The 2020–21 Indian Super League season was the seventh season of the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

(ISL) since its formation and the 25th season of the top division of the

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 is the Indian Super League. Indian Women's League, founded in 2016, is the highest level of ...

. The season started on 20 November 2020 and ended on 13 March 2021. It was hosted

behind closed doors Behind Closed Doors may refer to: Film, television and radio Film * ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1929 film), an early talkie starring Virginia Valli * Behind Closed Doors (1961 film), ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1961 film), an Italian comedy film by Dino ...

across three venues in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

due to the

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

. Mumbai City won the championship, having defeated

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, and also won the League Winners Shield for league premiers. Thus, Mumbai City became the first club to win the ISL championship title and the League Winners Shield in a single season.

Changes from last season

*Each club had the option of signing a minimum of five and a maximum of seven foreign players. Still, unlike the previous season, there should be at least one overseas player who hails from an AFC–affiliated country. *The maximum squad size was increased as the clubs were allowed to register up to 35 players in their squad. *The number of substitutions allowed, was increased from 3 players to 5 players. *Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, all matches during the 2020–21 season was played behind closed doors across three venues in

. The venues were the

Fatorda Stadium Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (also known as Fatorda Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Margao, Goa, India. The venue has been used to host both football and cricket matches. It is Goa's only international stadium and has a seating capac ...

Margao Margao (, ) is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on the banks of the river Sal. It is the district headquarters of South Goa, and administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district. It is Goa's second largest ci ...

, the

GMC Athletic Stadium The GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim is the first Sports complex, integrated athletic complex in Goa. It has been constructed according to the IAAF specifications and norms and has hosted the Athletics at the 2014 Lusofonia Games, athletic even ...

Bambolim Bambolim is a neighborhood located in the southeastern part of the city of Panaji, the capital of the Indian state of Goa. It is completely located on the island of Tiswadi, one of the talukas in the state of Goa. The only allopathic medical ...

, and the Tilak Maidan Stadium in

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

. The host venues for each team were revealed on 18 August 2020. *In June–July 2020; KGSPL, the owners of ATK, officially disbanded their football team and bought a majority stake in Mohun Bagan FC (India) Private Limited and rebranded Mohun Bagan football section as ATK Mohun Bagan which took the spot of ATK *On 27 September 2020,

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

joined the league as an expansion team and thus became the 11th team. *Since, all the matches were played in neutral venues, there was no

away goal rule Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a British film directed by David Blair * ''Away'' (2019 film), a Latvian animated silent film by Gints Zilbalodis * Away (2025 film), a drama film by Gerard Oms * ''Away'' (TV series ...

applied in the playoffs of this season.

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Personnel and sponsorship

Managerial changes

Roster changes

Foreign players

Bold letters suggest the player was signed in the winter transfer window.

Regular season

League table

Results

Playoffs

Bracket

Semi-finals

Final

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

Top Indian scorers

Hat-tricks

:''Result column shows goal tally of player's team first.'' ;Notes (H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Assists

Clean sheets

Discipline

Player

* Most yellow cards: 8 ** Pronay Halder (ATK Mohun Bagan) ** Erik Paartalu (Bengaluru) * Most red cards: 2 ** Ahmed Jahouh (Mumbai City)

Club

* Most yellow cards: 61 ** Mumbai City * Most red cards: 4 ** East Bengal ** Jamshedpur ** Goa

Awards

Hero of the Match

Season awards

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Indian Super League season

Indian Super League seasons

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Association football events curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Sport in Goa