I-League 2022-23 Promises a Season Like No Other with Promotion to ISL as Prize

The Indian football landscape will not be the same after the 2022-23 season as the new edition of I-League is slated to change the game on its head.

Winning the I-League would mean promotion to the top-tier Indian Super League, without paying any fee but subject to fulfilling the club licensing criteria.

After years of non-commitment to the roadmap, decided upon after consulting Asian Football Confederation (AFC), approved in 2019 – which stated that I-League champion team of 2022-23 season, as well as that of 2023-24 season, will get direct slot in the next season of the top-tier ISL, with promotion and relegation system was to kick in the ISL from 2024-25 season onwards – Indian football hierarchy is finally back on track.

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The last two seasons saw the league being played from within the confines of a bio bubble, as all matches were played in West Bengal- across Kolkata, Kalyani and Naihati. With the Covid-19 restrictions lifted, I-League will again be a pan-India affair, as 12 clubs are set to play in as many as 13 venues across the country.

With the disbanding of the Indian Arrows project by the All India Football Federation and subsequent reinstating of Kenkre FC, I-League will see participation from Gokulam Kerala, Mohammedan SC, Sreenidi Deccan, Churchill Brothers, Roundglass Punjab, Rajasthan United, NEROCA, Aizawl, TRAU, Sudeva Delhi, Real Kashmir and Kenkre FC.

HOME AND AWAY

Aizawl will play their home matches at Mizoram capital’s Rajiv Gandhi Stadium as Churchill Brothers will call the GMC Athletic Stadium in Margao their base. Gokulam Kerala will have EMS Stadium in Kozhikode and the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri as their two home stadium, and likewise Real Kashmir will play in Srinagar at the Bakshi Stadium and the TRC Turf Ground.

Mohammedan SC will move to the Kishore Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata as Kenkre will have Cooperage Ground as their base of operations. Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in Imphal will see rivals NEROCA and TRAU share amenities as Sreenidi Deccan will play at their newly launched Deccan Arena in Hyderabad and RoundGlass Punjab will call the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Mohali their home.

Football returns to the national capital since the National Football League Division 2 days as Delhi will play host to Sudeva Delhi at the Chhatrasal Stadium and outstation team Rajasthan United, who are based out of Jaipur, will play their home games at the Ambedkar Stadium as their home state does not have a single AFC standard football stadium.

With the I-League traversing the length and breadth of the country, the new season will see football reach every pocket imaginable – from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Kerala in the south with Mizoram in the east to Maharashtra in the west.

TITLE CONTENDERS

As for the contenders, defending champions Gokulam Kerala will want to make it hat-trick after they created history by becoming the first team ever to clinch back-to-back I-League titles.

Richard Towa, replaces Vincenzo Annesse as head coach with some notable changes in their roster too, knows the challenge of making it three in three.

“Every team will fight hard to stop us from making it three in a row and it will be a difficult responsibility. We are preparing for it vigorously and everybody at the club knows in their minds that we are ready to win the championship and defend our title," Towa told AIFF.

The Malbarians will kick-off the season against last season’s runners up, Mohammedan SC after missing out on the title last time around on the final day.

Andrey Chernyshov is still at the helm and will want to go that extra step this season.

“All of us are looking forward to the start of the new season. Our team wants to fight for victory in the Hero I-League. We want to show interesting, aggressive football that the fans like," Chernyshov told AIFF.

Last season’s surprise team, Sreenidhi Deccan will want to repeat their feat yet again and possibly go a few steps further this time. And they have roped in Carlos Vaz Pinto as boss.

“We want to play dominant football and fight to stay at the top of the table," Pinto was quoted as saying by I-League website.

Despite third-place finish, Pinot feels “whatever happened last season will not affect the players. This season is a new story, with new players, and new targets."

Always in the mix will be Churchill Brothers from Goa as head coach Antonio Rueda having some new faces at his command.

“We want to continue being a fearsome team in the opposition area," Rueda told I-League, adding that: “I think it will be a very even and closely contested league. There will be hardly any difference in points between the first and last positions. All the teams have been reinforced very well. Last season, any team could beat anyone, and this year I think it will be the same."

SPRING A SURPRISE

Former champions Aizawl FC and RoundGlass Punjab (as Minerva Punjab) will want to throw their hat in the ring too.

“Everything is possible in football and life, and I believe that we are a team that can beat anybody on our day," Aizawl head coach H Standly Rozario told I-League.

RoundGlass Punjab boss Staikos Vergetis too is eyeing the top spot with help pf some experienced players.

“Our vision is very clear; although we will take one game, one practice session at a time, the final target is to see our team finish at the top," he told I-League.

Rajasthan United have turned a few heads in the recent years as they arrived on the big stage out of relative obscurity. After their respectable sixth in their debut season, they have grown from strength to strength in the interim. They made their way to the quarter-final of the Durand Cup, beating stalwarts ATK Mohun Bagan and holding East Bengal to a draw, as well as winning the Baji Rout Cup.

“The I-League has a rich history of being competitive going into the final day of the season. There is no reason this season will be any different," head coach Pushpendra Kundu told I-League website.

Sudeva Delhi will have Atsushi Nakamura in charge as they welcome a few foreign stars to add to their young Indian players. Meanwhile, local hero Mehrajuddin Wadoo will lead Real Kashmir at the national level, after leaving Sudeva following a dissapointing season.

Rounding up the teams are the participants of the Imphal Derby – TRAU and NEROCA, with either team looking to build for the future and spring a few surprises. Irrespective of other match-ups, their clash is surely set to draw big numbers and be a standout fixture this season.

Given the title race in the last few season have gone the distance, another mouth-watering proposition is at the offing for football fans across India.