Want to make upcoming I-League edition a grand success, says AIFF Prez Kalyan Chaubey

The 12-team competition kicks-off on November 12.

The 2022/23 I-League season is set to kick off in November. But the problem is that the exact details around it are still unknown. Nobody knows what the first game will be, where all the games will be held, or where the matches will be broadcast. AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey has, however, assured that everything is being done to ensure the season is a grand success.

The confirmed things include that the league will start on 12 November 2022. Moreover, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) also wants the league to be wrapped up in March 2023. There will be 12 teams that take part in it, with Indian Arrows being removed from the league. Kenkre FC are going to play, despite being relegated at the end of last season.

What Kalyan Chaubey said

AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey is determined to ensure the I-League is a thrilling event this time around. Speaking about the league in an interview with AIFF media, he said: “We are going all out to make the coming edition of the I-League a grand success.

“We are meticulously taking everything into consideration, about how it should be conducted, what should be the timing of the matches, who should be its broadcasters, and what should the quality of the broadcasts be.”

With around three more weeks remaining before the start of the league, it seems that certain things are still being ironed out. Last season, the I-League – which was held entirely in and around Kolkata – was streamed live on Facebook alongside being telecast on 1Sports.

But this time around, there are some changes being rung in – with the COVID-19 restrictions no longer in place in India. Like the ISL, the I-league matches will be held in a home-and-away format. Every team will get to play at least 11 games on their home ground. The play-off system will be removed too.

That means that there will no longer be two different systems to decide the I-League winner. Instead, the team with the highest point total at the end of the season will be declared the champions. That team will also be able to represent India in the AFC Cup in 2024.

For now, there are quite a lot of question marks about the immediate future of the I-League. But as the AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey notes, those should be answered soon as they look for broadcasters to telecast the games and iron out other details to make the competition a success.