I-League 2nd Division


The I-League 2nd Division is the 2nd highest division overall in the Indian football league system after the I-League. It is also known as Hero 2nd Division League for sponsorship reasons.
The I-League 2nd Division was introduced for the 2008 season, having been previously known as the National Football League 2nd Division. The State FA's nominates the teams who have finished in the top 5 of their respective State Leagues, which are later approved by the All India Football Federation to participate in the consequent 2nd division league.

History

The I-League 2nd Division was introduced during the 2008 season. The first game was played on 25 March 2008 between Mohammedan and Amity.
The 2008 season saw Mohammedan, Mumbai, Vasco, and Chirag United get promoted to the I-League. The next season in 2009 saw Pune, Shillong Lajong, Viva Kerala, and Salgaocar promoted to the I-League.
Since 2010, only 2 teams were promoted to I-League. ONGC and HAL promoted in 2010. In 2011 Shillong Lajong and Sporting Clube de Goa were promoted with Lajong being promoted for the 2nd time. In 2012, ONGC and United Sikkim were promoted for 2012–13 season. The 2013 season saw Rangdajied United F.C and Mohammedan qualifying for I-League 2013–14.
In 2014, only one team got promoted from the 2nd division and similarly only one team got relegated from 2013–14 season.
The official logo for the second tier football club competition of India – the 2nd Division League – has been officially introduced by the All India Football Federation on 17 March 2015. That year only one team got promoted from the 2nd division and similarly only one team got relegated from I-League.

Sponsorship

From 2008 to 2011 the league was sponsored by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and was named the ONGC I-League 2nd Division. ONGC was also the title sponsor of the I-League. In October 2011 ONGC was dropped as a sponsor.
PeriodSponsorTournament
2008—11 ONGCONGC I-League 2nd Division
2011—17No SponsorI-League 2nd Division
2017—Present Hero MotocorpHero I-League 2nd Division

Media Coverage

Structure of the league

2008–2015

Previously, the league was formatted as a neutral venue competition with teams split into groups in which all the groups play in one stadium each. The final round is contested in a double round-robin format, after which the top two teams get promoted to the I-League. But from 2015 there was a change in format. There was no preliminary round and no division of team based on team. The 8 eight teams played against each other twice at neutral venues.

2015–2017

The I-League core committee approved the plans for the 2015–16 I-League 2nd division matches to be played on a home and away basis. The preliminary rounds will be played in the ‘conference’ system with the teams being divided into Eastern and Western conferences. Top 3 teams from each conference will qualify for the final round of the 2015–2016 season of 2nd division I-League.
To widen the football map of the country and to bolster the football structure, l-League Core Committee decide to launch the 2nd division qualifier for 2016–17 season. Participants from all the state associations would be invited to take part in 2nd division league 2016–17 qualifiers. The state associations need to nominate 2 teams with best results, apart from the teams who would compete in Hero I-League and 2nd division league in 2015–16 season, from the state league 2015–16, to compete in the 2nd division qualifiers. The teams will fight it out amongst themselves in the zonal round followed by the final round. Eventually top two teams from the final round will get a nod to the 2nd division league 2016–17, provided that they fulfill the club licensing requirements in the due time.

2017–18

The format was further altered from 2017–18 season, the league was divided in two stages: the Preliminary and the Final. The tournament will also feature reserve teams of Indian Super League clubs. In the preliminary stage, 18 teams were divided into three groups where all matches would be played on a home and away basis. The winners of each group plus the best second-placed team would qualify for the final round. However, if reserve teams of ISL clubs finish as winners or runners-up in any group, the position was passed on onto the next non-ISL team. The final round will be played at a central venue, the winners of which would be promoted to the next tier of Indian Football.

2018–19

Sixteen teams are allowed to participate in this season by the league committee.

Clubs

The following clubs are participating in the 2019–20 I-League 2nd Division


TeamCity/StateStadiumCapacity
Gujarat FCAhmedabad, GujaratTransStadia20,000
ATK Kolkata, West BengalSailen Manna Stadium15,000
Bengaluru Bengaluru, KarnatakaBangalore Football Stadium8,400
Chennaiyin Chennai, Tamil NaduSSN College GroundTBA
Chhinga VengAizawl, MizoramRajiv Gandhi Stadium20,000
Fateh HyderabadHyderabad, TelanganaGachibowli Stadium30,000
Goa Margao, GoaGMC Stadium3,200
HindustanDelhiAmbedkar Stadium35,000
Jamshedpur Jamshedpur, JharkhandJRD Tata Sports Complex24,500
Kerala Blasters Ernakulam, KeralaMaharaja's College Stadium15,000
Lonestar KashmirSrinagar, Jammu and KashmirTRC Turf Ground15,000
MohammedanKolkata, West BengalMohammedan Ground15,000
OzoneBengaluru, KarnatakaBangalore Football Stadium8,400
RainbowBarrackpore, West BengalVidyasagar Krirangan22,000
South UnitedBengaluru, KarnatakaBangalore Football Stadium8,400

Previous seasons

Relegated teams (from I-League to I-League 2nd Division)

Prize money

As updated on 28 February 2018.
Purse
Champions 50 Lakhs
Runners-up 25 Lakhs
Matchday Subsidy 50 Thousand
Match winner 25 Thousand
Hero of the Match 12.5 Thousand

Winning Coaches

Current Head Coach

The current head coaches in the I-League are:
Nat.NameClubAppointedTime in charge
Sankarlal ChakrabortyBhawanipore10 7 2019

Top scorers