The 2020–21 I-League (known as the Hero I-League for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of the I-League, one of the top tier Indian professional football leagues, since its establishment in 2007. The tournament was hosted in bio-secure bubble across four venues in Kolkata due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation in India.
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9 January – 27 March 2021 |
| Champions | Gokulam Kerala 1st I-League title 1st Indian title |
| AFC Cup | Gokulam Kerala |
| Matches played | 80 |
| Goals scored | 216 (2.7 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Bidyashagar Singh (12 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Kiran Chemjong (105 mins per goal) |
| Highest scoring | Indian Arrows 2–5 Churchill Brothers (10 January 2021) Gokulam Kerala 4–3 Punjab (14 January 2021) Real Kashmir 4–3 NEROCA (13 February 2021) |
| Longest winning run | TRAU (5 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Churchill Brothers (11 games) |
| Longest winless run | Indian Arrows (7 games) |
| Longest losing run | NEROCA (6 games) |
← 2019–20 2021–22 → | |
Mohun Bagan was declared the champion of the 2019–20 season after the cancellation of matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic, since the second placed team could not catch up even if all 20 games were completed.[1] However, following Mohun Bagan's merger with Indian Super League (ISL) club ATK, the club began competing in the ISL from the 2020–21 ISL season.[2]
Throughout the First Phase, Churchill Brothers kept its dominance with an unbeaten run of 11 games, while in the Second Phase, Gokulam Kerala, Churchill Brothers and TRAU traded the lead several times throughout the Championship Stage. Entering the final matchday, Gokulam Kerala were ahead on goal difference. However, with the Gokulam and TRAU facing off, either team could claim the title with a win. A draw in the Gokulam Kerala–TRAU match and a win were needed for Churchill Brothers to be crowned champions. The game ended in a 4–1 win for Gokulam, giving the Malabarians their first I-league title and qualification for the AFC Cup. NEROCA finished bottom of the Relegation Stage and were to relegated, but were reinstated by AIFF after the viewing the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Changes from last season
Changes in rules and regulations
- AIFF has implemented the '3+1' foreigners rule from this season. Under this rule, each club will be allowed to field a maximum of four foreign players and one of those four foreign players must be from an AFC affiliated country.[4]
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this season's league format was shortened. All teams will face each other once in the first leg of the league, then they will be divided into two different groups. According to points table from first leg, top six teams will face each other once again in the Championship stage, where the team with most points (cumulative points collected from all fifteen matches) will be declared the winner of the league and qualify for the 2022 AFC Cup group stage. The other five teams will play against each other in a Relegation stage where the team with the lowest points (cumulative points collected from all fourteen matches) will be relegated to the 2nd Division League.[5]
Number of clubs
All India Football Federation (AIFF) issued an invitation to accept bids for new clubs from non I-League cities, like Delhi, Gangtok, Ranchi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mangalore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ahmedabad and Calicut among many others, to join the league from 2020 onwards. The invitation mentioned that the entity which wins the bid will be granted the right to own and operate a new football club.[6] On 12 August, AIFF announced that Sudeva of Delhi would join the league from this season and Sreenidi Deccan, which is based in Hyderabad, will be playing from Visakhapatnam from the following season.[7][8][9]
East Bengal and Mohun Bagan moved to the Indian Super League, when East Bengal joined the league as an expansion team, while Mohun Bagan and ATK, the champions of 2019–20 ISL season, merged to play as ATK Mohun Bagan in the ISL.[10][11]
Promoted clubs
Promoted from the 2019–20 2nd Division League
Relegated clubs
Relegated from the 2019–20 I-League
- None
Teams
Stadiums and locations
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all the matches will be played in a single venue. AIFF declared Kolkata as the venue on 14 August.[13] Matches will be played in Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kishore Bharati Krirangan and Mohun Bagan Ground[14] in Kolkata, and Kalyani Stadium in Kalyani.[15]
| Stadium | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan | 85,000 | Salt Lake, Kolkata |
| Kishore Bharati Krirangan | 12,000 | Jadavpore, Kolkata |
| Mohun Bagan Ground | 20,000 | Maidan, Kolkata |
| Kalyani Municipal Stadium | 20,000 | Kalyani, Nadia |
Personnel and sponsorship
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aizawl |  Yan Law |  Alfred Jaryan | Vamos[16] | NECS Limited[17] |
| Chennai City |  Satyasagara | Charles Anandraj | Nivia Sports[18] | TVS Group |
| Churchill Brothers |  Fernando Santiago Varela |  Bazie Armand | Nivia Sports[18] | Churchill |
| Gokulam Kerala |  Vincenzo Alberto Annese |  Mohamed Awal | SEGA[19] | Sree Gokulam Group[20] |
| Indian Arrows | Shanmugam Venkatesh | Lalchhanhima Sailo | SIX5SIX[21] | Hero MotoCorp |
| Mohammedan | Sankarlal Chakraborty |  Kingsley Obumneme | Trak Only[22] | BunkerHill Sports[23] |
| NEROCA | Gift Raikhan | Bishorjit Loitongbam | Ambition Sportswear[24] | Grow Manipur Team[25] |
| Punjab |  Curtis Fleming | Bikramjit Singh | T10 Sports[26] | RoundGlass Sports[27] |
| Real Kashmir |  David Robertson | Mason Robertson | Adidas[28] | Hotel CH2[28] |
| Sudeva Delhi |  Chencho Dorji | Ajay Singh | Puma[29] | Liquid Life[30] |
| TRAU | Nandakumar Singh | Phalguni Konsam | Romi Bag[31] | HVS Foundation |
Head coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Ref. | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gokulam Kerala | Fernando Santiago Varela | End of contract | 17 August 2020 | [32] | Pre-season | Vincenzo Alberto Annese | 19 August 2020 | [33] |
| Churchill Brothers | Mateus Costa | End of interim period | 23 September 2020 | [34] | Fernando Santiago Varela | 23 September 2020 | [34] | |
| Chennai City | Akbar Nawas | Mutual consent | 26 October 2020 | [35] | Satyasagara | 10 December 2020 | [36] | |
| Aizawl | Stanley Rozario | Mutual consent | 18 January 2021 | [37] | 10th | Yan Law | 19 January 2021 | [37] |
| Mohammedan | José Hevia | Mutual consent | 19 February 2021 | [38] | 7th | Sankarlal Chakraborty | 19 February 2021 | [39] |
Transfers
Foreign players
Minimum of three and maximum of four foreign players including one player from AFC—affiliated country per team.[40] Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign players as they are a part of AIFF's developmental program. The newly joined team, Sudeva Delhi will field an all-Indian squad for its debut I-League season.[41]
- Players name in bold indicates the players who are capped for their respective national team.
First phase
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Churchill Brothers | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 6 | +9 | 22 | Promote to Championship Stage (Group A) |
| 2 | Punjab | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 18 | |
| 3 | Real Kashmir | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 9 | +9 | 17 | |
| 4 | Gokulam Kerala | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 14 | +6 | 16 | |
| 5 | TRAU | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 13 | +4 | 16 | |
| 6 | Mohammedan | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 16 | |
| 7 | Aizawl | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 15 | Demote to Relegation Stage (Group B) |
| 8 | Sudeva Delhi | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 9 | |
| 9 | Chennai City | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 19 | −12 | 9 | |
| 10 | NEROCA | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 15 | −2 | 8 | |
| 11 | Indian Arrows | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 31 | −25 | 4 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
Fixtures and results
All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated for administrative purposes.
Positions by matchday
The table lists the positions of teams after each round mentioned in official fixtures.[42]
| Promotion to Championship stage (Group A) | |
| Demotion to Relegation stage (Group B) |
Results by games
Second phase
Championship stage (Group A)
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gokulam Kerala | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 31 | 17 | +14 | 29 | Champions and Qualification for 2022 AFC Cup group stage |
| 2 | Churchill Brothers | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 17 | +5 | 29 | |
| 3 | TRAU | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 26 | |
| 4 | Punjab | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 15 | +3 | 22 | |
| 5 | Real Kashmir | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 21 | |
| 6 | Mohammedan | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 20 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
Fixtures and results
All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated for administrative purposes.
Positions by matchday
The table lists the positions of teams after each round mentioned in official fixtures.
Results by games
Relegation stage (Group B)
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aizawl | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 24 |
| 2 | Sudeva Delhi[a] | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 18 |
| 3 | Chennai City | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 16 | 25 | −9 | 15 |
| 4 | Indian Arrows[b] | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 38 | −27 | 10 |
| 5 | NEROCA[c] | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 8 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
Notes:
Fixtures and results
All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated for administrative purposes.
Positions by matchday
The table lists the positions of teams after each round mentioned in official fixtures.
Results by games
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gokulam Kerala (C) | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 31 | 17 | +14 | 29 |
| 2 | Churchill Brothers | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 17 | +5 | 29 |
| 3 | TRAU | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 26 |
| 4 | Punjab | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 15 | +3 | 22 |
| 5 | Real Kashmir | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 21 |
| 6 | Mohammedan | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 20 |
| 7 | Aizawl | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 24 |
| 8 | Sudeva Delhi | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 18 |
| 9 | Chennai City | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 16 | 25 | −9 | 15 |
| 10 | Indian Arrows | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 38 | −27 | 10 |
| 11 | NEROCA | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 8 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(C) Champions
Season statistics
Scoring
- As of 27 March 2021
Top scorers
The table includes only the top 10 goalscorers of this season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bidyashagar Singh | TRAU | 12 |
| 2 |  Luka Majcen | Churchill Brothers | 11 |
| Denny Antwi | Gokulam Kerala | ||
| 4 |  Clayvin Zuniga | Churchill Brothers | 8 |
| 5 | Chencho Gyeltshen | Punjab | 7 |
| 6 |  Komron Tursunov | TRAU | 6 |
| Mason Robertson | Real Kashmir | ||
| Pedro Manzi | Mohammedan | ||
| Lukman Adefemi | Real Kashmir | ||
| 10 | Philip Adjah | Gokulam Kerala | 5 |
| Source: I-League | |||
Top Indian scorers
The table includes only the list of top Indian goalscorers with more than 2 goals in this season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bidyasagar Singh | TRAU | 12 |
| 2 | MC Malsawmzuala | Aizawl | 3 |
| Lalremsanga Fanai | Aizawl | ||
| William Pauliankhum | Sudeva Delhi | ||
| Harsh Patre | Indian Arrows | ||
| Vineeth Velmurugan | Chennai City | ||
| Konsam Phalguni Singh | TRAU | ||
| Brandon Vanlalremdika | Aizawl | ||
| Kean Lewis | Sudeva Delhi | ||
| Danish Farooq Bhat | Real Kashmir | ||
| Emil Benny | Gokulam Kerala | ||
| Songpu Singsit | NEROCA | ||
| Source: I-League | |||
Top assists
The table includes only the top 10 assist providers of the season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Antwi | Gokulam Kerala | 7 |
| 2 | Komron Tursunov | TRAU | 6 |
| 3 | Sena Ralte | Real Kashmir | 5 |
| 4 | Joseph Olaleye | TRAU | 4 |
| Tirthankar Sarkar | Mohammedan | ||
| Deepak Devrani | Gokulam Kerala | ||
| 7 | Songpu Singsit | NEROCA | 3 |
| Luka Majcen | Churchill Brothers | ||
 Nathaniel Garcia | NEROCA | ||
| Bryce Miranda | Churchill Brothers | ||
| Source: Global Sports Archive | |||
Hat-tricks
| Player | Club | Against | Goals | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bidyashagar Singh | TRAU | Mohammedan | 3 | 5 March 2021 |
| Real Kashmir | 10 March 2021 | |||
| Clayvin Zuniga | Churchill Brothers | Indian Arrows | 3 | 10 January 2021 |
| Lukman Adefemi | Real Kashmir | NEROCA | 3 | 13 February 2021 |
Clean Sheets
- As of 21 March 2021
The table includes only the list of top goalkeepers with more than 1 cleansheet in this season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kiran Chemjong | Punjab | 7 |
| 2 | Mithun Samanta | Real Kashmir | 5 |
| Rakshit Dagar | Sudeva Delhi | ||
| 4 | Shibinraj Kunniyil | Churchill Brothers | 4 |
| Ubaid Kadavath | Gokulam Kerala | ||
| 6 | Subham Roy | Mohammedan | 3 |
| Lalmuansanga | Aizawl | ||
| Bishorjit Singh | NEROCA | ||
| 9 | Shilton Paul | Churchill Brothers | 2 |
| Ahan Prakash | Indian Arrows | ||
| Amrit Gope | TRAU | ||
| Zothanmawia | Aizawl | ||
| Source: I-League | |||
Discipline
- As of 27 March 2021
- Most yellow cards: 5[45]
- Lalrindika Ralte (Real Kashmir)
- Sairuat Kima (Sudeva Delhi)
- Most red cards: 2[45]
- Vincy Barretto (Gokulam Kerala)
Awards
- Match 1 - Match 55 = First Phase
- Match 56 - Match 80 = Second Phase
Hero of the Match
Season awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Hero of the League | Bidyashagar Singh[46] | TRAU |
| Golden Boot | Bidyashagar Singh[46] | TRAU |
| Golden Glove | Kiran Chemjong[46] | Punjab |
| Jarnail Singh Award (Best Defender) |  Hamza Kheir[46] | Churchill Brothers |
| Best Midfielder | Konsam Phalguni Singh[46] | TRAU |
| Syed Abdul Rahim Award (Best Coach) | Leimapokpam Nandakumar Singh[46] | TRAU |
| Emerging Player of the League | Emil Benny[46] | Gokulam Kerala |
Team of the season
Source: arunfoot.com