New Delhi: The kick off between Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC on Saturday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai marked the 1000th match of the Indian Super League. This landmark comes in the 11th season of the country’s top-tier football league.
The birth of ISL took place on October 12, 2014, when the now-defunct Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) and Mumbai City FC played the first match at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The Kolkata outfit prevailed with a 3-0 win that night. Since then a total of 2795 goals have been scored across 999 matches.
There have been six different playoff winners and four league shield victors in the last 10 seasons. The first season started with participation of eight teams with some of the best players of yesteryears like Del Piero, John Arne Riise and Robert Pires. Many celebrities in India were portrayed as the face of the franchises with the likes of MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and John Abraham came up as owners. The tournament was based on a franchise system as seen in the IPL and NBA.
It took the ISL just five years to get the official recognition from the global governing body of the sport – Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). This helped the tournament pip the traditional I-League to become India’s top-division league.
𝐈𝐒𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 🔥
Let’s have a look down the #ISL memory lane! 🤩#LetsFootball | @JioCinema @Sports18 pic.twitter.com/kQiPOaQ9l9
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) November 9, 2024
ISL increase in teams
After starting the first season with the participation of just eight teams, the current 2024-25 season features 13 teams, which is because of the promotional factor. The winners of I-league 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons were promoted to the ISL. Punjab FC and Mohammedan Sporting SC (the latest to enter the league this season) are the beneficiaries of the promotional policy.
Earlier, the season would start in October and finish in December. But with the increase in teams and the home and away format being adopted, the ISL is now the longest season (October-March) among the professional sporting leagues stage in India in a calendar year.
Many players have been provided the platform to rub shoulders with players around from the globe. Although the national team hasn’t made a giant impact to justify the weightage of ISL benefitting them grow at the international stage, the league has helped some players to cement their place in the Indian football. Defender Sandesh Jhingan, who is India’s current vice-captain of the national team, shot to prominence when he donned the Kerala Blasters shirt in the inaugural season.
There are many other youngsters from the U-17 team who have made a name for themselves in the ISL. To name a few, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Anirudh Thapa, Anwar Ali, Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Suresh Singh Wangjam and Sahal Abdul Samad. The ISL can only get better from here and make its presence stronger in the Asian circuit first before eyeing for the global dreams.
The kick off between Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC on Saturday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai marked the 1000th match of the Indian Super League. This landmark comes in the 11th season of the country’s top-tier football league. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
