The 2021–22 I-League (also known as Hero I-League for sponsorship reasons) is the 15th season of

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

, last as the top tier of

Indian football league system The Indian football league system is the league structure of football club competitions in India. The highest level of men's club football competition in India is the Indian Super League. Indian Women's League, founded in 2016, is the highest l ...

, since its establishment in 2007. All the matches are hosted in a

bio-secure bubble A bio-secure bubble, also known as a bubble, or hub city, was a hosting arrangement for sporting events that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, under which events were held at a centralized site, often behind closed doors, with strict quarant ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

due to

COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...

. After the commencement of the first match-week of the league on 27 December, the tournament got suspended on 29 December for an uncertain period due to reports of numerous

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

cases among the players and staff.

Changes from last season

Number of clubs

The total number of clubs participating increased from 11 in the previous season to 13 in this season. In 2020 the

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry o ...

(AIFF) issued an invitation to accept bids for new clubs from non I-League cities, like

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Gangtok Gangtok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the East Sikkim district, Gangtok District. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an e ...

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

and

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

among many others, to join the league from 2020 onwards. The invitation mentioned that the entity which wins the bid will be granted the right to own and operate a new football club. On 12 August 2020, the AIFF announced that Sreenidi Deccan FC, which is based in

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...

would join from this season. On 4 December 2021, the AIFF barred the former I-League champions,

Chennai City FC Chennai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, that last competed in the I-League, then one of the top flights of Indian football league system, and Chennai Football League. Established in ...

, from participating in

2021-22 I-League Increment or incremental may refer to: *Incrementalism, a theory (also used in politics as a synonym for gradualism) *Increment and decrement operators, the operators ++ and -- in computer programming *Incremental computing *Incremental backup, wh ...

on failing to comply with club licensing regulations, and eventually replaced by

Kenkre FC Mumbai Kenkre FC (also known as Kenkre Football Club) is an Indian professional association football, football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 2000, the club currently competes in MFA Elite Division of Mumbai Football League, and ...

Promoted clubs

Promoted from the 2021 I-League Qualifiers *

Rajasthan United FC Rajasthan United Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Founded in 2018 as ''JECRC CF'', the club academy participated in R-League A Division 2019, and was the inaugural winner. In 2020, ''JECRC CF'' w ...

Relegated clubs

Relegated from the 2020–21 I-League *None

Notes

Format

Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the tournament's format was shortened last season, and the same format is being followed. All teams will face each other once in the first leg of the league, then they will be divided into two different groups. According to points table from first leg, top seven teams will face each other once again in the

Championship stage In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

, where the team with most points (cumulative points collected from all seventeen matches) will be declared the winner of the league and qualify for the

2023 AFC Cup 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

. The other five teams will play against each other in a

Relegation stage In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

where the team with the lowest points (cumulative points collected from all sixteen matches) will be relegated to 2nd Division League.

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Due to

, all the matches will be played in a single venue. AIFF declared

as the venue on 26 June. Matches will be played in

Mohun Bagan Ground Mohun Bagan Ground, also known as Mohun Bagan–Calcutta FC Ground, is a football stadium located in the maidan region of central Kolkata, just opposite the Eden Gardens. The stadium is leased to Mohun Bagan AC and is mostly used as training gro ...

in Kolkata,

Kalyani Stadium Kalyani Stadium is a stadium in Kalyani, West Bengal, India. The stadium holds 20,000 spectators. Currently the stadium has been re-modelled with full-fledged modern structure and 5 storied gallery with added facilities. It now hosts matches of ...

in Kalyani and Naihati Stadium in

Naihati Naihati is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Naihati Municipality is one of the oldest in the whol ...

Personnel and sponsorship

Head coaching changes

Foreign players

AIFF allowed maximum of six foreign players including one from AFC-affiliated country per team but only four can be part of matchday squad. Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign player as they are part of AIFF's developmental program.

Phase 1

Standings

Fixtures and results

All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated for administrative purposes.

Positions by round

Results by games

Phase 2

Championship stage (Group A)

Relegation stage (Group B)

Season statistics

Top scorers

:''As of 27 December 2021''

Top assists

:''As of 27 December 2021''

Hat-tricks

Note: ''The score of the player's team is displayed first in the result column.''

Clean sheets

:''As of 27 December 2021''

Discipline

Player

* Most yellow cards: 1 **''15 players'' * Most red cards: 1 ** Sajad Hussain Parray (Indian Arrows) **

C. K. Vineeth Chekiyot Kizhakkeveettill Vineeth (born 20 May 1988), commonly known as C. K. Vineeth, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for RoundGlass Punjab in the I-League. Personal life Born in Kannur district in the state of K ...

(RoundGlass Punjab) ** Robin Singh (RoundGlass Punjab)

Club

* Most yellow cards: 3 **Sreenidi Deccan * Most red cards: 2 **RoundGlass Punjab

Awards

* Match 1 - 78 = ''First phase'' * Match 79 - 114 = ''Second phase''

Hero of the Match

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Indian Super League season I-League seasons 1

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Changes from last season

Number of clubs

Promoted clubs

Relegated clubs

Notes

Format

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Personnel and sponsorship

Head coaching changes

Foreign players

Phase 1

Standings

Fixtures and results

Positions by round

Results by games

Phase 2

Championship stage (Group A)

Relegation stage (Group B)

Season statistics

Top scorers

Top assists

Hat-tricks

Clean sheets

Discipline

Player

Club

Awards

Hero of the Match

See also

References