team. The 8 eight teams played against each other twice at neutral venues.

2015–2017

The I-League core committee approved the plans for the 2015–16 I-League 2nd division matches to be played on a home and away basis. The preliminary rounds will be played in the ‘conference’ system with the teams being divided into Eastern and Western conferences. Top 3 teams from each conference will qualify for the final round of the 2015–2016 season of 2nd division I-League.[2]

To widen the football map of the country and to bolster the football structure, l-League Core Committee decide to launch the 2nd division qualifier for 2016–17 season. Participants from all the state associations would be invited to take part in 2nd division league 2016–17 qualifiers. The state associations need to nominate 2 (two) teams with best results, apart from the teams who would compete in Hero I-League and 2nd division league in 2015–16 season, from the state league 2015–16, to compete in the 2nd division qualifiers. The teams will fight it out amongst themselves in the zonal round followed by the final round. Eventually top two teams from the final round will get a nod to the 2nd division league 2016–17, provided that they fulfill the club licensing requirements in the due time.[3]

2017–18

The format was further altered from 2017–18 season, the league was divided in two stages: the Preliminary and the Final. The tournament will also feature reserve teams of Indian Super League clubs. In the preliminary stage, 18 teams were divided into three groups where all matches would be played on a home and away basis. The winners of each group plus the best second-placed team would qualify for the final round. However, if reserve teams of ISL clubs finish as winners or runners-up in any group, the position was passed on onto the next non-ISL team. The final round will be played at a central venue, the winners of which would be promoted to the next tier of Indian Football.[4]

2018–19

Sixteen teams are allowed to participate in this season by the league committee. [5]

Clubs

The following clubs are participating in the 2019–20 I-League 2nd Division

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Locations of the 2018–19 I-League 2nd Division teams
Team City/State Stadium Capacity
Gujarat FC Ahmedabad, Gujarat TransStadia 20,000
ATK (R) Kolkata, West Bengal Sailen Manna Stadium 15,000
Bengaluru (R) Bengaluru, Karnataka Bangalore Football Stadium 8,400
Chennaiyin (R) Chennai, Tamil Nadu SSN College Ground TBA
Chhinga Veng Aizawl, Mizoram Rajiv Gandhi Stadium 20,000
Fateh Hyderabad Hyderabad, Telangana Gachibowli Stadium 30,000
Goa (R) Margao, Goa GMC Stadium 3,200
Hindustan Delhi Ambedkar Stadium 35,000
Jamshedpur (R) Jamshedpur, Jharkhand JRD Tata Sports Complex 24,500
Kerala Blasters (R) Ernakulam, Kerala Maharaja's College Stadium 15,000
Lonestar Kashmir Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir TRC Turf Ground 15,000
Mohammedan Kolkata, West Bengal Mohammedan Ground 15,000
Ozone Bengaluru, Karnataka Bangalore Football Stadium 8,400
Rainbow Barrackpore, West Bengal Vidyasagar Krirangan 22,000
South United Bengaluru, Karnataka Bangalore Football Stadium 8,400

Previous seasons

Relegated teams (from I-League to I-League 2nd Division)
Season Clubs
2007–08 Viva Kerala, Salgaocar
2008–09 Mohammedan, Vasco
2009–10 Sporting Clube de Goa, Shillong Lajong
2010–11 JCT, ONGC
2011–12 Chirag United Kerala, HAL
2012–13 Air India, United Sikkim
2013–14 Mohammedan
2014–15 Dempo
2015–16 None[lower-alpha 1]
2016–17 Mumbai
2017–18 None[lower-alpha 2]
2018–19 Shillong Lajong
  1. Aizawl FC were relegated, but reinstated to I-League due to withdrawal of 3 Goan clubs.[6]
  2. Churchill Brothers S.C. were relegated, but reinstated to I-League after the appeal.[7]

Prize money

As updated on 28 February 2018.

Purse
Champions₹ 50 Lakhs
Runners-up₹ 25 Lakhs
Matchday Subsidy₹ 50 Thousand
Match winner₹ 25 Thousand
Hero of the Match₹ 12.5 Thousand

Winning Coaches
Winning head coaches
Head coach Club Wins Winning years
L.Nandakumar Singh Royal Wahingdoh,TRAU 2 2014, 2018–19
Dave Booth Mumbai 1 2008
Peter Vales Salgaocar 1 2009
Caetano Pinho ONGC 2010
Pradyum Reddy Shillong Lajong 2011
Philippe De Ridder United Sikkim 2012-13
Karsing Kurbah Rangdajied United 2013-14
Hmingthana Zadeng Aizawl 2014-15
Mauricio Afonso Dempo 2015-16
Gift Raikhan NEROCA 2016-17
David Robertson Real Kashmir 2017-18

Current Head Coach

The current head coaches in the I-League are:

Current head coaches
Nat. Name Club Appointed Time in charge
Sankarlal ChakrabortyBhawanipore10 July 20191 year, 36 days

Top scorers
Season Top scorer Club Goals
2008 Fredrick Okwagbe HAL 6
2009 Babatunde Viva Kerala 6
2010 Badmus Babatunde ONGC 4
Joy Ferrao Vasco
2011 Stanley Okoroigwe Techno Aryan 6
2012 Daniel Bedemi United Sikkim 11
2013 Badmus Babatunde Rangdajied United 8
Hudson Lima Silva Bhawanipore
2014 Daniel Bedemi Bhawanipore 8
2015 Ajay Singh Mohammedan 11
2015–16 Felix Chidi Odili Dempo 7
Atinder Mani Lonestar Kashmir
2016–17 Odafa Okolie Southern Samity 9
Felix Chidi Odili NEROCA
2017–18 Robert de Souza Ribiero Ozone 10
2018–19 Phillip Adjah Mohammedan 10
Princewell Emeka TRAU

See also

References
  1. Arunava Chaudhuri (17 March 2015). "2nd division I-League logo launched by AIFF today".
  2. Abhishek Jain (26 August 2015). "Change in format for I-League 2nd division".
  3. http://i-league.org/football-calendar-will-be-bolstered-with-second-division-league-qualifiers/
  4. "AIFF LEAGUE COMMITTEE MEETS AT FOOTBALL HOUSE". 19 February 2018.
  5. "LEAGUE COMMITTEE MEETS AT AIFF HQ IN NEW DELHI". AIFF. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  6. "I-League 2016/17: Aizawl FC reinstated after getting relegated last season, Salgaocar FC opt out". sportskeeda.com. 26 September 2016.
  7. "AIFF reinstates Churchill Brothers in I-League". 20 September 2018.
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