The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has announced that the 2015 I-League will commence on January 17.
TEN Sports will broadcast 75 of the 110 matches on its channel and website. The league will kick off in Bengaluru, the home of the defending champion Bengaluru FC.
It was also decided that no club could register a player after the 11th round of league fixtures. The AIFF would seek consultation with its technical team before deciding whether a goalkeeping coach would be allowed on the bench.
Interestingly, every club's practice session will be monitored by the AIFF to ensure that training is conducted by only AFC A-Licence coaches.
Among other decisions made at the I-League and Federation Cup Committee meeting here on Monday, the AIFF and league clubs agreed to hold an under-15 tournament next year. The inaugural competition would include the 10 I-League sides, two AIFF and four other academies.
The governing body believes the tournament will give a push to India’s preparations for the 2017 FIFA under-17 World Cup.
The venue and dates for the tournament, though, are still under discussion.
The two host venues for the I-League second division final round are also yet to be finalised.
The I-League’s under-19 competition will kick off in the second week of December.
The discussion on the availability of players for the AFC under-22 qualifiers in March next year remains unresolved as the league clubs will respond to the AIFF in due course.
