Mohammedan Sporting I- league 2023-24 Champion
Sport
4 min read
Mohammedan Sporting of Kolkata won the I-League 2023-24 by defeating Shillong Lajong Club 2-1 on 6 April 2024 at the SSA Ground in Shillong, Meghalaya. The 133-year-old Kolkata-based club also secured a place in the next season’s Indian Super League, subject to meeting the Indian Club Licensing Premier 1 criteria.
Mohammedan Sporting has also qualified for next year's AFC Cup, which will be organised by the Asian Football Federation.
Since the start of the I-league in 2007-08, Mohammedan Sporting has never been able to win the I-league. It was the first I-league title for the illustrious Kolkata football club.
The I-League football tournament is played in a round-robin format where the teams play against each other. The team which secures the maximum points is declared the winner.
Before the start of the match against Shillong Lajong club, Mohammedan Sporting needed just one point to secure its first-ever title. Alexis Gomez and Evgeny Kozlov scored for Mohammedan Sporting, while Douglas Tardin converted a penalty to score the match's only goal for the Shillong Lajong club.
Mohammedan Sporting, known as Black and White Brigade, won the trophy with one match left. After 23 matches, Mohammedan Sporting has 52 points, eight more than second-placed Sreenidi Deccan, Which has two matches left to play this season and can earn a maximum of six points.
What is 'I-League'
The I-League is a professional men’s football league started in 2007-08 by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) . The I-League replaced the National Football League. The National Football League was started by the AIFF in 1996 to make Indian men’s football professional, raise the standards of domestic football, and make the game popular across the country.
Dempo Sports Club of Gao won the first I-League in 2007-08. It is also the most successful team in the I-League history, winning the title 3 times.
The 2022-23 champion team was RoundGlass Punjab.
The Indian Super League
The Indian Super League is based on cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL). The AIFF signed a fifteen-year deal with the Reliance Industries -International Management Group in 2010 to allow the Reliance Industries -International Management Group to organise and manage the Indian Super League.
The ISL is also based on the city-based club models. In the first season of the league, organised in 2014, eight clubs participated, and Atletico de Kolkata won. Currently, 12 clubs participate in the ISL. ATK Mohun Bagan of Kolkata is the 2022-23 champion.
President of All India Football Federation -Kalyan Chaubey
