User:ArsenalFan700/I-League Revamp

The I-League is an Indian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's top football competition. Contested by 14 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the I-League 2nd Division. Seasons run from October to May, with teams playing 26 matches each, totaling 182 matches in the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekdays.

The competition formed as the ONGC I-League in 2007 following the decision to fold the old National Football League and make a new professional league. The league also started by signing Zee Sports as the official broadcaster of the I-League. The aim of the league was to have 16 clubs by the third season in which teams would be spread from all over India.

Since 2007, a total of three clubs have been crowned champions. Of the sixteen to have played in the league since the inception of the I-League in 2006, three have won the title: Dempo (3 titles), Churchill Brothers (1), and Salgaocar (1). The current champions are Dempo, who won the title during the 2011–12 season.

Formation
Following the decline of the National Football League (NFL), the All India Football Federation relaunched the national league for the 2007–08 season. The league was renamed the I-League and consisted of eight teams from the NFL plus two promoted teams from the former Division Two. The first ever I-league was sponsored by ONGC, who were also the previous sponsors of the now defunct NFL. For the first time, clubs in the I-league were allowed to register four foreigners, though teams will only be allowed to field three during a match. All matches would be also telecasted live and exclusive on Zee Sports.

The following additional incentives have also been provided for clubs participating in the I-League:

1. A subsidy of ₹250,000 for fielding a team in the U19 I-League and a subsidy of ₹250,000 for appointing administrative staff.

2. To promote greater attendances and improve the revenues of the clubs, after deducting the stadium hire charges, 90% of the gate collection will go to the host club. The club will be responsible for the selling of tickets.

3. The club will be given two perimeter boards, six fence level boards and six boards at the first tier level at their home games.

4. Prize money for winners has been increased from ₹4 million to ₹5 million, while the runners-up would get ₹2.8 million, ₹600,000 more than earlier.

5. The winners of each match will get ₹35,000, an increase of ₹5,000.

The early years (2007–2010)
The first game was played on November 24, 2007 between Dempo Sports Club and Salgaocar Sports Club. The introduction of the I-League was an attempt to seek to change the way Indian clubs approach football. All clubs were required to have at least 14 professionals on their books and the introduction of an U19 development team.

After an exciting 18 rounds, Dempo Sports Club won the championship on goal difference with Churchill finishing runners-up. Viva Kerala (now Chirag United Club Kerala) and Salgaocar Sports Club were both relegated and played the next season in the second division.

Following a Asian Football Confederation review of the I-League's progress, the champions of the I-League had been awarded a spot in the prestigious AFC Champions League in 2009.

Then the next season, after a successful first season for the I-League, featured 12 teams from four different cities. And for the first time, the champions of the league would qualify for the AFC Champions League while the runners-up qualify for the AFC Cup club championships in 2010. The bottom two teams will be relegated to the I-League 2nd Division in the next season.

The I-League 2008–09 season ran from September 26, 2008 to April 15, 2009 with a break in December for the Federation Cup and Durand Cup. Most games that season were played on Saturday's and Sunday's to attract a larger crowd.

The league expanded to 14 clubs for the 2009–10 season. Salgaocar, Viva Kerala (now Chirag United Club Kerala), Pune and Shillong Lajong were promoted for that season. Dempo later won the I-League to earn a spot into the AFC Champions League 2011.

Only 14 clubs played in 2010–11 season, with AFC criteria being taken into consideration expansion has been halted.

For the first time in the league the India U-21 team (called the AIFF XI) was part of the league, it was based in New Delhi and AIFF ran the club. Its main agenda was to provide first team opportunities to youngsters and groom them for FIFA World Cup 2018. After a long gap, Indian capital of New Delhi and major city Bangalore were back to the top flight. After 26 matches played by all 14 sides Salgaocar came out as the winners while ONGC and JCT FC were relegated to I-League 2nd Division.

Conflict of parties
On 9 December 2010 the All India Football Federation signed a 15-year, ₹ 700 Crore deal with Reliance Industries and American company International Management Group. The agreement reportedly gave IMG-Reliance all commercial rights to football in India, including sponsorship, advertising, broadcasting, merchandising, film, video and data, intellectual property, franchising and new league rights. IMG-Reliance was also reportedly given the rights to scheduling, restructuring and reformatting of the domestic competitions. At the same time, due to the end of the Zee Sports deal, title sponsors Oil and Natural Gas Corporation decided to not sponsor the league and drop there name from the league title.

On 5 October 2011 it was announced that after one season of the I-League going without telecasting that TEN Sports would broadcast the league for the 2011-12 season. The agreement was only for one season in which TEN Sports would broadcast 75 games during the season.

On 7 February 2012 the I-League clubs held a special meeting between 12 of the 14 I-League clubs (Pailan Arrows and HAL not attending) in Mumbai. Discussions in the meeting were not disclosed. On 22 February 2012 it was announced that the I-League club owners were not happy about the way IMG-Reliance was operating and how they have barely done anything to improve the league. In doing so the clubs decided that they would not fill out the Asian Football Confederation licensing criteria which would mean that I-League clubs could not play in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup. A few days before however the AIFF and IMG came out with potential plans for a revamp of the I-League along the lines of Major League Soccer in America in which there would be conferences, play-offs, etc.

On 11 March 2012 the I-League owners formed the "Indian Professional Football Clubs Association" (IPFCA) in order to safeguard there interests and promote football in India. The members of the IPFCA were Air India, Chirag United Kerala, Churchill Brothers, Dempo, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Mumbai, Prayag United, Pune, Salgaocar, Shillong Lajong, and Sporting Goa. The IPFCA also announced that there main objectives were to help make the I-League sustainable and profitable, encourage the formation of new professional clubs, and get I-League teams to play in the AFC Champions League.

There was a meeting scheduled between the AIFF, IMG-Reliance, and the IPFCA around 20 April 2012 in which IMG-Reliance would present there plan to grow the I-League to the demands of the IPFCA but the meeting never occurred with the reason never being found out for why the meeting never happened. On 4 May 2012, the AIFF hosted the last Ad-hoc meeting which was an annual meeting between the AFC and AIFF to assess how the AIFF is doing in terms of professionalism in India. The AFC President, Zhang Jilong, was also in attendance. This meeting was described as the perfect opportunity for the I-League clubs to voice there displeasure at AIFF and IMG-Reliance but instead the I-League clubs skipped the meeting for reasons unknown.

On the 18 June 2012 the I-League owners officially sanctioned the Indian Professional Football Clubs Association under the Society’s Act 1960. This was announced during a meeting with representatives of the I-League clubs. Salgaocar general secretary, Raj Gomes, was named the President of the IPFCA. Meanwhile there was more displeasure from the IPFCA as they were unhappy that the AIFF announced the schedule for 2012-13 without consulting the I-League clubs first, as promised. The organization also said that they still want to pursue their demand to make I-League a separate entity. They have also asked the AIFF and IMG-Reliance to share the television revenue earned from the I-League with the clubs.

Small rise in popularity
Despite the war between the AIFF and IPFCA, the I-League has gained a small rise in popularity. This was mainly caused by the India national football team and there participation in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Even though India lost all three of there matches the team came home being more popular and known. Subrata Pal notably gained in popularity for league after the then Pune F.C. goalkeeper made many great heroic saves during the Asian Cup. Before the Asian Cup, the I-League and Indian Football gained some more notability among the public when it was announced that India captain Sunil Chhetri signed with Sporting Kansas City (then Kansas City Wizards) or Major League Soccer from Dempo. This news was given more significance by the fact that this was the third time an Indian footballer played outside of India.

The league was given an even bigger boost from its main derby every season, the East Bengal–Mohun Bagan rivalry. The more notable match took place on 20 November 2011 when 90,000 people went to the Salt Lake Stadium to see Bagan beat East Bengal 1–0. This was a great feat for Indian football as a crowd like that Football in India is rising in popularity. More popularity was given to I-League in April 2012 when United Sikkim joined the league from the I-League 2nd Division. United Sikkim's popularity was down to the fact that United Sikkim was part owned by Indian football legend Baichung Bhutia who was from Sikkim himself.

The biggest news of the I-League era was when India captain Sunil Chhetri (who came back from Kansas City in 2011) moved out of India again, this time to play for Sporting Clube de Portugal. Several other Indian players from the league have also gone to foreign clubs as well but on trials like Subrata Pal to Red Bull Leipzig or Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to Wigan Athletic.

Meanwhile while Indian players were leaving or trialing abroad, the I-League clubs were busy signing players. The most notable signing came on 27 June 2012 when Prayag United signed Costa Rican international and former A-League player of the year, Carlos Hernández. Hernández's signing has been seen as the biggest in the league as he has also played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Churchill Brothers also made a high profile signing of lower caliber to Hernández when they signed Lebanese international defender Bilal Najjarin.

Competition
There are 14 teams in the I-League. During the course of a season (from October to May) each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 26 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion.

AFC Qualification
The I-League champions gain one spot into the AFC Cup group stage round, while the Federation Cup winners will play in the AFC Cup group stage as well.

Sponsorship
The I-League has been sponsored since 2007. There has been one title-sponsor since the league's formation.


 * 2007–2011: ONGC (ONGC I-League)
 * 2011–present: None

India
Television will play a major role in the history of the I-League. The money from television rights will be vital in helping to create excellence both on and off the field. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to Zee Sports in 2007 was at the time a radical decision. After going three years into a 10 year deal Zee Sports terminated its deal with the All India Football Federation which meant that the 2010–11 I-League season went on with no televised channel except for the Kolkata teams which managed to get a one-year TV contract with a Calcutta TV corporation to televise all home games for East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and United Sports Club. On September 30, 2011, it was announced that the AIFF broadcast partners IMG Reliance had struck a deal for the I-League to be shown regionally in Bengal and North-Eastern India on News Time Bengla and News Time Assam for the 2011–12 season. This new deal will mean that up to 75 matches would be shown live on TV for the season. On October 4, 2011, it was announced that TEN Sports would broadcast the 2011–12 season nationally across India along with the regional broadcasters and would also show at least 75 matches that season.

Financial situation
The I-League continues to experience financial problems for a variety of reasons including lack of merchandising, TV revenue or tournament income. It has been reported that most I-League clubs fail to have any marketing plan when it comes to supporters which explains average crowds of 3913 in the I-League 2010-11, making it difficult for Indian clubs to make money. Since to formation of the I-League, two clubs, Mahindra United (2010) and JCT FC (2011), have disbanded due to financial troubles. Fans have argued that attendances at I-League matches are so low because of the timing of matches during the mid-afternoon around 4:00pm Indian Standard Time. It has been suggested that matches could be moved to later in the evening when temperatures are lower and more people will be free to see the matches.

Foreign impact
Many football experts have suggested that the reason India does not do well nationally is because of the amount of foreign players playing in the I-League, mainly in attacking areas. Since the I-League began in 2007 the league has not seen an Indian take the golden boot while two Nigerians have.

Institutional football
Most football clubs in India are what are termed Institutional teams. That means it is difficult for players or coaches to turn into complete professionals. The players who play for institutional teams would also work on a full time job outside of the game for his company the team was sponsored by. This is much the same model which was found in Japan before the introduction of the J. League. The positives are that the teams are usually well resourced with players earning decent money and the prospect of employment after their footballing days finish. On the negative side, teams only represent a few thousand workers rather than whole cities and thus do not gain broad support.

Clubs, stadiums and locations
The following 14 clubs are competing in the I-League during the 2012–13 season.

Rivalries
Many teams have rivalries in the league, whether it be regional or history. The most notable rivalry in India is the rivalry between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.

All stats are sense I-League began in 2007

Youth League
Before the I-League 2010-11 season, a national youth league was set up with the I-League in order to bring young Indian talent into the league. The league's inaugural season was made up of 15 teams, each linked to the corresponding Indian club in the I-League (excluding Pailan Arrows).

Managers
Managers in the I-League are involved in the day to day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and player acquisition. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the ownership of the club and the relationship of the manager with fans. Managers are required to have a Asian Pro License which is the final coaching qualification available, and follows the completion of the AFC 'B' and 'A' Licences. The AFC Pro Licence is required by every person who wishes to manage a club in the I-League on a permanent basis.

Only one manager, Armando Colaco, has remained in his position since the formation of the I-League in 2007. The most recent appointment was Mariano Dias as manager of Churchill Brothers. Currently 9 of the managers are from India.

Top goal scorers
Players in the I-League compete for Golden Boot award every season which is awarded to the player with the most I-League goals. Currently former Churchill Brothers and current Mohun Bagan player Odafe Onyeka Okolie holds the record for most golden boots with three. Odafe and Dempo player Ranty Martins Soleye are the only players to win the award. Odafe is also the top goal scorer in I-League history with a total of 119 goals.

Nigerian Ranty Martins has scored the most goals in a single season by scoring 30 goals during the 2010–11 season. Currently Ranty Martins holds the record for scoring the most goals in a match. He scored 6 goals when his team, Dempo beat Air India 14–0 on May 30, 2011. Incidentally, this was also the highest scoring match in the I-League.

Fan's Player of the Year
The Fan's Player of the Year is awarded to the player adjudged with being the best player that season in the I-League as selected by the fans.

AIFF I-League Player of the Year
The winner of this award is selected by the I-League coaches at the end of the season and is issued by the All India Football Federation.