The 2022–23 I-League (also known as the Hero I-League for sponsorship reasons) was the 16th season of
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 ...
, first as the second tier of
Indian football league system
The Indian football league system is the league structure of football club competitions in India. The highest level of men's club football competition is the Indian Super League. Indian Women's League, founded in 2016, is the highest level of ...
. It was played from 12 November 2022 to 12 March 2023.
After a 4–0 win against
Rajasthan United on 4 March 2023,
RoundGlass Punjab clinched their second league title and became the first ever club to be promoted to the
Indian Super League
The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...
while
Kenkre and
Sudeva Delhi were relegated to
I-League 2
The I-League 2 is an Indian men's professional association football, football league. It is the 3rd tier of the Indian football league system, behind the Indian Super League and the I-League. It operates as a system of promotion and relegation ...
.
Changes from last season
Disbanded clubs
*
Indian Arrows
Indian Arrows (formerly known as Pailan Arrows) is an Indian developmental football team that competes in the Indian national football tiers. They competed in the I-League. The club was formed by the All India Football Federation in 2010, wi ...
Reinstated clubs
*
Kenkre: After being relegated at the end of the
2021–22 I-League
The 2021–22 I-League (also known as Hero I-League for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th season of I-League, last as the top tier of Indian football league system, since its establishment in 2007. All the matches were hosted in a bio-secure bu ...
season,
Kenkre was allowed to participate this season. The closure of the
Indian Arrows
Indian Arrows (formerly known as Pailan Arrows) is an Indian developmental football team that competes in the Indian national football tiers. They competed in the I-League. The club was formed by the All India Football Federation in 2010, wi ...
project played a major part in their reinstatement. The conditions for their reinstatement were an agreement to take in several Arrows players and no travel subsidy for away matches.
Changes in format
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the tournament's format was shortened for the last two seasons. From this season, the traditional home and away games format in a double
round-robin have returned. Each team will play two matches against every other team at home and away.
The table topper will be declared the league's winner at the end of the season, thereby achieving promotion to
2023–24 Indian Super League, while the two teams with the lowest points will be relegated to
2023–24 I-League 2, and will get a bye to the final round.
Teams
12 teams participated in the 2022–23 season:
Stadiums and locations
Due to a lack of AFC standard football stadiums available in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
,
Rajasthan United will play their home matches at
Ambedkar Stadium
Dr. Ambedkar Stadium is a football stadium in New Delhi, India. The stadium is named after Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, social reformer and architect of the Indian Constitution. It was earlier known as Corporation Stadium. It has held competitions like ...
,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
. RoundGlass Punjab will play their home matches at Panchkula's
Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Haryana. On 22 October 2022, AIFF chief
Kalyan Chaubey
Kalyan Chaubey (born 16 December 1976) is an Indian politician of Bharatiya Janata Party and a former professional football goalkeeper. He is the current president of the All India Football Federation.
Football Career Playing career
Chaubey gr ...
inaugurated the new home ground of
Sreenidi Deccan
Sreenidi Deccan Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Hyderabad, Telangana. It was established on 1 January 2015 as a football academy in Hyderabad, and later was launched from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh in 2021. The ...
, the Deccan Arena.
Personnel and sponsorship
Managerial changes
Transfers
Foreign players
AIFF allowed a maximum of six foreign players, including one from an AFC-affiliated country per team, but only four can be part of the matchday squad.
League table
Fixtures and results
Positions by round
Results by games
Season statistics
Top scorers
:''As of 12 March 2023''
Top Indian scorers
''The table includes only the list of top Indian goalscorers with more than 3 goals in this season.''
Hat-tricks
Top assists
:''As of 12 March 2023''
Clean sheets
:''As of 12 March 2023''
Discipline
Player
* Most yellow cards: 9
** Melroy Assisi
** Mirjalol Kasimov
* Most red cards: 1
**''27 players''
Club
* Most yellow cards: 47
**Real Kashmir
* Most red cards: 5
**Churchill Brothers
Attendances
Overall statistical table
Attendances by home match played
Legend:
Source:''
I-League
/small>
Broadcasting
The 2022–23 I-League season aired on India's
DD Sports
DD Sports is an Indian state-owned sports television channel, founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It telecasting from Central Production Centre in Delhi, India. It is a part of the Doorda ...
and
Eurosport
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
HD television channels. It was also available on the
Discovery+
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discov ...
mobile app. However, after the start of the league, the broadcast was fraught with problems.
Awards
Hero of the match
Annual awards
See also
*
Indian club qualifiers for 2023–24 AFC competitions
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Associated with India
* of or related to India
** Indian people
** Indian diaspora
** Languages of India
** Indian English, a dialect of the English language
** Indian cuisine
Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
*
2022–23 Indian Super League
The 2022–23 Indian Super League was the ninth season of the Indian Super League, the first season as the only top division, and the 27th season of top-tier Indian football league system, Indian football. It commenced on 7 October 2022 and conc ...
*
2022 Durand Cup
The 2022 Durand Cup (also known as IndianOil Durand Cup due to sponsorship ties with Indian Oil Corporation) was the 131st edition of the Durand Cup, the oldest football tournament in Asia, and also the first edition since it was supported by t ...
*
2023 Indian Super Cup
The 2023 Super Cup (also known as the 2023 Hero Super Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the third edition of the Super Cup and the 41st season of the national knockout football competition in India. The competition was sponsored by Hero MotoCor ...
*
2022–23 I-League 2
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2022-23 I-League season
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 ...