2022 23 I-League 2nd Division

Template:Infobox football league season

2022–23 Hero I-League 2nd Division (known as Hero 2022–23 2nd Division League) was the 15th season of the I-League 2nd Division since its establishment in 2008. This was the first season of I-League 2nd Division since rebranding as the third tier of Indian football league system.^[1]^[2]^[3] The league's group stage has been played from March to May 2023, parallel to the remaining part of both I-League and Indian Super League seasons. The top two teams on the league table, Delhi and Shillong Lajong, secured a place in the 2023–24 I-League season.^[4]^[5]^[6]

On 27 September 2022, the league committee meeting presided by Lalnghinglova Hmar was held. It was initially decided that 15 teams would participate in the upcoming season, including the reserve sides of ISL teams. The final phase of the league will be played on a home-and-away basis.^[7]

However, on 16 December, the league committee decided that 20 teams would play in I-League 2, consisting of 12 state league champions along with 6 ISL reserve sides and two qualification tournament winners.^[8]

On 13 January, the League committee decided that two clubs would be promoted to I-League, and two relegated clubs, along with the remaining three final-round clubs, would directly qualify for the final round of next season.^[9]

Changes from last season

The league will have state league champions or other eligible teams nominated by their respective state football associations besides the six reserve teams of the Indian Super League.

Teams will be divided into zones to minimize the travel, and the winners from each zone will qualify for the final phase.^[10]

The final round will be played on a home and away basis, consisting of 5 teams.

The two among five teams who finish at the top of the table after the final phase is promoted to the l-League.

The two relegated I-League teams and the other three final phase teams will directly qualify for the I-League 2 final phase next season.

Mandatory club licensing criteria are removed for participating in the league.^[7]

Qualification

Selection criteria

State association can nominate the state league champions or other clubs based on the conducted state leagues in the previous season.
State association can also nominate other clubs for the qualifier tournament without the state league.
Nominated institutional clubs are ineligible for participation in the league.

Teams selection through state leagues

Template:Main As per AIFF, teams will be selected to participate in I-League 2 through state leagues nominations. Only the top-qualified team can be nominated from the state league. KLASA FC was the champions of the Manipur state league, but the All Manipur Football Association didn't nominate it but instead nominated the 5th position KIYC. AIFF decided not to allow any club from Manipur in the competition. 2021–22 Indian State Leagues

Reserve teams

The reserve teams of the 6 Indian Super League clubs will participate. However, they would not be eligible for promotion.^[11]

No.	Club	City	State
1	Bengaluru FC Reserves	Bengaluru	Karnataka
2	Chennaiyin FC Reserves	Chennai	Tamil Nadu
3	East Bengal Club Reserves	Kolkata	West Bengal
4	FC Goa Reserves	Margao	Goa
5	Hyderabad FC Reserves	Hyderabad	Telangana
6	Mumbai City FC Reserves	Mumbai	Maharashtra

Qualification tournament

The states that did not conduct their leagues in the previous season nominated respective clubs to participate in the qualification tournament. The top 2 teams qualified for I-league 2.^[12]^[13]

No	Teams Selected	City	State
1	Corbett	Rudrapur	Uttarakhand
2	Downtown Heroes	Srinagar	Jammu and Kashmir
3	Shillong Lajong	Shillong	Meghalaya
4	United Chirang Duar	Kokrajhar	Assam

Qualifier group

Script error: No such module "Sports table".

Template:Football box collapsible

Clubs

Stadiums and locations

<section begin="map" /> Template:Location map+

Club	State/UT	City	Stadium	Capacity
ARA	Gujarat	Ahmedabad	Shahibaug Police Stadium	20,000
Ambernath United Atlanta	Maharashtra	Mumbai	Cooperage Ground	5,000
Delhi	Delhi	Delhi	Minerva Academy Ground
Dempo	Goa	Panjim	Dempo Academy Ground	3,000
Downtown Heroes	Jammu & Kashmir	Srinagar	TRC Turf Ground	11,000
Bengaluru United	Karnataka	Bengaluru	Bangalore Football Stadium	8,400
Golden Threads	Kerala	Kochi	Panampally Ground	2,500
Jagat Singh Palahi	Punjab	Phagwara	Hargobind Stadium
RKM FA	Chhattisgarh	Narainpur	Ramakrishna Mission Sports Complex
Shillong Lajong	Meghalaya	Shillong	SSA Stadium	5,000
Techtro Swades United	Himachal Pradesh	Una	Minerva Academy Ground
The Diamond Rock	Madhya Pradesh	Balaghat	Mulna Stadium	15,000
United	West Bengal	Kalyani	Kalyani Stadium	20,000
Bengaluru (R)	Karnataka	Bengaluru	Bangalore Football Stadium	8,400
Chennaiyin (R)	Tamil Nadu	Chennai	SSN College Ground
East Bengal (R)	West Bengal	Kolkata	Naihati Stadium	25,000
Goa (R)	Goa	Margao	Nagoa Football Ground
Hyderabad (R)	Telangana	Hyderabad	Bangalore Football Stadium	8,400
Mumbai City (R)	Maharashtra	Mumbai	Cooperage Ground	5,000

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
ARA	Template:Flagicon Vivek Nagul	Template:Flagicon Naro Hari Shrestha	SEVEN	Amul
Ambernath United Atlanta	Template:Flagicon Steven Dias	Template:Flagicon Himanshu Patil		Ambernath United Atlanta
Delhi	Template:Flagicon Surinder Singh	Template:Flagicon Gurtej Singh	Astro	Colordesign India
Dempo	Template:Flagicon Samir Naik	Template:Flagicon Shallum Pires	Shiv Naresh	Dempo
Downtown Heroes	Template:Flagicon Hilal Rasool Parray	Template:Flagicon Zubair Ahad Akhoon	Chinar	J&K Bank
Bengaluru United	Template:Flagicon Fernando Varela	Template:Flagicon Sushil Meitei	Hummel	NIMIDA
Golden Threads	Template:Flagicon Samuel Geevarghese	Template:Flagicon Bibake Thapa	Nivia	Wayna
Jagat Singh Palahi	Template:Flagicon Sukhwinder Kumar	Template:Flagicon Shamsher Singh Mahala	JB Sports	JSP Football Academy
RKM FA	Template:Flagicon Jahar Das	Template:Flagicon Suresh Kumar Dhruv	Nivia
Shillong Lajong	Template:Flagicon Bobby Nongbet	Template:Flagicon Atlanson Kharmaw	Nivia
Techtro Swades United	Template:Flagicon Vipin Thapa	Template:Flagicon Janio Fernandas	King
The Diamond Rock	Template:Flagicon Chandan Rathod	Template:Flagicon Sujit Hansda	Nivia	Apollo Tyres
United	Template:Flagicon Steve Herbots	Template:Flagicon Sanjib Mondal	Trak Only
Bengaluru (R)	Template:Flagicon Kaizad Ambapardiwala	Template:Flagicon Harmanpreet Singh Template:Flagicon Lara Sharma	Puma	JSW
Chennaiyin (R)	Template:Flagicon Cleofas Alex	Template:Flagicon Aqib Nawab	Nivia
East Bengal (R)	Template:Flagicon Bino George	Template:Flagicon Sanjib Ghosh	Trak Only	Emami
Goa (R)	Template:Flagicon Sugitesh Mandrekar	Template:Flagicon Mevan Dias	T10 Sports	Parimatch News
Hyderabad (R)	Template:Flagicon Renjith Ajithkumar	Template:Flagicon Mark Zothanpuia	Hummel	Stake News
Mumbai City (R)	Template:Flagicon Anthony Fernandes	Template:Flagicon Ahan Prakash	Puma

Group stage

6 Indian Super League reserve sides play in this round, along with 12 state champions and two state qualification tournament winners.

Twenty teams are divided into four groups of 5, where each team plays each other twice in a home and away format. Each group winner along with the best second placed team qualify for the final round.^[8]

Group A

Script error: No such module "Sports table".

Template:Football box collapsible

Group B

Script error: No such module "Sports table".

Template:Football box collapsible

Group C

Script error: No such module "Sports table".

Template:Football box collapsible

Group D

Script error: No such module "Sports table".

Template:Football box collapsible

Ranking of second-placed teams

Since Group B has fewer teams, the result against fifth-placed teams in other groups will not be counted for the table ranking below. Script error: No such module "Sports table".

Final round

The top 5 teams from the group stage will play each other in the final round in a single-leg format. The top 2 teams will qualify for the I-League.

Script error: No such module "Sports table".

Template:Football box collapsible

Season statistics

Top scorers

As of 26 May 2023^[14]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Template:Flagicon Irfan Yadwad	Bengaluru United	13
2	Template:Flagicon Hardy Nongbri	Shillong Lajong	8
3	Template:Flagicon Balwant Singh	Delhi	7
	Template:Flagicon Ateeb Ahmed Dar	Downtown Heroes
	Template:Flagicon Himanshu Patil	Ambernath United Atlanta

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Template:Flagicon Irfan Yadwad	Bengaluru United	Chennaiyin (R)	0–5 (A)	Template:Dts	^[15]

Clean sheets

As of 26 May 2023

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Template:Flagicon Bishal Lama	Shillong Lajong	6
2	Template:Flagicon Furqan Ahmad Dar	Downtown Heroes	5
	Template:Flagicon Antonio Da Silva	Dempo
	Template:Flagicon Srijith R	Bengaluru United
5	Template:Flagicon Sangramjit Roy Chowdhury	ARA	4
5	Template:Flagicon Nitish Mehra	Delhi	4

Discipline

Player

Most yellow cards: 4
- Template:Flagicon Gaurav Rawat
- Template:Flagicon Himanshu Patil
- Template:Flagicon Shahmeer Tariq
- Template:Flagicon Aron Vanlalrinchhana

Most red cards: 1
- 18 players

Club

Most yellow cards: 21
- FC Bengaluru United

Most red cards: 3
- FC Goa (R)

Attendances

Overall statistical table

Template:Fb a header Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a2 team Template:Fb a footer

References

↑ Shillong Lajong return to Hero I-League after four years. the-aiff.com(21 May 2022). Retrieved 22 May 2023.
↑ Shillong Lajong Promoted to I-League After Four Years With 2–1 Win Over Bengaluru United. news18.com(21 May 2022). Retrieved 22 May 2023.
↑ Meghalaya | Shillong Lajong FC to participate in I-League after four years. nenow.in(22 May 2022). Retrieved 22 May 2023.
↑ Delhi FC crowned Hero 2nd Division champions, earn promotion to Hero I-League. i-league.org. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
↑ Shillong Lajong return to I-League after four years. i-league.org(21 May 2023). Retrieved 22 May 2023.
↑ AIFF League Committee meets via video conferencing. www.the-aiff.com.
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 Lalnghinglova Hmar chairs AIFF League Committee meet. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 AIFF League Committee meeting chaired online by Lalnghinglova Hmar. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
↑ League Committee meets over video conferencing. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
↑ 12-team I-League next season, no promotion from second division, Mergulhao, Marcus. The Times of India(May 15, 2022). Retrieved 2022-09-29.
↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named IL2 TOI
↑ AIFF League Committee meeting chaired online by Lalnghinglova Hmar. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
↑ Four teams will play the Hero 2nd Division League 2022-23 Qualifiers in Kokrajhar. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
↑ Statistics: Hero 2nd Division League. I-League. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
↑ Chennaiyin (R) 0 – 5 FC Bengaluru United. i-league.org(31 March 2023). Retrieved 31 March 2023.

External links

Template:I-League 2 Template:Indian football league seasons Template:2022–23 in Indian football Template:Authority control

[1] Shillong Lajong return to Hero I-League after four years. the-aiff.com(21 May 2022). Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[2] Shillong Lajong Promoted to I-League After Four Years With 2–1 Win Over Bengaluru United. news18.com(21 May 2022). Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[3] Meghalaya | Shillong Lajong FC to participate in I-League after four years. nenow.in(22 May 2022). Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[winner-4] Delhi FC crowned Hero 2nd Division champions, earn promotion to Hero I-League. i-league.org. Retrieved 2023-05-26.

[5] Shillong Lajong return to I-League after four years. i-league.org(21 May 2023). Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[6] AIFF League Committee meets via video conferencing. www.the-aiff.com.

[ait-7] 7.0 ^7.1 Lalnghinglova Hmar chairs AIFF League Committee meet. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2022-10-03.

[aiff-8] 8.0 ^8.1 AIFF League Committee meeting chaired online by Lalnghinglova Hmar. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.

[9] League Committee meets over video conferencing. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2023-01-14.

[10] 12-team I-League next season, no promotion from second division, Mergulhao, Marcus. The Times of India(May 15, 2022). Retrieved 2022-09-29.

[IL2_TOI-11] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named IL2 TOI

[12] AIFF League Committee meeting chaired online by Lalnghinglova Hmar. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.

[13] Four teams will play the Hero 2nd Division League 2022-23 Qualifiers in Kokrajhar. www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2022-12-19.

[14] Statistics: Hero 2nd Division League. I-League. Retrieved 29 March 2023.

[15] Chennaiyin (R) 0 – 5 FC Bengaluru United. i-league.org(31 March 2023). Retrieved 31 March 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

2022 23 I-League 2nd Division

Contents

Changes from last season

Qualification

Selection criteria

Teams selection through state leagues

Reserve teams

Qualification tournament

Qualifier group

Clubs

Stadiums and locations

Personnel and kits

Group stage

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Ranking of second-placed teams

Final round

Season statistics

Top scorers

Hat-tricks

Clean sheets

Discipline

Player

Club

Attendances

Overall statistical table

See also

References

Further reading

External links