PANAJI: The I-League is expected to have 16 teams this season after the All India Football Federation (AIFF) gave the go-ahead for all five corporate bidders to be provided a direct entry into the I-League.
The I-League, India’s second-tier club competition after the Indian Super League, has 12 teams with champions RoundGlass Punjab FC being promoted to the top tier.
Two bottom-placed teams – Sudeva Delhi and Kenkre FC – are relegated and will be replaced by Delhi FC and Shillong Lajong from the second division.
“The five corporate bidders meet the criteria and tick all the boxes,” a senior AIFF official told TOI after the meeting on Monday. “We cannot afford to be selective and choose, based on their financial strength alone. All five have been cleared to take part.”
Nimida United (owners of FC Bengaluru United), Namdhari Sports Academy (Ludhiana), YMS Finance (owners of Inter Kashi, Varanasi) and Concatenate Advest Advisory Pvt Ltd, who aim to start a club in Delhi, will be the new entrants in the I-League.
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The I-League, India’s second-tier club competition after the Indian Super League, has 12 teams with champions RoundGlass Punjab FC being promoted to the top tier.
Two bottom-placed teams – Sudeva Delhi and Kenkre FC – are relegated and will be replaced by Delhi FC and Shillong Lajong from the second division.
“The five corporate bidders meet the criteria and tick all the boxes,” a senior AIFF official told TOI after the meeting on Monday. “We cannot afford to be selective and choose, based on their financial strength alone. All five have been cleared to take part.”
Nimida United (owners of FC Bengaluru United), Namdhari Sports Academy (Ludhiana), YMS Finance (owners of Inter Kashi, Varanasi) and Concatenate Advest Advisory Pvt Ltd, who aim to start a club in Delhi, will be the new entrants in the I-League.
Bunkerhill Pvt Ltd (Ambala) have also got the nod, but if they complete the paperwork for a majority stake in Mohammedan Sporting Club, already in I-League, the company will be ineligible to start a new one.
“There will be 16 teams in the I-League, but we will not have the traditional home and away format,” said another official. “The format will only add to the financial burden of the AIFF and participating clubs. Instead, we are introducing a new Conference-type model, like they have in the United States.”
According to the new format, the 16 teams will be divided into two zones of eight teams each with the teams playing each other twice, home and away. The top four teams from each zone will then qualify for playoffs.
The AIFF is also planning to take the I-League playoffs to neutral venues with football-crazy Kolhapur in Maharashtra being touted as one option. Nagaland, which does not have a club in the top three leagues, has also been discussed.
(AI image)
The Federation Cup will return after a gap of six years from the 2023-24 season, the sport’s apex body said on Monday.
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