Kolkata: All clubs including Odisha FC have confirmed their participation in the Indian Super League (ISL) making it a 14-team single leg round robin affair with 91 matches. The format decided, All India Football Federation (AIFF) has written to Asian Football Confederation (AFC) seeking an exemption for this season to protect its quota of Asian Champions League 2 berths.
AFC mandates a minimum of 24 matches per team in a season for the winners to be eligible for Asian tournament spots. In ISL this season, teams will play 13. With ISL shield winners getting a main round berth and the Super Cup champions a slot in the qualifiers, India has 1.5 Asian berths.
Barring Inter Kashi, all clubs have agreed to play at home and on the road. Inter Kashi, who will debut in ISL in 2025-26, have said they are okay with only away matches.
“We want the league to start and so we are open to playing all our matches away this season,” said Prithvijit Das, Inter Kashi president on Monday. “I know this puts us at a disadvantage but we are willing to absorb that to avoid another set of meetings, this time over venues. Some clubs have said playing at home will help their sponsors and we are willing to oblige.”
Promoted to the top tier after winning the 2024-25 I-league, Inter Kashi do not have a home stadium and could set up a training base in Odisha. They are likely to start training under Antonio Lopez Habas, ISL’s most successful coach with three titles, from January 20. With three foreign players on their roster, former champions Mumbai City FC started training on Monday under head coach Petr Kratky.
{{/usCountry}}Promoted to the top tier after winning the 2024-25 I-league, Inter Kashi do not have a home stadium and could set up a training base in Odisha. They are likely to start training under Antonio Lopez Habas, ISL’s most successful coach with three titles, from January 20. With three foreign players on their roster, former champions Mumbai City FC started training on Monday under head coach Petr Kratky.
{{/usCountry}}The day’s biggest development was Odisha FC agreeing to take part. The club had asked AIFF if ISL would have relegation this term. As of now, relegation is part of the league.
Odisha FC would like Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium as its home and will ask the state government for permission, said an official. The process of replacing head coach Sergio Lobera, who has joined Mohun Bagan Super Giant has also begun, the official said.