The 2015–16 I-League was the ninth season of the I-League, the Indian professional football league, since its establishment in 2007. The season commenced on 9 January 2016, after the Indian Super League finished, and concluded on 24 April 2016.
Bengaluru won their second I-League title after winning their first title in 2013–14. The defending champions Mohun Bagan finished second. Aizawl and DSK Shivajians entered the league for the first time in their history, Aizawl through promotion from the I-League 2nd Division and DSK Shivajians through a direct-entry spot.
Teams and season Details After the 2014–15 I-League season, three-time I-League champions, Dempo, were relegated to the I-League 2nd Division. Mizo club, Aizawl, were promoted from the 2nd Division earlier in May following a 4–2 victory over Chanmari. DSK Shivajians were announced as the direct-entry club for this season on 12 November 2015.
In August 2015, it was first reported that Pune clubs, Pune, and Bharat, the direct-entry side from the previous season, would be withdrawing from the I-League due to the lack of a "long-term vision" for the league. Then, towards the end of October, it was announced that both Pune and Bharat FC had failed to compile to the AFC-licensing criteria needed to participate in the I-League. On 21 November 2015, it was confirmed that Royal Wahingdoh, another debutant club from the previous season, were withdrawing from the league.
Stadiums and locations
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order. Team Stadium Capacity Aizawl Rajiv Gandhi Stadium Bengaluru Sree Kanteerava Stadium DSK Shivajians Balewadi Sports ComplexEast Bengal Salt Lake Stadium Kanchenjunga StadiumMohun Bagan Salt Lake Stadium Barasat Stadium Mumbai Cooperage Ground Salgaocar Tilak Maidan Stadium Shillong Lajong Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Sporting Goa Fatorda Stadium
Personnel and kits Team Head coach Captain Kit Sponsor Shirt sponsor Jahar Das David Lalrinmuana Vamos North East Consultancy Services Ashley Westwood Sunil Chhetri Puma JSW Derrick Pereira Aser Pierrick Dipanda Nivia DSK Group Trevor Morgan Gurwinder Singh Shiv Naresh Kingfisher Sanjoy Sen Shilton Paul Shiv Naresh None Khalid Jamil Taisuke Matsugae Nivia Playwin Santosh Kashyap Karanjit Singh Shiv Naresh Salgaocar Thangboi Singto Aibor Khongjee Adidas Gionee Mateus Costa Odafa Onyeka Okolie None Models
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointmentEast Bengal Mutual consent19 June 2015Pre-season Biswajit Bhattacharya19 June 2015Salgaocar Derrick Pereira26 June 2015 Malky Thomson26 June 2015Aizawl Hmingthana Zadeng20 August 2015 Manuel Retamero Fraile20 August 2015DSK ShivajiansNew club Derrick Pereira20 August 2015Salgaocar Malky ThomsonMutual consent29 January 20169th Santosh Kashyap29 January 2016Aizawl Manuel Retamero FraileSacked7 February 20167th Jahar Das7 February 2016East Bengal Biswajit BhattacharyaResigned11 April 20163rd Trevor Morgan13 April 2016
Transfers
Foreign players Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to Five per team. A team could use Four foreign players on the field each game. Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Asian Player Aizawl Alfred Jaryan Emmanuel Chigozie Joel Sunday Yuta Kinowaki Bengaluru John Johnson Michael Collins Curtis Osano Kim Song-Yong DSK Shivajians Aser Pierrick Dipanda Douhou Pierre Juan Quero Zohib Islam Amiri East Bengal Bernard Mendy Ranti Martins Bello Razaq Do Dong-hyun Mohun Bagan Luciano Sabrosa Sony Norde Cornell Glenn Katsumi Yusa Mumbai Ryuki Kozawa Eric Brown Son Min-chol Taisuke Matsugae Salgaocar Éder Monteiro Fernandes Darryl Duffy Martin Scott Calvin Mbarga Shillong Lajong Fábio Pena Uilliams Penn Orji Yusuke Yamagata Sporting Goa Loveday Enyinnaya Odafa Onyeka Okolie Densil Theobald Mahmoud Amnah
League table
Result table
Season statistics
Top scorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Ranti MartinsEast Bengal122 Darryl DuffySalgaocar11 Cornell GlenMohun Bagan4 Aser Pierrick DipandaDSK Shivajians75 Odafa Onyeka OkolieSporting Goa66 Katsumi YusaMohun Bagan5 Kim Song-YongBengaluru Sony NordeMohun Bagan Sunil ChhetriBengaluru Sushil Kumar SinghMumbai
Top Indian scorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Sunil ChhetriBengaluru5 Sushil Kumar SinghMumbai3 C.K. VineethBengaluru4 Jeje LalpekhluaMohun Bagan5 Bikash JairuEast Bengal3 Sumit PassiSporting Goa7 Balwant SinghMohun Bagan2 Eugeneson LyngdohBengaluru Jackichand SinghSalgaocar Marcus MasceranhasSporting Goa Nicholas FernandesSporting Goa Subhasish BoseSporting Goa Thongkhosiem HaokipSalgaocar Jayesh RaneMumbai
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Ref Ranti MartinsEast BengalShillong Lajong4–09 February 2016 Darryl DuffySalgaocarDSK Shivajians3–214 February 2016 Ranti MartinsEast BengalAizawl3–212 March 2016
Awards AIFF Awards All India Football Federation awarded the following awards for the I-League season. Best player of I-League: Sony Norde (Mohun Bagan) Best goalkeeper of I-League: Amrinder Singh (Bengaluru) Best defender of I-League: John Johnson (Bengaluru) Best midfielder of I-League: Eugeneson Lyngdoh (Bengaluru) Best forward of I-League: Ranti Martins (East Bengal) Best coach of I-League: Ashley Westwood (Bengaluru) Best organizer of I-League: Bengaluru
References
External links Official website
See also 2015–16 Bengaluru FC season 2015–16 East Bengal F.C. season 2015–16 Mohun Bagan A.C. season 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division 2015–16 I-League U18 2015–16 I-League Youth U15