The new season of Indian Super League

The ISL-Indian Super League is getting into an exciting phase as the 2023-24 season will be the 10th season for the league. It will be momentous for Indian football fans, marking its second season as the only top division. For the record, it is also the 28th season of top-tier in Indian football. With so much happening over the past nine seasons, are we in for something huge?

Changes for this season

There are already a few changes that we can look forward to this season. For starters, this will be the first season for ISL where the promoted I-League winner competes, and the number of participating clubs has now increased to 12. The first club to have this distinction will be Punjab FC, who are promoted to the ISL 2023-24 season by winning the 2022-23 I-League.

On the negative side, the ISL clubs will not be eligible for a slot in the AFC Champions League 2024-25 as per the new club competition ranking structure. This means that instead of a direct slot in ACL, the clubs will now qualify for the AFC Cup group stage.

And last but not least, from this season onwards, it would be the League winners that will be considered the ISL Champions and not the knockout winners. That would mean that the 2022-23 league winners Mumbai City will have the ISLL Champions badge and not the knockout winners Mohun Bagan.

Way ahead

There’s always a question of how an additional team will change the quality of the league, but there is no discounting the fact that Indian football is looking set for a makeover. As the national team captain, Sunil Chhetri has emphasised – it is time the foreign leagues have more and more Indian players. That would make them household names in the football world – just like Wincomparator, where every football game in every corner of the world is covered. A collection of football match results and live scores on this page keeps you updated on every football, including the top leagues!

While reaching the same level as the famous leagues of the world, like the Premier League, is the ultimate target, it would need more significant efforts. Just that an additional team is in the league, it won’t magically increase the quality and make Indian players ready for international leagues. What it still has to do, is improve the level of competition. The objective of the ISL was to revolutionize football in India. There is a long way to go, but the league aimed to cultivate a culture that would give the sport a boost in a cricket-mad nation.

What the next decade of ISL should ideally see is more significant investments in infrastructure and grassroots football. There should be more focus on youth development and increased fan engagement to get more people to the stadium. On the pitch, there should be a focus on getting better players and boosting the level of competition and the league’s overall popularity.

There is no shortcut to success, and Indian Super League has been going through the same over the past decade. We have seen a good platform set up, but that doesn’t change the fact that the next ten years will be crucial.

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