User:ArsenalFan700/I-League
Football league / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The I-League is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 10 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the I-League 2nd Division as well as a system of direct-entry.
Founded | 2007 |
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Country | India |
Confederation | AFC |
Number of teams | 10 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | I-League 2nd Division |
Domestic cup(s) | Federation Cup Durand Cup |
International cup(s) | AFC Champions League AFC Cup |
Current champions | Bengaluru FC (1st title) (2013–14) |
Most championships | Dempo (3 titles) |
TV partners | TEN Action |
Website | I-League.org |
Current: 2014–15 I-League |
Seasons run from December to May, with teams playing 24 matches each, totalling 156 matches in the season.[1] Most games are played in the afternoons during the weekends on midweek. It is currently sponsored by Airtel and thus officially known as the Airtel I-League.[2]
The competition, formed as the ONGC I-League in 2007 in an effort to professionalize the game in India after holding the old National Football League for eleven seasons, replaced the NFL as the primary competition in the country.[3] The leagues first official broadcaster was Zee Sports.[4] The first goal for the league was to have 16 teams by the third season, by which the league would be spread all around India.[4]
Since the league inception, a total of four clubs have been crowned champions of the I-League. Of the 21 clubs to have competed since the inception of the I-League in 2007, the teams to have won the title are Bengaluru FC (1), Churchill Brothers (2), Dempo (3), and Salgaocar (1). The title has only been won once by a team from outside of the state of Goa with the first six of seven editions of the league being won by Goan sides. The current champions of the I-League are Bengaluru FC.