2021–22 I-League

The 2021–22 I-League (also known as Hero I-League for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th season of I-League, last as the top tier of Indian football league system, since its establishment in 2007. All the matches were hosted in a bio-secure bubble in West Bengal due to COVID-19 pandemic in India.

After the commencement of the first match-week of the league on 27 December 2021, the tournament got suspended on 29 December due to reports of numerous COVID-19 cases among the players and staff. All India Football Federation released new dates on 1 February 2022, with a revised schedule of the league resuming from 3 March.

The AIFF allowed spectators in the second phase of the league. On final matchday, with only a draw needed, Gokulam Kerala defeated Mohammedan by 2–1 to successfully defend the title, becoming the first team to do so in I-League and first time in 14 years to do so in the Indian football league's history.

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

In 2020 the AIFF issued an invitation to accept bids for new clubs from non I-League cities, like Delhi, Gangtok, Ranchi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mangalore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ahmedabad and Calicut 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, which is based in Visakhapatnam would join from this season.

On 4 December 2021, the AIFF replaced Chennai City by Kenkre.

Promoted clubs
Promoted from the 2021 I-League Qualifiers Through Direct entry
 * Rajasthan United
 * Kenkre
 * Sreenidi Deccan

Relegated clubs
Relegated from the 2020–21 I-League
 * None

Notes:

Format
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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, 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 Playoffs for 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage. The other six teams will play against each other in a Relegation stage where the team with the lowest points (cumulative points collected from all sixteen matches) will be relegated to 2nd Division League.

Stadiums and locations
AIFF declared West Bengal as the venue for the second straight season on 26 June, with all matches being played at Kalyani Stadium in Kalyani and Naihati Stadium in Naihati. The final match of the league was later rescheduled to be hosted at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.

Foreign players
Note: Players in bold has senior international cap(s) for their respective nations.

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.

Fixtures and results
All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated to identify Team 1 and Team 2 respectively.

Fixtures and results
All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated to identify Team 1 and Team 2 respectively.

Top scorers

 * As of 15 May 2022

Note: Only top 10 goalscorers of the season has been listed below.

Top assists

 * As of 14 May 2022

Note: Only top 3 assist providers have been listed below.

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

Clean sheets

 * As of 14 May 2022

Note: Only top 5 goalkeepers with most cleansheets have been listed below.

Player

 * Most yellow cards: 7
 * 🇦🇷 Mauro dos Santos (Rajasthan United)


 * Most red cards: 2
 * Robert Primus (Aizawl)

Club

 * Most yellow cards: 35
 * Churchill Brothers


 * Most red cards: 5
 * Real Kashmir

Awards

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

I-League All Stars
A combined all Indian squad of this season's I-League was prepared to play to a friendly against India national football team.


 * Goalkeepers: Bhaskar Roy, Shubham Dhas.


 * Defenders: Manoj Mohammad, Mohammed Salah, Chungnunga Lal, Lalramchullova, Suresh Meitei, Asheer Akhtar, Gurmukh Singh, Tanmoy Ghosh.


 * Midfielders: Faisal Ali, Sweden Fernandes, William Pauliankhum, Freddy Lallawmawma, Konsam Phalguni Singh, Maheson Singh, Jijo Joseph, Kabir Nath, Jiteshwor Singh.


 * Forwards: Ranjeet Singh Pandre, Parthib Sundar Gogoi.