The I-League 2021-22 season is set to commence on Sunday, December 26 with TRAU FC opening the proceedings against Indian Arrows at Mohun Bagan Ground in Kolkata. Defending champions Gokulam Kerala will kick-start their campaign against Churchill Brothers on the same day.
Unlike the previous season, the number of teams in the I-League 2021-22 season has been increased from 11 to 13. Earlier this month, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) banned former I-League champions Chennai City FC for the upcoming season after failing to comply with club licensing regulations.
The team was eventually replaced with Kenkre FC from Mumbai who are one of the two new teams along with Rajasthan United FC. Meanwhile, Sreenidi Deccan FC are also making their I-League debut this season.
Meanwhile, due to the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country, the tournament will be held behind closed doors and the teams are set to stay in a bio-bubble for the entire duration of the I-League. Furthermore, all the matches will be played in West Bengal with Mohun Bagan Ground, Kalyani Stadium and Naihati Stadium finalized as the three venues.
I-League 2021-22 teams and format
The 13 teams competing in I-League 2021-22 season are Aizawl FC, Churchill Brothers, Gokulam Kerala, Indian Arrows, Kenkre, Mohammedan, NEROCA, RoundGlass Punjab FC, Rajasthan United, Real Kashmir, Sreenidi Deccan FC, Sudeva Delhi and TRAU.
In addition to that, the AIFF has allowed a maximum of four foreign players per team and at least one of those four must come from an AFC-affiliated country. Note that Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign player as they are a part of AIFF’s developmental program.
The format of the I-League 2021-22 season has been kept the same as that of the previous campaign. This means all teams will play each other once in a round-robin format in Phase 1 before being divided into two groups in Phase 2. The teams finishing within the top seven spots will acquire Group A while the remaining six teams will make up Group B.
Once the bifurcation is done, the top seven teams will compete against each other in the Championship stage where the team finishing with the most points will not only win the title, but will also get a place in the 2023 AFC Cup. On the other hand, teams in Group B will play for survival as the team with the lowest points will be relegated to the 2022-23 2nd division league.
I-League 2021-22 schedule, fixtures and India match times
All timings are in Indian Standard Time (IST)
| Date | Match | Venue | Time (IST) |
| December 26 | TRAU vs Indian Arrows | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| December 26 | Gokulam Kerala vs Churchill Brothers | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| December 26 | Rajasthan United vs Punjab FC | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| December 27 | NEROCA vs Sreenidi Deccan | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| December 27 | Real Kashmir vs Aizawl | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| December 27 | Mohammedan vs Sudeva Delhi | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| December 30 | Sreenidi Deccan vs TRAU | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| December 30 | NEROCA vs Gokulam Kerala | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| December 30 | Aizawl vs Mohammedan | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| December 31 | Sudeva Delhi vs Indian Arrows | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| December 31 | Real Kashmir vs Kenkre | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| December 31 | Punjab vs FC vs Churchill Brothers | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 4 | Mohammedan vs Sreenidi Deccan | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 4 | Gokulam Kerala vs Real Kashmir | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 4 | TRAU vs NEROCA | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 5 | Rajasthan United vs Aizawl | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 5 | Kenkre vs Punjab FC | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 5 | Churchill Brothers vs Sudeva Delhi | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 9 | Rajasthan United vs Sudeva Delhi | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 9 | Punjab vs Aizawl | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 9 | Real Kashmir vs Sreenidi Deccan | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 10 | TRAU vs Churchill Brothers | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 10 | Gokulam Kerala vs Kenkre FC | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 10 | Mohammedan vs Indian Arrows | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 14 | Sudeva Delhi vs Aizawl | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 14 | Punjab FC vs Sreenidi Deccan | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 14 | Real Kashmir vs NEROCA | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 15 | Rajasthan United vs India Arrows | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 15 | Mohammedan vs Churchill Brothers | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 15 | TRAU vs Kenkre FC | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 19 | Indian Arrows vs Aizawl | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 19 | Sudeva Delhi vs Sreenidi Deccan | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 19 | Punjab FC vs NEROCA | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 20 | Rajasthan United vs Churchill Brothers | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 20 | TRAU vs Gokulam Kerala | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 20 | Mohammedan vs Kenkre FC | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 24 | Indian Arrows vs Sreenidi Deccan | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 24 | Sudeva Delhi vs NEROCA | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 24 | Churchill Brothers vs Aizawl | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 25 | Rajasthan United vs Kenkre FC | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 25 | Punjab FC vs Real Kashmir | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 25 | Mohammedan vs Gokulam Kerala | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 29 | NEROCA vs Indian Arrows | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 29 | Aizawl vs Kenkre FC | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 29 | Sreenidi Deccan vs Churchill Brothers | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| January 30 | Real Kashmir vs Sudeva Delhi | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| January 30 | Gokulam Kerala vs Rajasthan United | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| January 30 | TRAU vs Mohammedan | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 3 | Sreenidi Deccan vs Kenkre FC | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| February 3 | Aizawl FC vs Gokulam Kerala | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| February 3 | NEROCA vs Churchill Brothers | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 4 | Real Kashmir vs Indian Arrows | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| February 4 | Punjab FC vs Sudeva Delhi | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| February 4 | TRAU vs Rajasthan United | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 8 | NEROCA vs Kenkre FC | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| February 8 | Sreenidi Deccan vs Gokulam Kerala | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| February 8 | Aizawl vs TRAU | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 9 | Punjab FC vs Indian Arrows | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| February 9 | Mohammedan vs Rajasthan United | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| February 9 | Real Kashmir vs Churchill Brothers | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 13 | NEROCA vs Aizawl | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| February 13 | Rajasthan United vs Real Kashmir | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| February 13 | Mohammedan vs Punjab FC | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 14 | TRAU vs Sudeva Delhi | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| February 14 | Gokulam Kerala vs Indain Arrows | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| February 14 | Kenkre FC vs Churchill Brothers | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 18 | Aizawl vs Sreenidi Deccan | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| February 18 | NEROCA vs Rajasthan United | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| February 18 | Real Kashmir vs Mohammedan | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 19 | Indian Arrows vs Kenkre FC | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| February 19 | Sudeva Delhi vs Gokulam Kerala | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| February 19 | Punjab FC vs TRAU | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 23 | Sreenidi Deccan vs Rajasthan United | Mohun Bagan Ground | 2:00 PM IST |
| February 23 | NEROCA vs Mohammedan | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| February 23 | Real Kashmir vs TRAU | Kalyani Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
| February 24 | Sudeva Delhi vs Kenkre FC | Naihati Stadium | 2:00 PM IST |
| February 24 | Punjab FC vs Gokulam Kerala | Kalyani Stadium | 4:30 PM IST |
| February 24 | Indian Arrows vs Churchill Brothers | Naihati Stadium | 7:30 PM IST |
Where to watch the I-League 2021-22 live in India?
The live telecast of the I-League 2021-22 season will be available on the 1Sports TV channel in India.
The live streaming of the I-League 2021-22 season can be viewed on the Facebook page of 1Sports.
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Featured photo: AFP / Tauseef Mustafa
