I-League 2
I-League 2, officially known as the Hero 2nd Division League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp, is an Indian men's professional football league.[1] It is the 3rd tier of Indian football, behind the Indian Super League and the I-League.[2] It operates as a system of promotion and relegation with the I-League and the state leagues.
 | |
| Organising body | All India Football Federation (AIFF) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997 (as NFL Second Division) 2008 (as I-League 2nd Division) |
| Country | India |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of teams | 20 |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | I-League |
| Relegation to | State leagues (provisionally) |
| Current champions | Rajasthan United (1st title) |
| Most championships | ONGC (2 titles) |
| Website | i-league |
| Current: 2022–23 | |
The 2nd Division League was introduced from the 2008 season, having been preceded by NFL 2nd Division. State FA's nominate teams who have finished at the top of their respective state leagues (or passing the required criteria). They are later to be approved by the AIFF to participate in the league or consequent qualifiers, regarding the number of nominations.
History
I-League 2nd Division was introduced during the 2008 season, with first game played on 25 March between Mohammedan Sporting and Amity United.[3]
That season saw Mohammedan Sporting, Mumbai, Vasco and Chirag United promoted to I-League. The next season saw Pune, Shillong Lajong, Viva Kerala and Salgaocar getting promoted.
Since 2010, only top 2 teams were promoted to I-League. ONGC and HAL in that year, in 2011 Shillong Lajong and Sporting Clube de Goa, with Lajong being promoted for the second time, while in 2012 ONGC and United Sikkim were promoted for upcoming season. The 2013 season saw Rangdajied United FC and Mohammedan qualifying for I-League.
In 2014, only one team got promoted from the 2nd Division, and similarly only one team got relegated from 2013–14 season.
In 2016, again only one team was promoted from the 2nd division (Aizawl F.C.), and only one was relegated from I-League (Dempo).
Due to the covid pandemic, the traditional final round format was scrapped in 2020. It was decided that the league will be rescheduled into a new format and all non-reserve teams from the preliminary stage will automatically progress to this round. It was officially named as I-League Qualifiers.[4]
After making I-League the second division of Indian football, to avoid confusion AIFF decided to rename 2nd Division to I-league 2.[5]
Competition format
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.
2015–2017
The I-League core committee approved the plans for the 2015–2016 I-League 2nd division matches to be played on a home and away basis. The preliminary rounds will be played as 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.[6]
To widen the football map of the country and to bolster the football structure, I-League committee decide to launch the 2nd division qualifier for 2016–2017 season. Participants from all the state associations would be invited to take part in 2nd division 2016–17 qualifiers. The state associations need to nominate two teams with best results, apart from the teams who would compete in Hero I-League and 2nd division league, from the state leagues 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, provided that they fulfill the club licensing requirements in the due time.[7]
2017–2018
The format was further altered from 2017–2018 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 are 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 finishes as winners or runners-up in any group, the position is 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.[8]
2018–2019
Sixteen teams were allowed to participate in this season by the league committee.[9]
2021
A new format was introduced named as I-league Qualifiers. 10 teams promoted from state leagues battled for I-league qualification.
2022–2023
In a meeting held on December 16 2022, the AIFF league committee has recommended that states that have conducted their regional leagues in previous season nominate clubs for the Hero I-League 2, with six reserve teams of the Hero ISL also joining them. A pre-tournament qualifier was held for the teams from states that have not conducted their leagues in 2021–22, from which the top two teams gained entry into the Hero I-League 2, bringing the total number of clubs to 20.
These 20 teams are divided into the four groups of five and play each other in a round-robin home and away format. The group winners, along with the best second-placed team, play in the Final round, a single-leg round robin format competition.[10]
Clubs
All time clubs
| Clubs, currently in I-League 2 | |
| Clubs, currently in ISL, IL | |
| Clubs, currently in State leagues | |
| Reserves sides of ISL, IL clubs | |
| Defunct clubs |
Relegated teams (from I-League to I-League 2nd Division)
- Aizawl FC were relegated, but reinstated to I-League due to withdrawal of 3 Goan clubs.[11]
- Churchill Brothers S.C. were relegated, but reinstated to I-League after the appeal.[12]
- Aizawl FC were relegated, but reinstated to I-League after inclusion of two I-League clubs to Indian Super League
- NEROCA FC were relegated but were reinstated by AIFF after viewing the situation of COVID-19 pandemic in India.[13]
- Mumbai Kenkre FC were relegated but were reinstated after the closure of the Indian Arrows project.[14]
Sponsorship & media coverage
Sponsorships
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—2011 | ONGC | ONGC I-League 2nd Division |
| 2011—2017 | I-League 2nd Division | |
| 2017— | Hero MotoCorp | Hero I-League 2nd Division / I-League Qualifiers (2020) |
Broadcasters
| Period | TV telecast | Online streaming |
|---|---|---|
| 2007–2010 | Zee Sports | |
| 2010–2017 | Ten Action, Ten Sports | DittoTV |
| 2017–2019 | JioTV | |
| 2019–2022 | 1Sports | Facebook, JioTV |
| 2022– | AIFF | YouTube |
Head coaches
| Nat. | Name | Club | Appointed | Time in charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Surinder Singh | Delhi FC | 2 January 2021 | 2 years, 138 days |
| Caetano Pinho | Corbett FC | 29 November 2021 | 1 year, 172 days |
| Vivek Nagul | ARA FC | 27 January 2021 | 2 years, 113 days |
| Amit Kumar Jaiswal | Madan Maharaj FC | 9 August 2021 | 1 year, 284 days |
| Wallamkupar Kharpran | Ryntih FC | 13 November 2021 | 1 year, 188 days |
| Akhil Kothari | Kenkre | 1 June 2021 | 1 year, 353 days |
| Khalid Jamil | FC Bengaluru United | 19 January 2022 | 2 years, 121 days |
| Bino George | Kerala United FC | 20 April 2021 | 2 years, 30 days |
 | Fransesc Bonet | Rajasthan United | 3 December 2021 | 1 year, 168 days |
Winning 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 | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 | |
| Yan Law (sacked midway) |
Mohammedan SC | 2020 | |
| Vikrant Sharma |
Rajasthan United | 2021 |
Champions
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Players
Top scorers
| Season | Top scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 |  Fredrick Okwagbe |
HAL | 6 |
| 2009 | Badmus 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 Da 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 |
| Princewill Emeka |
TRAU | ||
| 2020 | Syed Shoaib Ahmed |
ARA | 7 |
| Ekombong Victor Philip |
Garhwal | ||
| 2021 | Anwar Ali jr |
Delhi FC | 4 |
Awards
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 |
See also
References
- "Hero I-League Qualifiers". www.the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- Mergulhao, Marcus (27 September 2022). "AIFF set to ban foreign players from lower leagues". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Panaji, Goa. TNN. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- I-League 2nd Division 2016-17 Archived 6 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine kolkatafootball.com. Retrieved 6 August 2021
- "Hero I-League Qualifier 2020 to get underway on October 8 | Hero I-League". Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- "AIFF League Committee meeting chaired online by Lalnghinglova Hmar". www.the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
- Abhishek Jain (26 August 2015). "Change in format for I-League 2nd division". Archived from the original on 27 August 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- "Hero I-League | Football Calendar Will be Bolstered with Second Division League Qualifiers". Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- "AIFF LEAGUE COMMITTEE MEETS AT FOOTBALL HOUSE". 19 February 2018. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- "LEAGUE COMMITTEE MEETS AT AIFF HQ IN NEW DELHI". AIFF. 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- "AIFF League Committee meeting chaired online by Lalnghinglova Hmar". Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
- "I-League 2016/17: Aizawl FC reinstated after getting relegated last season, Salgaocar FC opt out". sportskeeda.com. 26 September 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- "AIFF reinstates Churchill Brothers in I-League". The Times of India. 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 18 November 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- "AIFF likely to keep relegation on hold in I-League". The Times of India. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- "AIFF set to ban foreign players from lower leagues". twitter.com. 27 September 2022. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
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