Introduction
The Indian Super League is a top-tier men’s football league in India. This competition is organized by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), and the Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) is their commercial partner. Hero MotoCorp is their sponsor and the full name of this league is Hero Indian Super League.
The History of the Competition
The Indian Super League was officially launched in 2013, on 21 October. The league was launched by IMG – Reliance, Star Sports, and the All India Football Federation. The bidding announcement caught the eye of many people including Bollywood stars and IPL team owners. The requirement for the bidding included financial limitations and also the bidder will have to promote football in their area. In the April of 2014, the winning bidders were announced and the names were Bangalore, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune. Some former Indian cricket players were also included in the winning bidders like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. Atletico Madrid (Spanish La Liga club) won the bid for Kolkata. Some Bollywood stars including John Abraham, Ranbir Kapoor, and Salman Khan were also included.
Total Teams in ISL
Atletico de Kolkata, Pune City, Bangalore Titans, Mumbai City, Goa, Kerala Blasters, NorthEast United, and Delhi Dynamos were the first eight teams of the Hero Indian Super League.
The Format of the ISL
From 2017-18, the Indian Super League follows the Round-Robin style for the league. In this style, each team plays against each other, first at their home stadium and then at the away stadium. 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw, and non for the loss. The team with the most points at the end of each season that run from October to March will be crowned the Champion of ISL.
I-League and ISL
Before the Indian Super League, the I-League was the official football league of India. Due to its bad PR and ratings, the AIFF and IMG decided to make ISL the main league and I-League the 2nd tier league but the representatives of the I-League didn’t entertain the idea and a lot of commotion happened due to this. After a lot of negotiation, it was decided that I-League and ISL will run simultaneously and the winner of the I-League will retain the spot for the AFC Champions League qualifying stage spot and the AFC Cup qualifying stage spot will go to the winner of ISL. This commotion finally ended and now this is how both the leagues exist.
Records
Most titles – Atletico De Kolkata (3)
Most Appearances – Mandar Rao Dessai (128)
Top Scorer – Bartholomew Ogbeche (53)
