Eleven teams will fight for the Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 title. All you need to know about the eighth season of the top-tier league in Indian football.
The 2021-22 season of the Indian Super League (ISL) starts November 19 with an ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters clash at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, Goa. With the fears of a possible third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic still lurking around, the organisers of the league have decided to conduct the tournament in a central location behind closed doors. (More Football News)
But the fan engagement will be like never before with ISL, in association with Terra Virtua platform, announcing the launch of a series of digital collectibles. 27,500 team posters and 242,000 trading cards have already been available ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Here's all you need to know about the ISL-8:
Mumbai City FC are the defending champions. They are also the holders of League Winners Shield, having topped the points table last season. In the 2020-21 finale, they had defeated ATK Mohon Bagan 2-1 with a 90th minute Bipin Thounaojam goal sealing the win.
Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, East Bengal, FC Goa, Hyderabad FC, Jamshedpur FC, Kerala Blasters, NorthEast United and Odisha FC complete the 11-team, top-tier league in Indian football.
How to watch - TV channels and live streaming platforms
Star Sports are the official broadcasters of the Indian Super League. As in previous editions, ISL will also be broadcast live on the Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada, and the Star Sports 1 Bangla regional TV channels.
Watch ISL 2021-22 live streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. Fans can also catch the latest ISL 2021-22 live scores and ISL 2021-22 highlights on Disney+ Hotstar.
ISL 2021-2022 matches can also be streamed live on JioTV.
Venues
Three stadiums in Goa -- Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, the Tilak Maidan in Vasco and GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim – will host the matches.
Format
The teams will meet each other twice during the league stage, following the traditional two-legged home and away fixtures in football leagues around the world. After the end of the league phase, the top four teams will enter the playoffs. Besides, the top-ranked team in the league stage will win the League Winners Shield. The playoffs [read: semi-finals] will also be two-legged affairs. Then the finale.
Squads
The Indian Super League has implemented the '3+1 rule' for the 2021-22 season to adhere to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competition regulation. Meaning, ISL clubs can only field a maximum of four foreign players including one player of Asian origin at a time during a match. It also means that seven Indian players will be on the field at any time. Earlier, five foreigners were allowed to take the field. Clubs were allowed to register as many as 35 players for the season, including a maximum of six and a minimum of four foreigners. The squad salary cap remains at INR 16.5 crore.
The teams, in alphabetical order
Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Avilash Paul, Arsh Anwar Sheikh; Defenders: Tiri (Spain), Sumit Rathi, Ashutosh Mehta, Subhasish Bose, Pritam Kotal (co-captain), Deepak Tangri, Prabir Das; Midfielders: Joni Kauko (Finland), Carl McHugh (Ireland), Michael Soosairaj, Bidyananda Ningthoujam, Ricky Shabong, Abhishek Suryavanshi, SK Sahil, Lenny Rodrigues, Ningomba Engson Singh, Kiyan Nassiri; Forwards: Roy Krishna (Fiji, co-captain), David Williams (Australia), Hugo Boumous (Morocco), Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh.
Head coach: Antonio Lopez Habas (Spain)
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lara Sharma, Sharon Padattil; Defenders: Alan Costa (Brazil), Yrondu Musavu-King (Gabon), Pratik Chaudhari, Wungngayam Muirang, Sarthak Golui, Ajith Kumar, Parag Shrivas, Roshan Naorem, Muhammed Inayath; Midfielders: Bruno Ramires (Brazil), Iman Basafa (Iran), Jayesh Rane, Suresh Wangjam, Danish Farooq Bhat, Rohit Kumar, Ajay Chhetri, Ashique Kuruniyan, Damaitphang Lyngdoh, Biswa Darjee; Forwards: Prince Ibara (Congo), Cleiton Silva (Brazil), Sunil Chhetri (captain), Harmanpreet Singh, Edmund Lalrindika, Udanta Kumam, Namgyal Bhutia, Leon Augustine, Bidyashagar Khangembam, Akashdeep Singh, Sivasakthi Narayanan.
Head Coach: Marco Pezzaiuoli (Germany).
Goalkeepers: Vishal Kaith, Samik Mitra, Debjit Majumder, Devansh Dabas; Defenders: Slavko Damjanovic (Serbia), Reagan Keisham, Ranjan Salam, Edwin Sydney Vanspaul, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Narayan Das, Deepak Devrani, Davinder Singh, Balaji Ganesan; Midfielders: Rafael Crivellaro (Brazil), Ariel Borysiuk (Poland), Ninthoinganba Meetei Khumanthem, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Anirudh Thapa (captain), Germanpreet Singh, Aman Chetri, Melroy Assisi, Subhadip Majhi; Forwards: Mirlan Murzaev (Kyrgyzstan), Vladimir Koman (Hungary), Lukasz Gikiewicz (Poland), Johnson Mathews, Rahim Ali, Jobby Justin, Suhail Pasha.
Head Coach: Bozidar Bandovic (Montenegro).
Goalkeepers: Arindam Bhattacharya (captain), Sankar Roy, Suvam Sen; Defenders: Tomislav Mrcela (Australia), Franjo Prce (Croatia) Daniel Gomes, Joyner Lourenco, Raju Gaikwad, Adil Khan, Hira Mondal, Ankit Mukherjee, Goutam Saikhom, Sarineo Fernandes, Akashdeep Singh; Midfielders: Amir Dervisevic (Slovenia), Darren Sidoel (Netherlands), Jackichand Telem, Sourav Das, Angousana Wahengbam, Amarjit Kiyam, Md Rafique, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Bikash Jairu, Romeo Fernandes, Songpu Singsit, Moirangthem Loken Meitei; Forwards: Daniel Chima Chukwu (Nigeria), Antonio Perosevic (Croatia), Balwant Singh, Thongkhosiem Haokip, Naorem Mahesh, Siddhant Shirodkar, Subha Ghosh.
Head Coach: Manolo Diaz (Spain)
Goalkeepers: Dheeraj Moirangthem, Naveen Kumar, Hrithik Tiwari; Defenders: Dylan Fox (Australia), Ivan Gonzalez (Spain, co-captain), Leander; D'Cunha, Saviour Gama, Sanson Pereira, Lalmangaihsanga, Seriton Fernandes (co-captain), Aibanbha Dohling, Mohamed Ali; Midfielders: Edu Bedia (Spain, co-captain), Alberto Noguera (Spain), Muhammed Nemil, Princeton Rebello, Danstan Fernandes, Alexander Romario Jesuraj, Redeem Tlang, Nongdamba Naorem, Glan Martins, Brandon Fernandes (co-captain), Makan Winkle Chote, Christy Davis, Flan Gomes; Forwards: Jorge Ortiz (Spain), Airam Cabrera (Spain), Devendra Murgaonkar.
Head Coach: Juan Ferrando (Spain)
Goalkeepers: Laxmikant Kattimani (co-captain), Gurmeet Singh, Lalbiakhlua Jongte; Defenders: Juanan Gonzalez (Spain) Akash Mishra, Asish Rai, Chinglensana Konsham, Pritam Soraisam, Nikhil Prabhu, Nim Dorjee Tamang; Midfielders: Edu Garcia (Spain), Joao Victor (Brazil, co-captain), Mohammad Yasir, Souvik Chakrabarti, Hitesh Sharma, Sahil Tavora, Nikhil Poojary, Mark Zothanpuia, Halicharan Nazary, Abdul Rabeeh; Forwards: Bartholomew Ogbeche (Nigeria, co-captain), Javi Siverio (Spain), Joel Chianese (Australia), Rohit Danu, Aniket Jadhav, Aaren D’Silva.
Head Coach: Manuel Roca (Spain)
Goalkeepers: Pawan Kumar, Vishal Yadav, Rehenesh TP; Defenders: Eli Sabia (Brazil), Peter Hartley (England, captain), Boris Thangjam, PC Laldinpuia, Narender Gahlot, Ricky Lallawmawma, Laldinliana Renthlei, Karan Amin, Sandip Mandi, Anas Edathodika; Midfielders: Alex Lima (Brazil), Greg Stewart (Scotland), Jitendra Singh, Seiminlen Doungel, Pronay Halder, Mobashir Rahman, Ritwik Das; Forwards: Nerijus Valskis (Lithuania), Jordan Murray (Australia), Komal Thatal, Farukh Choudhary, Ishan Pandita.
Head Coach: Owen Coyle (Scotland).
Goalkeepers: Albino Gomes, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Muheet Shabir, Sachin Suresh; Defenders: Enes Sipovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Marko Leskovic (Croatia), Sandeep Singh, Nishu Kumar, Abdul Hakku, Hormipam Ruivah, Bijoy V, Yendrembam Denechandra Meitei, Sanjeev Stalin, Jessel Carneiro (captain); Midfielders: Adrian Luna (Uruguay), Jeakson Thounaojam, Harmanjot Khabra, Ayush Adhikari, Givson Moirangthem, Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Prashant K, Vincy Barretto, Sahal Abdul Samad, Seityasen Irom; Forwards: Chencho Gyeltshen (Bhutan), Jorge Pereyra Diaz (Argentina), Alvaro Vazquez (Spain), Rahul KP.
Head Coach: Ivan Vukomanovic (Serbia)
Goalkeepers: Mohammad Nawaz, Vikram Lakhbir Singh, Phurba Lachenpa; Defenders: Mourtada Fall (Senegal, captain), Rahul Bheke, Amey Ranawade, Mehtab Singh, Mohammad Rakip, Naocha Huidrom, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, Valpuia aka Hmingthanmawia, Mandar Rao Dessai; Midfielders: Cassio Gabriel (Brazil), Brad Inman (Scotland), Ahmed Jahouh (Morocco), Raynier Fernandes, Rowllin Borges, Naorem Tondomba, Chanso Horam, Asif Khan, Apuia aka Lalengmawia Ralte; Forwards: Igor Angulo (Spain), Ygor Catatau (Brazil), Vikram Pratap Singh, Gurkirat Singh, Bipin Thounaojam, Pranjal Bhumij.
Head Coach: Des Buckingham (England)
Goalkeepers: Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, Mirshad Michu, Nikhil Deka, Sanjiban Ghosh; Defenders: Patrick Flottman (Australia), Tondonba Ngasepam, Provat Lakra, Gurjinder Kumar, Mohammed Irshad, Jestin George, Nabin Rabha, Mashoor Shereef, Joe Zoherliana; Midfielders: Federico Gallego (Uruguay, captain), Hernan Santana (Spain), Khassa Camara (Mauritania), Imran Khan, Emanuel Lalchhanchhuaha, Sehnaj Singh, Pragyan Gogoi, Pragyan Medhi, Rochharzela; Forwards: Mathias Coureur (France), Deshorn Brown (Jamaica), Manvir Singh, VP Suhair, Gani Nigam, Lalkhawpuimawia, William Lalnunfela, Laldanmawia Ralte.
Head Coach: Khalid Jamil (India)
Goalkeepers: Kamaljit Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Kumar; Defenders: Victor Mongil (Spain, co-captain), Hector Rodas Ramirez (Spain, co-captain), Gaurav Bora, Lalruathara, Sahil Panwar, Hendry Antonay, Lalhrezuala Sailung, Sebastian Thangmuansang, Deven Sawhney; Midfielders: Liridon Krasniqi (Malaysia), Javi Hernandez (Spain), Thoiba Moirangthem, Vinit Rai (co-captain), Paul Ramfangzauva, Isaac Vanmalsawma, Isak Vanlalruatfela, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Nandhakumar Sekar, CVL Remtluanga, Nikhil Raj; Forwards: Aridai Cabrera (Spain), Jonathas Cristian De Jesus (Brazil), Akshunna Tyagi, Daniel Lalhlimpuia.
Head Coach: Kiko Ramirez (Spain)
Schedule and kick-off times
Fixtures of the first 55 matches (till January 9, 2022) have been announced. The rest of the fixtures will be revealed at a later date. All matches start 7:30 IST unless otherwise stated.
November 19: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters;
November 20: Bengaluru FC vs NorthEast United FC;
November 21: East Bengal vs Jamshedpur FC;
November 22: Mumbai City FC vs FC Goa;
November 23: Hyderabad FC vs Chennaiyin FC;
November 24: Odisha FC vs Bengaluru FC;
November 25: NorthEast United FC vs Kerala Blasters;
November 26: FC Goa vs Jamshedpur FC;
November 27: East Bengal vs ATK Mohun Bagan;
November 27: Mumbai City FC vs Hyderabad FC - 9:30 PM IST;
November 28: Bengaluru FC vs Kerala Blasters;
November 29: NorthEast United FC vs Chennaiyin FC;
November 30: Odisha FC vs East Bengal;
December 1: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Mumbai City FC;
December 2: Jamshedpur FC vs Hyderabad FC;
December 3: Chennaiyin FC vs East Bengal;
December 4: NorthEast United FC vs FC Goa;
December 4: Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai City FC - 9:30 PM IST;
December 5: Kerala Blasters vs Odisha FC;
December 6: Jamshedpur FC vs ATK Mohun Bagan;
December 7: East Bengal vs FC Goa;
December 8: Hyderabad FC vs Bengaluru FC;
December 9: Mumbai City FC vs Jamshedpur FC;
December 10: Odisha FC vs NorthEast United FC;
December 11: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Chennaiyin FC;
December 11: FC Goa vs Bengaluru FC;
December 12: East Bengal vs Kerala Blasters;
December 13: Hyderabad FC vs NorthEast United FC;
December 14: Odisha FC vs Jamshedpur FC;
December 15: Mumbai City FC vs Chennaiyin FC;
December 16: Bengaluru FC vs ATK Mohun Bagan;
December 17: NorthEast United FC vs East Bengal;
December 18: Chennaiyin FC vs Odisha FC;
December 18: FC Goa vs Hyderabad FC - 9:30 PM IST;
December 19: Mumbai City FC vs Kerala Blasters;
December 20: Jamshedpur FC vs Bengaluru FC;
December 21: NorthEast United FC vs ATK Mohun Bagan;
December 22: Chennaiyin FC vs Kerala Blasters;
December 23: Hyderabad FC vs East Bengal;
December 24: Odisha FC vs FC Goa.
December 26: Kerala Blasters vs Jamshedpur FC;
December 27: NorthEast United FC vs Mumbai City FC;
December 28: Hyderabad FC vs Odisha FC;
December 29: ATK Mohun Bagan vs FC Goa;
December 30: Chennaiyin FC vs Bengaluru FC.
January 2: Kerala Blasters vs FC Goa;
January 2: Jamshedpur FC vs Chennaiyin FC - 9:30 PM IST;
January 3: Odisha FC vs Mumbai City FC;
January 4: Bengaluru FC vs East Bengal;
January 5: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Hyderabad FC;
January 6: Jamshedpur FC vs NorthEast United FC;
January 7: East Bengal vs Mumbai City FC;
January 8: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Odisha FC;
January 8: FC Goa vs Chennaiyin FC - 9:30 PM IST;
January 9: Kerala Blasters vs Hyderabad FC.