Template:Infobox football league season
The 2021 I-League Qualifiers or Hero I-League Qualifiers 2021 (for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of I-League 2nd Division since its establishment in 2008. The league winner secured place in 2021–22 I-League season.
Subrata Dutta, senior vice president of All India Football Federation, and AIFF league committee members held its meeting on June 26, 2021, agreeing that state associations which have conducted a league or qualifying championship, will be eligible to nominate teams for the qualifiers.[1]
Even though states are allowed to nominate two teams, the AIFF said each state association will be represented by just one team in I-League qualifiers. The AIFF has made it clear that only those states which conduct a league will be allowed to nominate a team. At least two states made direct recommendations, but were turned down.[2] AIFF allowed relaxation in case nominated clubs could not meet the financial criteria to play in I-League, if they were promoted.
On 4th December 2021, AIFF barred I-League club Chennai City FC from participating in 2021–22 season on failing to comply with club licensing regulations, and hence second-placed qualifiers team Kenkre FC was promoted.[3]
Teams
As per AIFF, ten teams will be selected to participate in I-League 2nd Division qualifiers, through State leagues. Only one team among the nominated two teams from each state will be selected.[2]
Selection criteria
- State association can nominate up to two teams based on the conducted qualifying tournament in most recent season.
- Nominated teams shall meet AIFF financial requirements and be liable to complete club licensing criteria.[4]
Nominated teams
The following teams were nominated by state associations:[5]
- Vizag FC (Andhra Pradesh)
- Oil India FC, Elevenstar Club (Assam)
- Shirsh Bihar United FC (Bihar)
- Indian Heroes Daman and Diu FC, Young Hearts FC (Daman and Diu)
- Sports Hostel Cuttack (Odisha)
- Delhi FC, Garhwal FC (Delhi)
- Vasco SC (Goa)
- Gandhinagar FC, ARA FC (Gujarat)
- Techtro Swades United FC, Shimla FC (Himachal Pradesh)
- Peerless SC, Bhawanipore FC (West Bengal)
- Hyderya Sports FC, Downtown Heroes FC (Jammu and Kashmir)
- Kerala United FC, BASCO Othukkungal (Kerala)
- FC Bengaluru United, Kickstart FC (Karnataka)
- Madan Maharaj FC (Madhya Pradesh)
- Ryntih FC (Meghalaya)
- Rajasthan United FC, Zinc Football (Rajasthan)
- Corbett FC (Uttarakhand)
- PIFA Sports FC, Kenkre FC (Maharashtra)
Selected teams
29 teams were nominated by 18 state associations. Only twelve teams fulfilled the AIFF criteria, and ten teams were accepted for the season.[6] Later AIFF decided to withdraw Hyderya Sports FC, runners up of Jammu & Kashmir Professional League, after finding the bank guarantee submitted by them to be not genuine.[7]
| Region | Qualifying tournament | Selected | City | Position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Season | |||||
| 1 | Karnataka | Bangalore Super Division | 2020–21 | FC Bengaluru United | Bangalore | Champions |
| 2 | Kerala | Kerala Premier League | 2020–21 | Kerala United FC | Malappuram | Semi-final |
| 3 | Gujarat | Gandhinagar Premier League | 2020-21 | ARA FC | Ahmedabad | Champions |
| 4 | Delhi | Delhi Senior Division League | 2020-21 | Delhi FC | Delhi | 2nd place |
| 5 | Rajasthan | R-League A Division | 2020-21 | Rajasthan United FC | Bhilwara | 2nd place |
| 6 | Madhya Pradesh | Madhya Pradesh Premier League | 2021 | Madan Maharaj FC | Bhopal | Champions |
| 7 | Meghalaya | Shillong Premier League | Ryntih FC | Shillong | League suspended | |
| 8 | Maharashtra | MFA Elite Division | Kenkre FC | Mumbai | League not conducted | |
| 9 | Uttarakhand | Uttarakhand Super League | Corbett FC | Rudrapur | League not conducted | |
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARA FC | Template:Flagicon Vivek Nagul | Template:FlagiconBala Dahir | SEVEN | Amul |
| Corbett FC | Template:Flagicon Caetano Pinho | Template:Flagicon Subodh Kumar | Nivia Sports | Amenity Sports Academy |
| Delhi FC | Template:Flagicon Surinder Singh | Template:Flagicon Anwar Ali | Spartan | Spartan |
| Bengaluru United | Template:Flagicon Richard Hood | Template:FlagiconDharmaraj Ravanan | Six5six Sports | The Organic World |
| Kenkre FC | Template:Flagicon Akhil Kothari | Template:Flagicon Ali Azhar Delhiwala | Hummel | |
| Kerala United FC | Template:Flagicon Bino George | Template:Flagicon Arjun Jayaraj | SEGA | Micro Health Laboratories |
| Madan Maharaj FC | Template:Flagicon Amit Kumar Jaiswal | Template:Flagicon Mehtab Hossain | Rocky Sports | Kamla Devi Public School |
| Rajasthan United FC | Template:Flagicon Vikrant Sharma | Template:Flagicon Ali Ola Smith | AIO Sports | MISTK |
| Ryntih FC | Template:Flagicon Wallamkupar Kharpran | Template:Flagicon Banpynkhrawnam Nongkhlaw | T10 Sports | Samkhamti |
Foreign players
Each club could register up to three foreign players in their squad. One of the foreign players had to be from an AFC member nation.
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | AFC player |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARA FC | Template:Flagicon Hamidou Dieye[8] | Template:Flagicon Bala Dahir | Template:Flagicon Vladislav Nuriev |
| Corbett FC | Template:Flagicon Rogelio Juárez | Template:Flagicon John Chidi | |
| Delhi FC | Template:Flagicon Sérgio Barboza[9] | Template:Flagicon Willis Plaza[10] | |
| FC Bengaluru United | Template:Flagicon Luka Majcen[11] | Template:Flagicon Pedro Manzi[11] | |
| Kenkre FC | Template:Flagicon Zacharie Mbenda | ||
| Kerala United FC | Template:Flagicon Gabriel Lima Silva[12] | Template:Flagicon Francis Nwankwo | |
| Madan Maharaj FC | Template:Flagicon Loveday Enyinnaya | Template:Flagicon William Twala | |
| Rajasthan United FC | Template:Flagicon Akeem Abioye | ||
| Ryntih FC |
Format
The ten participating teams have been divided into two groups of five. They will face each other once in the first league leg.
Teams finishing at the top two group positions will proceed to the Final round, where they will play against each other once in a round-robin format. The team that finishes top after the end of 26 matches, will earn promotion to the Hero I-League 2021–22 season.
26 matches are set to be played in the entire tournament, with 20 of them being in the group stage, while six matches will be played in the Final round.[13]
The total number of teams was reduced to nine, after Hyderya Sports FC was found to have produced fake bank guarantee documents.[14][15]
Preliminary round
Group A
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Group B
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Finals
Standings
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Matches
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Statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Template:Flagicon Anwar Ali Jr. | Delhi FC | 4 |
| 2 | Template:Flagicon Sérgio Barboza | Delhi FC | 3 |
| 3 | Template:Flagicon Shubham Bhowmick | Madan Maharaj FC | 2 |
| Template:Flagicon Sukjit Singh | Rajasthan United FC | ||
| Template:Flagicon Jiten Murmu | Madan Maharaj FC | ||
| Template:Flagicon Sheen Stevenson Sohktung | Ryntih FC |
References
- ↑ Hero I-League 2021-22 to be held in Kolkata, League Committee decides via video conferencing. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 One state, one team for I-League qualifiers, Mergulhao, Marcus. The Times of India(2021-07-14). Retrieved 2021-07-17.
- ↑ Kenkre FC is all set to join I-League as Chennai City FC gets barred. The Bridge. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ↑ I-League Qualifiers: AIFF to use financial criteria as tie-breaker to select teams, Mergulhao, Marcus. The Times of India(August 7, 2021). Retrieved 2021-08-30.
- ↑ States nominate 29 teams for I-League Qualifiers, AIFF to select 10. The Times of India(August 4, 2021). Retrieved 2021-08-30.
- ↑ 12 teams fulfil criteria, 10 get nod for I-League Qualifiers. The Times of India(August 31, 2021). Retrieved 2021-08-30.
- ↑ AIFF Statement. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
- ↑ Adjusting to 'new normal'. Mumbai Mirror(May 18, 2020). Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ↑ Durand Cup 2021: Indian Navy stun Delhi FC with late goal, Apte, Tanay. www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ↑ Durand Cup 2021: Indian Navy down Delhi FC 2-1 | Goal.com. www.goal.com. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 FC Bengaluru United sign foreign strikers Luka Majcen and Pedro Manzi for upcoming season. The Times of India(August 26, 2021). Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ↑ A Brazilian to play for a Kerala club, but it is not Blasters or Gokulam. OnManorama. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ↑ Hero I-League Qualifiers 2021 to kick-off on October 4. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- ↑ Hyderya Sports Kashmir FC Disqualified from I-League Qualifiers for Producing Fake Bank Guarantee. News18(2021-09-27). Retrieved 2021-09-27.
- ↑ AIFF disqualifies Hyderya Sports FC for producing fake bank guarantee. Sportstar. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
External links
Template:I-League 2nd Division Template:Indian football league seasons Template:2020-21 in Indian football