Indian football league system

The Indian Super League, a tournament just recently recognized by AFC or FIFA, was founded in 2013 in an effort to make football a top sport in India and to make Indian football a major player worldwide.[1] The league operates along the lines of the Twenty20 cricket Indian Premier League, and Major League Soccer of the United States.[2] Unlike the vast majority of football leagues around the world, the ISL does not use the promotion and relegation system. Instead, it uses an American style franchise system in which ten teams were specifically created to participate in the league. Each team in the ISL is composed of players from I league or state league, apart from the foreigners who may or may not be a part of the I league. In July 2017, it was proposed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that the Indian Super League champion be granted a spot in the AFC Cup, Asia's second-tier club competition.[3] On 25 July 2017, the AFC approved the AIFF's proposal. Thus, from the 2017–18 season, the Indian Super League champions were allowed to participate in the AFC Cup from the qualification stages of the competition.[3] Meanwhile, India's spot in the AFC Champions League, Asia's top club competition, was still kept by the I-League,[3] thus two leagues were parallelly running in the country. In October 2019, a roadmap for development of league in India was proposed. All stakeholders accepted the proposal where it was announced that ISL champions would now be entitled to the AFC Champions League playoffs, starting from 2021 edition and the I-League champion will get to play the AFC Cup play-off.[4] According to the roadmap FC Goa finished as league toppers of Indian Super League season 2019–20 and qualified directly to the group stage of AFC Champions League, thus becoming first Indian team to do so.[5]

In November 2019, AFC Competitions Committee decided to expand the AFC Champions League from existing 32 teams to 40 teams from the 2021 edition. India currently ranked 8th in the club competitions in the west zone. The champions of the associations ranked 7th to 10th in both the West Region and East Region are expected to get an AFC Champions League direct group stage slot starting from 2021, as long as they fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.[6][7] If India get the AFC Champions League group stage slot from 2021 edition, then the parallel league system will cease to exist and ISL will be the premier league of India and the winner will be the champions of India.

National Football League, established in 1996 by governing body All India Football Federation (AIFF) was the first "semi-professional" football league in India. The League was renamed and restructured and the I-League was founded in 2006 after India's former top league the National Football League disbanded in a successful effort aimed at increasing the game in India. Links with clubs that were not in the I-League were maintained, and each season the bottom two clubs are relegated from the I-League and replaced by two from the I-League 2nd Division. The I-League is currently contested between 11 clubs. The Kolkata Derby in the I League (and other tournaments) played between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal is one of the most fierce rivalries in the world (featured in FIFA website) and one of the oldest derbies in the world (90 years). An average 80,000 to 100,000 supporters throng the stadium in this special fixture. It was the former top domestic football league in India. The I-League champions were granted to participate in the AFC Champions League Qualification slot till 2020 edition. As per new roadmap announced in October 2019 by AFC, the ISL champions would now be entitled to the AFC Champions League group stage, starting from 2021 edition and the I-League champion will get to play the AFC Cup group stage.

The I-League 2nd Division ranks second in the hierarchy of Indian football since the disbanding of India's top league in 2005. The I-League 2nd Division has 16 member clubs divided among three divisions for the 2018–19 season. Promotion and relegation of clubs takes place between the I-league and the I-League 2nd Division.

Right now the official youth leagues in India are I-League U18, U15 Youth league and U13 Youth league. I league U18 started as U19 tournament in 2011. 2017–18 season U18 champions are Shillong Lajong. AIFF started U16 Youth League in 2015 (later renamed U15 Youth league) in the wake of 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup (hosted by India). Minerva Academy is the reigning three-time champions of U16 League.

Winners of U18 Youth league