| Competition: | I-League |
| Season: | 2012–13 |
| Winners: | Churchill Brothers 2nd I-League title 2nd Indian title |
| Relegated: | Air India United Sikkim |
| Continentalcup1: | AFC Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Pune |
| Continentalcup2: | AFC Cup |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Pune Churchill Brothers |
| League Topscorer: | Ranti Martins (26 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Prayag United 10–1 United Sikkim (10 November 2012) Salgaocar 9–0 United Sikkim (13 April 2013) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Air India 0–6 Pune (20 April 2013) |
| Highest Scoring: | Churchill Brothers 8–4 Sporting Goa (16 December 2012) |
| Matches: | 182 |
| Total Goals: | 531 |
| Longest Wins: | 6 games Churchill Brothers |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 10 games Churchill Brothers Mohun Bagan |
| Longest Losses: | 6 games Air India |
| Prevseason: | 2011–12 |
| Nextseason: | 2013–14 |
The 2012–13 I-League was the sixth season of the I-League, the Indian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 6 October 2012 and finished on 12 May 2013 with Churchill Brothers crowned champions in matchday 25.
Dempo were the defending champions, having won their third I-League title the previous season.
On 29 December 2012, Mohun Bagan were barred from competing in the I-League for 2 years following a decision taken by the I League core committee. This was because they failed to turn up in the second half of the match against East Bengal because of crowd trouble. All their results in the I-League were declared null and void and all their remaining fixtures were cancelled.[1]
But on 15 January 2013, Mohun Bagan appealed against the decision to ban them from the league and were reinstated, but would start on 0 points.[2]
A total of 14 teams contested the league, including 12 sides from the 2011–12 season and two promoted from the 2012 I-League 2nd Division.
ONGC as champions and United Sikkim as runners-up secured direct promotion from the 2012 I-League 2nd Division. ONGC returned to the I-League after a one-year absence, while United Sikkim made their debut in the I-League.
Due to the ongoing redevelopment of the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai which is the regular home for Mumbai F.C. and Air India FC in the I-League both clubs will play at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune, Maharashtra until it is complete.[3]
The newly promoted ONGC F.C. also usually play at the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai but due to the redevelopment the team decided to play at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi which is where the main company, ONGC, are based. However it will only be for five home matches.[4]
The four Goan clubs in the I-League, Churchill Brothers, Dempo, Salgaocar, and Sporting Clube de Goa, usually play their I-League matches at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao. However, due to a major revamp at the stadium in preparation for the 2013 Lusophony Games which will be held in Goa, the Goan home games for the I-League will be played at the Duler Stadium and then the Tilak Maidan Stadium from the end of January.[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ONGC |  Caetano Pinho | Unknown | 30 April 2012 | Pre-Season | Subrata Bhattacharya | 30 April 2012[6] | |
| Pailan Arrows | | End of tenure as interim manager | 7 May 2012 | Pre-Season |  Arthur Papas | 24 May 2012[7] | |
| Mohun Bagan | | Sacked | 26 May 2012 | Pre-Season | Santosh Kashyap | 26 May 2012[8] | |
| Air India | Santosh Kashyap | Signed by Mohun Bagan | 26 May 2012 | Pre-Season | 3 July 2012[9] | ||
| Shillong Lajong | Pradyum Reddy | Changed to a Head of Youth | 8 June 2012 | Pre-Season | Desmond Bulpin | 8 June 2012[10] | |
| Churchill Brothers |  Carlos Roberto Pereira | Did not renew contract | 7 May 2012 | Pre-Season | Mariano Dias | 13 July 2012[11] | |
| Mohun Bagan | Santosh Kashyap | Resigned | 13 October 2012 | 11th (2 games In) | Mridul Banerjee | 19 October 2012[12] | |
| Salgaocar |  Karim Bencherifa | Resigned | 20 October 2012 | 9th (2 games In) | Peter Vales | 20 October 2012[13] | |
| Prayag United | Sanjoy Sen | Resigned | 8 November 2012 | 5th (4 games In) |  Eelco Schattorie | 8 November 2012[14] | |
| Salgaocar | Peter Vales | Interem period ended | 9 November 2012 | 9th (4 games In) | David Booth | 9 November 2012[15] | |
| United Sikkim |  Philippe De Ridder | Changed Post to football director | 13 November 2012 | 11th (5 games In) | Baichung Bhutia | 13 November 2012[16] | |
| Mohun Bagan | Mridul Banerjee | Interim period ended | 19 November 2012 | 5th (6 games in) | Karim Bencherifa | 19 November 2012[17] | |
| Sporting Goa | Ekendra Singh | Moved to Goalkeeper Coach | 3 December 2012 | 11th (9 games in) |  Oscar Bruzon | 3 December 2012[18] | |
| United Sikkim | Baichung Bhutia | Interim period ended | 10 December 2012 | 12th (10 games in) | Nathan Hall | 10 December 2012[19] | |
| ONGC | Subrata Bhattacharya | Sacked | 18 December 2012 | 14th (11 games in) | Santosh Kashyap | 18 December 2012[20] | |
| Air India | Godfrey Pereira | Resigned | 27 December 2012 | 10th (10 games in) | Anthony Fernandes | 30 December 2012[21] | |
| Shillong Lajong | Desmond Bulpin | Sacked | 22 January 2013 | 12th (16 games in) | Thangboi Singto | 22 January 2013[22] | |
| Air India | Anthony Fernandes | Interim period ended | 2 March 2013 | 12th (17 games in) | Naushad Moosa | 2 March 2013[23] |
Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team could use three foreign players on the field each game including a least one player from the AFC country.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Asian Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air India |  Henry Ezeh | Junior Obagbemiro | Amos Omeje |  Mujtaba Faiz | |
| Churchill Brothers | Beto |  Henry Antchouet |  Lamine Tamba | Balal Arezou | |
| Dempo |  Ryuji Sueoka |  Johnny Menyongar | Koko Sakibo | None | |
| East Bengal | Chidi Edeh | Uga Okpara | Penn Orji | Andrew Barisić | |
| Mohun Bagan |  Quinton Jacobs | Echezona Anyichie | Odafe Okolie | Tolgay Özbey | |
| Mumbai |  Evans Quao | Yusif Yakubu | David Opara | Zohib Amiri | |
| ONGC | Eric Brown | Muritala Ali | Hassan Odeola | Katsumi Yusa | |
| Pailan Arrows | Pailan Arrows don't use foreigners as they are a Developmental Team | ||||
| Prayag United |  Carlos Hernández | Ranti Martins | Bello Razaq | Kayne Vincent[24] | |
| Pune | Pierre Douhou | Chika Wali | James Moga | Boima Karpeh | |
| Salgaocar | Josimar | Luciano Sabrosa | O. J. Obatola | John Wilkinson | |
| Shillong Lajong | Sho Kamimura | Taisuke Matsugae |  Edinho Júnior | Minchol Son | |
| Sporting Goa | Ogba Kalu Nnanna | Ángel Berlanga | Juanfri | Seiya Sugishita | |
| United Sikkim |  John Landa | Salau Nuruddin | Pablo Rodríguez | Steve Hayes | |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranti Martins | Prayag United | 26 |
| 2 | Odafe Onyeka Okolie | Mohun Bagan | 19 |
| 3 | Chidi Edeh | East Bengal | 18 |
| 4 | James Moga | Pune | 16 |
| 5 | Henry Antchouet | Churchill Brothers | 14 |
| 6 | Beto | Churchill Brothers | 13 |
| 7 | Ogba Kalu Nnanna | Sporting Goa | 11 |
| Ryuji Sueoka | Dempo | ||
| 9 |  Akram Moghrabi | Churchill Brothers | 10 |
| Yusif Yakubu | Mumbai | ||
| Tolgay Özbey | Mohun Bagan |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C.K. Vineeth | Prayag United | 7 |
| 2 | Joaquim Abranches | Dempo | 6 |
| Bineesh Balan | Churchill Brothers | ||
| Francis Fernandes | Salgaocar | ||
| 5 | Peter Carvalho | Dempo | 5 |
| Dawson Fernandes | Sporting Goa | ||
| Pune | |||
| Jeje Lalpekhlua | Pune | ||
| Holicharan Narzary | Pailan Arrows | ||
| Clifford Miranda | Dempo | ||
| Sushil Kumar Singh | Shillong Lajong | ||
| Milan Singh | Pailan Arrows | ||
| Lalrindika Ralte | East Bengal |
| Player | For ! | Against | Result | Round | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prayag United | Air India | 5–1 | 1 | |||
| Churchill Brothers | ONGC | 5–0 | 2 | |||
| Mohun Bagan | Sporting Goa | 3–1 | 4 | |||
| Ranti Martins[25] | Prayag United | United Sikkim | 10–1 | 5 | ||
| Churchill Brothers | Sporting Goa | 8–4 | 11 | |||
| East Bengal | Salgaocar | 4–1 | 14 | |||
| Dempo | United Sikkim | 7–0 | 17 | |||
| Prayag United | Air India | 4–1 | 19 | |||
| Mohun Bagan | Sporting Goa | 5–1 | 23 | |||
| Salgaocar | United Sikkim | 9–0 | 24 |