I-League 2nd Division

I-League 2nd Division
Founded 2008 (2008)
Country  India
Number of teams 18
Level on pyramid 2
Promotion to I-League
Current champions Real Kashmir
(2017–18)
TV partners DSport (Selected Matches)
Website Current Website
2018–19

The I-League 2nd Division is the second-highest division overall in the Indian football league system after the I-League.

The I-League 2nd Division was introduced for the 2008 season, having been previously known as the National Football League 2nd Division.

History

I-League 2nd Division Champions
Season Champions
2008 Chirag United
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

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 India ONGC ONGC I-League 2nd Division
2011—17 No Sponsor I-League 2nd Division
2017—Present India Hero Motocorp Hero I-League 2nd Division

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]

Clubs

The following clubs are participating in the 2nd Division League 2017–18

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Team City/State Stadium Capacity
Bengaluru (R) Bangalore, Karnataka Bangalore Football Stadium[5] 8,400
Chennaiyin (R) Chennai, Tamil Nadu SSN College Ground[5] TBA
Delhi Dynamos (R) Delhi Ambedkar Stadium 35,000
Delhi United Delhi Ambedkar Stadium 35,000
Fateh Hyderabad Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh Anantapur Sports Village Football Ground[6] TBA
FC Goa (R) Margao, Goa GMC Stadium 6,000
Hindustan Delhi Ambedkar Stadium 35,000
Jamshedpur (R) Jamshedpur, Jharkhand JRD Tata Sports Complex[5] 24,500
Kerala Thrissur, Kerala Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium 15,000
Kerala Blasters (R) Kochi, Kerala Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 60,000
Langsning Shillong, Meghalaya Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium[5] 30,000
Lonestar Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir TRC Turf Ground 15,000
Madhya Bharat Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh JLU Ground TBA
Mohammedan Kolkata, West Bengal Barasat Stadium[7] 22,000
Ozone Bangalore, Karnataka Bangalore Football Stadium 8,000
Pune City (R) Pune, Maharashtra Pirangute Football Ground TBA
Real Kashmir Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir TRC Turf Ground 15,000
TRAU Manipur Khuman Lampak Main Stadium[5] 35,000

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]
  1. ↑ Aizawl FC were relegated, but reinstated to I-League due to withdrawal of 3 Goan clubs.[8]
  2. ↑ Churchill Brothers S.C. were relegated, but reinstated to I-League after the appeal.[9]

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

Top scorers

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

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. 1 2 3 4 5 "TRAU fixtures". TRAU. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "Fateh Hyderabad fixtures". Fateh Hyderabad. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  7. ↑ "Mohammedan fixtures". mohammedansportingindia. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "I-League 2016/17: Aizawl FC reinstated after getting relegated last season, Salgaocar FC opt out". sportskeeda.com. 26 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "AIFF reinstates Churchill Brothers in I-League". 20 September 2018.
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