2023–24 I-League


The 2023–24 I-League was the 17th season of the I-League and the second season as the second tier of Indian football league system.
Mohammedan won the I-League for the first time and were promoted to the Indian Super League, while TRAU and NEROCA were relegated to I-League 2.

Changes from last season

;Promoted to Indian Super League
;Promoted from I-League 2
;Relegated to I-League 2
;Corporate entries
The AIFF accepted five bids for direct entry to I-League.
Bunkerhill Pvt Ltd withdrew its bid after inking a majority shareholding in Mohammedan. Nimida United Sports Development Pvt Ltd and Concatenate Advest Advisory Pvt Ltd were unable to fulfill the bid conditions.
Inter Kashi, from a tier-2 city, will have relegation immunity for two seasons; while Namdhari, from a tier-3 city, will be free from relegation for one season.

Rules

After the clubs requested to increase the maximum number of players allowed in a squad, the Committee decided to increase the player quota from 30 to 35. Clubs will also have to sign eight U-22 players.

Format

AIFF proposed to revamp the league format by dividing the 16 teams into two conferences or zones, similar to Major League Soccer, with the top 4 teams from each conference qualifying for the playoffs and the bottom four battling to avoid relegation, instead of traditional home-away format. The change was suggested to make the league cost-effective for clubs by reducing travel time. However, with only 13 teams left to participate in the league, the proposed changes were dropped in favor of the traditional home-away format.

Teams

13 teams competed in this edition of the I-League; nine from the previous season, two promoted from the 2022–23 I-League 2, and two with direct entry. Five teams are set to play their home games out of their home state or city because of various reasons.

Stadiums and locations


TeamState/UTCityStadiumCapacity
AizawlMizoramAizawlRajiv Gandhi Stadium20,000
Churchill BrothersGoaVascoTilak Maidan5,000
DelhiDelhiNew DelhiNamdhari Stadium1,000
Gokulam KeralaKeralaKozhikodeEMS Stadium50,000
Inter KashiUttar PradeshVaranasiEkana Football Stadium5,000
Inter KashiUttar PradeshVaranasiKalyani Stadium20,000
MohammedanWest BengalKolkataNaihati Stadium20,000
MohammedanWest BengalKolkataVivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan68,000
NamdhariPunjabBhaini SahibNamdhari Stadium1,000
NEROCAManipurImphalKalyani Stadium20,000
NEROCAManipurImphalSSA Stadium5,000
Rajasthan UnitedRajasthanJaipurDeccan Arena1,500
Rajasthan UnitedRajasthanJaipurKalyani Stadium20,000
Rajasthan UnitedRajasthanJaipurNamdhari Stadium1,000
Real KashmirJammu & KashmirSrinagarTRC Turf Ground11,000
Shillong LajongMeghalayaShillongSSA Stadium5,000
Sreenidi DeccanTelanganaHyderabadDeccan Arena1,500
TRAUManipurImphalKalyani Stadium20,000

Personnel and sponsorship

TeamHead coachCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Aizawl

Foreign players

Initially, the AIFF committee decided to reduce registered foreign players to five in the squad and three in the starting line-up and remove the mandatory Asian quota.
However, on 22nd August 2023, the AIFF decided to retain the number of foreigners a club can sign in the I-League. Like the 2022–23 season, clubs can register six foreign players in their matchday squad. However, they can field only four at any given point during a match.
ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Player 6Former player
Aizawl

League table


Charity match

The Mizoram Football Association in collaboration with Mizo Professional Footballers Association held a charity match on June 21. This match featured ISL vs I-League players from Mizoram to raise funds for Cyclone Remal victims.

Attendances

Overall

Attendances by home matches

Legend:


Updated to game played on 13 April 2024
Source:

Awards

Álex Sánchez has won the Hero of the match award the most times.