CHENNAI: Entering its new club-run era, the Indian Super League is all set to begin on October 10, and is expected to conclude in May next year, it was announced on Saturday. The league will follow the home-and-away, round-robin format, along with the return of the play-off format. A total of 163 matches will be played this season, a considerable jump from last season's 91 matches.
Top six clubs will play for the ISL cup, while the club which finishes first on the points table will be awarded the ISL shield. Thirteen teams — East Bengal FC, Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Mumbai City FC, FC Goa, Churchill Brothers FC, NorthEast United FC, Odisha FC, Punjab FC, SC Delhi, Bengaluru FC, Inter Kashi, Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters — will participate in the league. With Diamond Harbour FC, who earned promotion from the Indian Football League (formerly I-League), failing to pay for the participation fees for the ISL, the organisers and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) have reportedly decided to go ahead with 14 teams to fulfill the relegations' mandate and place the team on the bottom and will automatically be relegated to IFL.
However, clubs are yet to finalise the broadcaster for the season. With the likes of Sony, Zee and Fancode still expressing their will to take the broadcasting rights, a final call over the same is yet to be made.
Women's league from Oct 16
After a long wait, the Indian Women's League (IWL) is scheduled to kick off on October 16. This comes after reports of outcry over the delayed start in the league, especially in a year where the women's team qualified and played in the AFC Women's Asian Cup. Eight clubs are set to compete in the upcoming season. East Bengal FC, Sethu FC, Kickstart FC, Nita FA, Gokulam Kerala FC, and Garhwal United FC are teams from last season. Two promoted sides from last season's IWL 2 — HOPS FC and Juba Sangha FC — will take part this season.
The IWL 2 group stage will commence on October 23, with 20 clubs divided into four groups of five. The group winners and the two best second-placed teams will advance to the six-team final round, which will begin on November 25.
