The 2012–13 I-League was the sixth season of the

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

, the Indian professional league for

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 6 October 2012 and finished on 12 May 2013 with Churchill Brothers crowned champions in matchday 25. Dempo were the defending champions, having won their third I-League title the previous season. On 29 December 2012, Mohun Bagan were barred from competing in the I-League for 2 years following a decision taken by the I League core committee. This was because they failed to turn up in the second half of the match against

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

because of crowd trouble. All their results in the I-League were declared null and void and all their remaining fixtures were cancelled.
But on 15 January 2013, Mohun Bagan appealed the decision to ban them from the league and were reinstated, but would start on 0 points.

Teams

A total of 14 teams contested the league, including 12 sides from the 2011–12 season and two promoted from the 2012 I-League 2nd Division. ONGC as champions and United Sikkim as runners-up secured direct promotion from the 2012 I-League 2nd Division. ONGC returned to the I-League after a one-year absence, while United Sikkim made their debut in the I-League.

Stadium Changes

Air India and Mumbai FC

Due to the ongoing redevelopment of the Cooperage Ground in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

which is the regular home for Mumbai F.C. and Air India FC in the

both clubs will play at the Balewadi Sports Complex in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

until it is complete.

ONGC

The newly promoted ONGC F.C. also usually play at the Cooperage Ground in

but due to the redevelopment the team decided to play at the Ambedkar Stadium in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

which is where the main company, ONGC, are based. However it will only be for five home matches.

Goan clubs

The four Goan clubs in the

, Churchill Brothers, Dempo, Salgaocar, and

Sporting Clube de Goa Sporting Clube de Goa (simply known as Sporting Goa and abbreviated as SCG) is an Indian professional association football, football club based in Panaji, Goa. The club competes in the I-League 2, the third tier of the Indian football league s ...

, usually play their I-League matches at the Fatorda Stadium in

Margao Margao (, ) is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on the banks of the river Sal. It is the district headquarters of South Goa, and administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district. It is Goa's second largest ci ...

. However, due to a major revamp at the stadium in preparation for the 2013 Lusophony Games which will be held in Goa, the Goan home games for the I-League will be played at the Duler Stadium and then the Tilak Maidan Stadium from the end of January.

Stadiums and Locations

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Managerial changes

Foreign players

Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team could use three foreign players on the field each game including a least one player from the AFC country.

League table

Results

Statistical leaders

Top scorers

Top Indian Scorers

Hattricks

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 I-League I-League seasons 1

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...