The men’s Indian football league system’s top division is called the Indian Super League (ISL). Currently consisting of 12 clubs, the league is run by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in collaboration with its commercial partner, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL).
With a 22-round schedule, the regular season spans from September to March. The top six teams advance to the playoffs, which conclude with the Indian super league Final, which crowns the winner. The squad with the most points at the conclusion of the regular season is given the Premier Winner’s Shield.
The league solely uses a promotion and relegation system at the moment. Asian Continental Club Competitions are open to Indian super league clubs. The regular season grants direct qualification to the AFC Cup group stage in the subsequent season.
The competition was started in India on October 21, 2013, with the intention of raising football’s profile and promoting the game there. In October 2014, the sport had eight teams when it started. For the first three seasons, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which oversees Asian football, did not formally recognize the league. It had a framework akin to that of the franchise-based Indian Premier League cricket competition. Every season featured daily matches and lasted a just three months, from October to December. But prior to the 2017–18 campaign, the league added ten teams, lengthened its season to six months, and earned AFC recognition.
Six teams—ATK (3), Chennaiyin (2), Bengaluru (1), Mumbai City (1), Hyderabad (1), and Mohun Bagan AC (1)—have won the title since the league’s founding. Mumbai City has won the League Winner’s Shield twice since its debut in the 2019–20 season, while Jamshedpur and Goa have each won it once. The 2020–21 season saw Mumbai City win both the League Winner’s Shield and the Indian super League Final, becoming them the only team to do it.
Few glimpses of Indian super league:
Photo: Pal PILLAI /Focus Sports/ ISL
