The 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division (known as Hero 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division, for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the I-League 2nd Division, the second division Indian football league, since its establishment in 2008. The season started with the preliminary rounds from 14 March to 15 May 2018. The final round of the league took place between 21 May to 30 May 2018 at FSV Arena, Bengaluru.
This season featured 18 teams, divided into three groups of six teams each. The season also featured the reserve sides of seven Indian Super League clubs, none of which were eligible to qualify for the final round. Real Kashmir won the title on 30 May 2018 and earned the promotion to 2018–19 I-League. They also made history becoming first team from state of Jammu & Kashmir to enter the first division of I-League
Format Just like the previous season, the I-League 2nd Division will feature a preliminary round and a final round. During the preliminary round, the 18 teams will be divided into three groups of six teams each. All the matches during the preliminary round will be played in a double round-robin basis, in which every team plays all others in their group once at home and once away. The winners of the three groups, along with the best second placed team, will qualify for the final round. The seven Indian Super League reserve sides in the league will not be eligible to qualify for the final round.
During the final round, the four teams will face each other in a single-leg league system at a neutral venue, where each team faces each other once. At the end of the round, the team in first will earn promotion to the next division of Indian football.
Teams
Stadiums and locations
Team City/State Stadium Capacity Bengaluru (R) Bengaluru, Karnataka Bangalore Football Stadium 8,400 Chennaiyin (R) Chennai, Tamil Nadu SSN College Ground TBA Delhi Dynamos (R) Delhi Ambedkar Stadium 35,000 Delhi United Delhi Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground TBA Fateh Hyderabad Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh Anantapur Sports Village Football Ground TBA Goa (R) Margao, Goa Fatorda Stadium 19,000 Hindustan Delhi Ambedkar Stadium 35,000 Jamshedpur (R) Jamshedpur, Jharkhand JRD Tata Sports Complex 24,500 Kerala Thrissur, Kerala Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium 15,000 Kerala Blasters (R) Kochi, KeralaMaharaja's College Stadium 15,000 Langsning Shillong, Meghalaya Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 30,000 Lonestar Kashmir Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir TRC Turf Ground 15,000 Madhya Bharat Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh JLU Ground TBA Mohammedan Kolkata, West Bengal Barasat Stadium 22,000 Ozone Bengaluru, Karnataka Bangalore Football Stadium 8,400 Pune City (R) Pune, Maharashtra Pirangute Football Ground TBA Real Kashmir Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir TRC Turf Ground 15,000 TRAU Manipur Khuman Lampak Main Stadium 35,000
Personnel and kits Team Manager Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Bengaluru (R) Naushad Moosa Puma JSW Chennaiyin (R) Syed Sabir Pasha Performax Apollo Tyres Delhi Dynamos (R) Francisco Perez Lazaro T10 Sports Kent RO Systems Delhi United Hugo Martins None Peregrine Aviation Goa (R) Clifford Miranda None None Fateh Hyderabad Ellimishetty Shyam None Premier Hindustan Vikrant Sharma Cosco Hero Motocorp Jamshedpur (R) Hilal Parray Nivia Tata Kerala T G Purushothaman TGP Yogakshemam Loans Kerala Blasters (R) Renjith Ajithkumar Admiral Muthoot Langsning Hering Shangpliang None Lotto Lonestar Kashmir Clebson Duarte da Silva TBA TBA Madhya Bharat José Carlos Hevia None None Mohammedan Biswajit Bhattacharya Kaizen TBA Ozone Dave Booth None Ozone Group Pune City (R) Roger Lamesa Grau Adidas Suzuki Gixxer Real Kashmir David Robertson TBA TBA TRAU L Nandakumar Singh Nike HVS
Foreign players Each club, excluding the Indian Super League reserve sides, can register three foreign players in their squad. One of the foreign players has to be from an AFC Member Nation.
Club Player 1 Player 2 AFC player Delhi United Ladji Saika Sylla Kouame Konan Zacharie Fateh Hyderabad Edmund Owusu Peprah Godwin Quashiga Nuriev Vladislav Hindustan Amestrong Alexandré Martins Rami Kerala Abdoul Karim Sylla Bala Alhassan Dahir Langsning Lancine Toure Jacson Glei Da Silva Clemente Kento Sakurai Lonestar Kashmir Alexandre Tabillon Madhya Bharat Ibrahim Sylla Mohammedan Fikru Teferra Echezona Anyichie Wael Ayan Ozone Robert de Souza Ribeiro Chika Wali Son Yong-chan Real Kashmir Loveday Enyinnaya Yao Kouassi Bernard TRAU Princewell Emeka Christoppe Jonnette
Preliminary round TiebreakersThe teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied in the order given to determine the rankings: Greater number of points obtained in the matches between the Teams concerned Goal difference resulting from the matches between the Teams concerned Greater number of goals scored in the matches between the Teams concerned Goal difference in all the matches Greater number of goals scored in all the matches Drawing of lots
Group A
Fixtures and results
Group B
Fixtures and results
Group C
Fixtures and results
Final round
Fixtures and results
Season statistics
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Robert D‘Souza RibieroOzone102 C. S. Sabeeth Ozone 93 Aakif JavaidLonestar Kashmir7 Shaiborlang Kharpan Kerala Blasters (R) Sahal Abdul Samad Kerala Blasters (R) Kitboklang PaleLangsning Princewill EmekaTRAU8 Shreyas VGKerala6 Gourav MukhiJamshedpur (R) Hitova AyemiFateh Hyderabad Kushant ChauhanHindustan
Clean sheets
RankPlayerClubCleansheets1 Mithun SamantoHindustan7 Abhishek DasOzone3 Anuj KumarPune City (R)64 Sukhwinder SinghReal Kashmir55 Royal BasumataryDelhi United46 Ahamad AfsarKerala3 Shayon RoyDelhi Dynamos (R) Surjay Kumar PariyarLangsning TajuddinTRAU Avjit KarKerala Blasters (R) Mohammed NawazGoa (R)
Highest Attendances Rank Home team Score Away team Attendance Date Stadium1 Jamshedpur (R)1–3Langsning8,256JRD Tata Sports Complex2 Jamshedpur (R)3–2Chennaiyin (R)6,315JRD Tata Sports Complex3 Real Kashmir0–0Pune City (R)5,992TRC Turf Ground4 Jamshedpur (R)1–1Mohammedan5,342JRD Tata Sports Complex5 Jamshedpur (R)1–1TRAU4,200JRD Tata Sports Complex6 Kerala3–2Kerala Blasters (R)4,000Corporation Stadium7 TRAU1–2Bengaluru (R)3,500Khuman Lampak Main Stadium8 TRAU4–1Mohammedan3,100Khuman Lampak Main Stadium9 Lonestar Kashmir0–1Delhi Dynamos (R)3,000TRC Turf Ground10 TRAU3–1Langsning3,000Khuman Lampak Main Stadium
References
External links Official I-League website.