The 2021–22 I-League (also known as Hero I-League for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th season of I-League, last as the top tier of Indian football league system, since its establishment in 2007. All the matches were hosted in a bio-secure bubble in West Bengal due to COVID-19 pandemic in India.
After the commencement of the first match-week of the league on 27 December 2021, the tournament got suspended on 29 December due to reports of numerous COVID-19 cases among the players and staff. All India Football Federation released new dates on 1 February 2022, with a revised schedule of the league resuming from 3 March.
The AIFF allowed spectators in the second phase of the league. On final matchday, with only a draw needed, Gokulam Kerala defeated Mohammedan by 2–1 to successfully defend the title, becoming the first team to do so in I-League and first time in 14 years to do so in the Indian football league's history.
Changes from last season Number of clubs The total number of clubs participating increased from 11 in the previous season to 13 in this season.
In 2020 the AIFF issued an invitation to accept bids for new clubs from non I-League cities, like Delhi, Gangtok, Ranchi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mangalore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ahmedabad and Calicut among many others, to join the league from 2020 onwards. The invitation mentioned that the entity which wins the bid will be granted the right to own and operate a new football club. On 12 August 2020, the AIFF announced that Sreenidi Deccan, which is based in Visakhapatnam would join from this season.
On 4 December 2021, the AIFF replaced Chennai City by Kenkre.
Promoted clubs Promoted from the 2021 I-League Qualifiers Rajasthan United Kenkre Through Direct entry Sreenidi Deccan
Relegated clubs Relegated from the 2020–21 I-League None
Notes:
Format Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament's format was shortened last season, and the same format is being followed. All teams will face each other once in the first leg of the league, then they will be divided into two different groups. According to points table from first leg, top seven teams will face each other once again in the Championship stage, where the team with most points (cumulative points collected from all seventeen matches) will be declared the winner of the league and qualify for the Playoffs for 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage. The other six teams will play against each other in a Relegation stage where the team with the lowest points (cumulative points collected from all sixteen matches) will be relegated to 2nd Division League.
Teams
Stadiums and locations AIFF declared West Bengal as the venue for the second straight season on 26 June, with all matches being played at Kalyani Stadium in Kalyani and Naihati Stadium in Naihati. The final match of the league was later rescheduled to be hosted at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. TeamLocationAizawlAizawl, MizoramChurchill BrothersMargao, GoaGokulam KeralaCalicut, KeralaIndian ArrowsBhubaneswar, OdishaKenkreMumbai, MaharashtraMohammedanKolkata, West BengalNEROCAImphal, ManipurRajasthan UnitedJaipur, Rajasthan Real KashmirSrinagar, Jammu and KashmirRoundGlass PunjabLudhiana, PunjabSreenidi DeccanVishakapatnam, Andhra PradeshSudeva DelhiNew Delhi, DelhiTRAUImphal, Manipur
Personnel and sponsorship
Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorAizawl Yan Law Malsawmtluanga VamosNECS LimitedChurchill Brothers Antonio Jesús Rueda Fernández Richard Costa Nivia SportsChurchillGokulam Kerala Vincenzo Alberto Annese Sharif Mukhammad SEGACSB BankIndian Arrows Shanmugam Venkatesh Lalchhanhima Sailo SIX5SIXHero MotoCorpKenkre Akhil Kothari Azhar Delhiwala HummelMohammedan Andrey Chernyshov Nikola Stojanović HummelBunkerHill SportsNEROCA Khogen Singh Shubham Dhas Nivia SportsVintel Infracom Pvt. Ltd.Rajasthan United Francesc Bonet Abhishek Ambekar Ambition SportswearJagran Lakecity UniversityReal Kashmir David Robertson Mason Robertson SIX5SIXHotel CH2RoundGlass Punjab Ed Engelkes Gurtej Singh SIX5SIXRoundGlass SportsSreenidi Deccan Fernando Santiago Varela Dinesh Singh Soraisham NiviaSreenidhi GroupSudeva Delhi Mehrajuddin Wadoo (caretaker) Sairuat Kima HummelLiquid LifeTRAU Nandakumar Singh Helder Lobato Ribeiro Ambition SportswearHVS
Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Round Table Incoming manager Date of appointment Sreenidi DeccanExpansion teamPre-season Fernando Santiago Varela20 April 2021 Mohammedan Sankarlal Chakraborty End of caretaker spell10 May 2021 Andrey Chernyshov12 May 2021 Churchill Brothers Fernando Santiago Varela End of contract20 April 2021 Petre Gigiu18 June 2021 NEROCA Gift Raikhan End of contract30 June 2021 Khogen Singh3 July 2021 RoundGlass Punjab Curtis Fleming Signed by Bristol City1 June 2021 Ashley Westwood15 July 2021 Sudeva Delhi Chencho Dorji Professional improvement13 November 2021 Mehrajuddin Wadoo (caretaker)13 November 2021 Rajasthan United Vikrant Sharma Technical director2 December 2021 Francesc Bonet 2 December 2021 Churchill Brothers Petre Gigiu End of contract12 January 2022COVID-19 break Antonio Jesús Rueda Fernández12 February 2022 RoundGlass Punjab Ashley Westwood Mutual Agreement23 March 202263rd Ed Engelkes23 March 2022
Transfers
Foreign players
AIFF allowed maximum of six foreign players including one from AFC-affiliated country per team but only four can be part of matchday squad. Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign player as they are part of AIFF's developmental program.
TeamPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5AFC playerFormer player(s) Aizawl Aser Pierrick Dipanda Willis Plaza Robert Primus Bakhtior Kalandarov Bazie Armand Olimjon Karimov Churchill Brothers Guilherme Escuro Sekou Sylla Kenneth Ikechukwu Momo Cisse Gnohere Krizo Komron Tursunov Shadi Skaf Gokulam Kerala Aminou Bouba Jourdaine Fletcher Luka Majcen David Simbo Ahmed Waseem Razeek Sharif Mukhammad Rahim Osumanu Kenkre Zacharie Mbenda Tenzin Samdup Mohammedan Henry Kisekka Andjelo Rudović Nikola Stojanović Marcus Joseph Shaher Shaheen Ismar Tandir NEROCA Ben Quansah Juan Mera Sergio Mendigutxia Davis Kamanga Mohamad Kdouh Rajasthan United Akeem Abioye Pedro Manzi Mauro dos Santos Omar Ramos Sardor Jakhonov Marcelinho Komron Tursunov Diego Bielkiewicz Real Kashmir Tiago Adan Mason Robertson Fran Gonzalez Bernard Yao Kouassi Park Jong-oh RoundGlass Punjab Josef Yarney Kurtis Guthrie Joseba Beitia Travis Major Sreenidi Deccan Juan David Castañeda Mohamed Awal Ogana Louis Hamza Kheir Sudeva Delhi TRAU Helder Lobato Ribeiro Douglas Santana Fernandinho Joseph Olaleye Gerard Williams Akobir Turaev
Phase 1 Standings
Fixtures and results All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated to identify Team 1 and Team 2 respectively.
Positions by round
Results by games
Phase 2
Championship stage (Group A)
Relegation stage (Group B)
Fixtures and results All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated to identify Team 1 and Team 2 respectively.
Positions by round
Results by games
Final standings
Season statistics Top scorers As of 15 May 2022 Note: Only top 10 goalscorers of the season has been listed below. RankPlayerClubGoals1 Marcus JosephMohammedan152 Kurtis GuthrieRoundGlass Punjab13 Luka MajcenGokulam Kerala4 Sergio MendigutxiaNEROCA10 David CastañedaSreenidi Deccan Kenneth IkechukwuChurchill Brothers7 Mason RobertsonReal Kashmir9 Jourdaine FletcherGokulam Kerala9 Tiago AdanReal Kashmir710 Ogana LouisSreenidi Deccan6 Komron TursunovChurchill Brothers
Top assists As of 14 May 2022 Note: Only top 3 assist providers have been listed below. RankPlayerClubAssists 1 Nikola StojanovićMohammedan92 Luka MajcenGokulam Kerala73 Travis MajorRoundGlass Punjab5 Juan MeraNEROCA LalchungnungaSreenidi Deccan
Hat-tricks Note: The score of the player's team is displayed first in the result column. PlayerForAgainstResultDate Sergio MendigutxiaNEROCASreenidi Deccan3–227 December 2021 Luka MajcenGokulam KeralaKenkre6–212 March 2022Sudeva Delhi4–015 April 2022 LalromawiaSreenidi DeccanGokulam Kerala3–110 May 2022
Clean sheets As of 14 May 2022 Note: Only top 5 goalkeepers with most cleansheets have been listed below. RankPlayerClubClean sheets1 Bhaskar RoyRajasthan United82 Rakshit DagarGokulam Kerala73 ZothanmawiaMohammedan64 Sachin JhaSudeva Delhi55 Aryan Niraj LambaSreenidi Deccan4 Loitongbam Bishorjit SinghTRAU
Discipline Player Most yellow cards: 7 Mauro dos Santos (Rajasthan United)
Most red cards: 2 Robert Primus (Aizawl)
Club Most yellow cards: 35 Churchill Brothers
Most red cards: 5 Real Kashmir
Awards
Match 1 - 78 = First phase Match 79 - 114 = Second phase
Hero of the Match