9th season of the I-League
Football league season
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.[ 2]
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 .[ 3] Mizo club, Aizawl , were promoted from the 2nd Division earlier in May following a 4–2 victory over Chanmari .[ 4] DSK Shivajians were announced as the direct-entry club for this season on 12 November 2015.[ 5]
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.[ 6] 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.[ 7] On 21 November 2015, it was confirmed that Royal Wahingdoh , another debutant club from the previous season, were withdrawing from the league.[ 8]
Stadiums and locations
Locations of the 2015–16 I-League teams
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Team
Stadium
Capacity
Aizawl
Rajiv Gandhi Stadium
20,000
Bengaluru
Sree Kanteerava Stadium
24,000
DSK Shivajians
Balewadi Sports Complex
22,000
East Bengal
Salt Lake Stadium
68,000
Kanchenjunga Stadium
35,000
Mohun Bagan
Salt Lake Stadium
68,000
Barasat Stadium
22,000
Mumbai
Cooperage Ground
5,000
Salgaocar
Tilak Maidan Stadium
12,000
Shillong Lajong
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
30,000
Sporting Goa
Fatorda Stadium
19,500
Personnel and kits
Head coaching changes
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.
League table
Source:
I-League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) play-off match
(C) Champions
Notes:
Result table
Source:
Results & Fixtures Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Season statistics
As of 24 April 2016 [ 19]
Top scorers
Top Indian scorers
Hat-tricks
Awards
AIFF Awards
All India Football Federation awarded the following awards for the I-League season.[ 23]
References
^ "I-League: Mohun Bagan hold East Bengal to a 1–1 draw in derby" . PTI .
^ "I-League to start on January 9, Goan teams yet to ascertain home grounds" . Navhind Times . 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015 .
^ "Dempo SC relegated after losing to Salgaocar" . The Times of India . 30 May 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015 .
^ Jitendran, Nikhil (7 May 2015). "Aizawl FC become Mizoram's inaugural representatives in the I-League" . Goal.com . Retrieved 21 November 2015 .
^ Jitendran, Nikhil (13 November 2015). "DSK Shivajians will fly the flag for Pune this season" . Goal.com . Retrieved 21 November 2015 .
^ "I-League clubs Pune, Bharat FC planning to disband first team" . The Indian Express . 19 August 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015 .
^ "Pune FC, Bharat FC fail licensing criteria" . The Times of India . 28 October 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015 .
^ "Royal Wahingdoh FC pull out of I-League, 3rd club to do so this year" . IBN Live . 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015 .
^ Bera, Kaustav (19 June 2015). "East Bengal announce Biswajit Bhattacharya as Head Coach for the 2015–16 season" . Goal.com . Retrieved 21 November 2015 .
^ "Malky Thomson takes over as Salgaocar FC head coach" . Goal.com . 26 June 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015 .
^ "Salgaocar part ways with Malky Thomson" . Goal.com . 29 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016 .
^ "Kashyap takes charge of Salgaocar" . The Times of India . 30 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016 .
^ a b "Aizawl FC part ways with Manuel Retamero, Jahar Das appointed as new head coach" . Goal.com . 7 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016 .
^ "I-League: East Bengal coach Biswajit Bhattacharya resigns, search for new coach begins" . Goal.com . 11 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016 .
^ "East Bengal appoint Trevor Morgan as head coach, gaffer to arrive in Kolkata by weekend" . Goal.com . 13 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016 .
^ "Salgaocar FC, Sporting Clube de Goa withdraw from I-League" . The Indian Express . 24 June 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016 .
^ Bilgi, Sumedh (26 September 2016). "Aizawl FC reinstated in the I-League" . Goal.com . Retrieved 26 September 2016 .
^ "DSK Shivajians not guaranteed an ISL Berth" . goal.com . Retrieved 25 April 2016 .
^ "Players – I-League" . soccerway. Retrieved 10 January 2016 .
^ "I-League: East Bengal 4–0 Shillong Lajong: Ranti Martins hat-trick sends Red and Golds top of the table" . 9 February 2016.
^ "Top and Flop: Sporting Clube de Goa 3–2 Mumbai FC" . 15 February 2016.
^ "I-League: Aizawl FC 2–3 East Bengal: Ranti Martins' hat-trick secures victory for stuttering Kolkatans" . 12 March 2016.
^ "Individual awards of Hero I-League 2015–16" . AIFF.
External links
See also
Current Clubs Former Clubs Dissolved clubs Statistics and awards Associated competitions Seasons Related
Fourth tier league seasons (2023–present)
I-League 3
League competitions Cup competitions State leagues Inter-state tournaments
Men's Women's International
Asian club competitions National team
Club seasons
I-League Indian Super League
Domestic leagues Domestic cups Super Cups Regional club competitions AFC club competitions National team competitions
Domestic leagues Domestic cups League cups Super Cups Regional club competitions AFC club competitions National team competitions