Its future uncertain due to the impending restructuring of the country’s football structure, the I-League kicks off on Friday with a lot of promise following a fantastic previous season and a fair amount of buzz due to Real Kashmir’s debut in the top division.
The AIFF’s development side Indian Arrows and Chennai City FC face each other in the opener at Coimbatore. Eleven clubs from 10 states will vie for honours in the league which will continue for over six months.
Srinagar-based Real Kashmir FC will be making its debut after winning the second division league earlier this year.
There is a buzz in the Kashmir Valley in anticipation of the first I-League match coming to Srinagar and also after the two-year-old club scooped a major sponsorship deal with Adidas.
Since the launch of the Indian Super League (ISL) in 2013, the I-League has become the poor cousin of the former, though the AIFF would still describe it as the top league in the country.
In terms of spectators or the playing conditions and pitch, the I-League seemed to be inferior to the ISL, though majority of its matches were also telecast live.
But surprisingly, the competitiveness among the teams and even the quality of football, according to experts, were almost similar last year.
In the previous season, I-League went down the wire with four clubs — Minerva Punjab, Neroca, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal — in title contention going into the final match-day. Minerva eventually lifted its maiden title.
Churchill, which finished ninth out of the 10 teams last season, was relegated as AIFF’s developmental side Indian Arrows was immune to this rule, but the Goan side got a breather and was retained this season.
Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are set to join the ISL bandwagon next season. With the departure of the two biggest clubs in the country, the stature of the I-League will fall a notch down.
The name — I-League — itself may be change and is most likely to relegated to the second tier status.
