| Competition: | I-League 2nd Division |
| Season: | 2017–18 |
| Winners: | Real Kashmir |
| Matches: | 95 |
| Total Goals: | 274 |
| League Topscorer: | Robert Ribeiro (Ozone) (10 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Ozone 7–0 Madhya Bharat |
| Biggest Away Win: | Kerala Blasters (R) 1–5 Kerala |
| Highest Scoring: | Ozone 7–0 Madhya Bharat |
| Prevseason: | 2016–17 |
| Nextseason: | 2018–19 |
The 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division (known as Hero 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division, for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the I-League 2nd Division, the second division Indian football league, since its establishment in 2008. The season started with the preliminary rounds from 14 March to 15 May 2018. The final round of the league took place between 21 May to 30 May 2018 at FSV Arena, Bengaluru.[1]
This season featured 18 teams, divided into three groups of six teams each. The season also featured the reserve sides of seven Indian Super League clubs, none of which were eligible to qualify for the final round.[1] Real Kashmir won the title on 30 May 2018 and earned the promotion to 2018–19 I-League.[2] They also made history becoming first team from state of Jammu & Kashmir to enter the first division of I-League[3]
Just like the previous season, the I-League 2nd Division will feature a preliminary round and a final round.[4] During the preliminary round, the 18 teams will be divided into three groups of six teams each. All the matches during the preliminary round will be played in a double round-robin basis, in which every team plays all others in their group once at home and once away.[1] The winners of the three groups, along with the best second placed team, will qualify for the final round. The seven Indian Super League reserve sides in the league will not be eligible to qualify for the final round.[4]
During the final round, the four teams will face each other in a single-leg league system at a neutral venue, where each team faces each other once. At the end of the round, the team in first will earn promotion to the next division of Indian football.[4]
| Team | City/State | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru (R) | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Bangalore Football Stadium | 8,400 | |
| Chennaiyin (R) | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | SSN College Ground | TBA | |
| Delhi Dynamos (R) | Delhi | 35,000 | ||
| Delhi United | Delhi | TBA | ||
| Fateh Hyderabad | Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh | Anantapur Sports Village Football Ground[5] | TBA | |
| Goa (R) | Margao, Goa | Fatorda Stadium | 19,000 | |
| Hindustan | Delhi | Ambedkar Stadium | 35,000 | |
| Jamshedpur (R) | Jamshedpur, Jharkhand | JRD Tata Sports Complex | 24,500 | |
| Kerala | Thrissur, Kerala | Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium | 15,000 | |
| Kerala Blasters (R) | Kochi, Kerala | Maharaja's College Stadium | 15,000 | |
| Langsning | Shillong, Meghalaya | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | 30,000 | |
| Lonestar Kashmir | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir | TRC Turf Ground | 15,000 | |
| Madhya Bharat | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh | JLU Ground | TBA | |
| Mohammedan | Kolkata, West Bengal | Barasat Stadium[6] | 22,000 | |
| Ozone | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Bangalore Football Stadium | 8,400 | |
| Pune City (R) | Pune, Maharashtra | Pirangute Football Ground | TBA | |
| Real Kashmir | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir | TRC Turf Ground | 15,000 | |
| TRAU | Manipur | Khuman Lampak Main Stadium[7] | 35,000 |
| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru (R) |  Naushad Moosa[8] | Puma | JSW | |
| Chennaiyin (R) | Syed Sabir Pasha[9] | Performax | Apollo Tyres | |
| Delhi Dynamos (R) |  Francisco Perez Lazaro[10] | T10 Sports | Kent RO Systems | |
| Delhi United | Hugo Martins[11] | None | Peregrine Aviation | |
| Goa (R) | Clifford Miranda[12] | None | None | |
| Fateh Hyderabad | Ellimishetty Shyam[13] | None | Premier | |
| Hindustan | Vikrant Sharma[14] | Cosco | Hero Motocorp | |
| Jamshedpur (R) | Hilal Parray[15] | Nivia | Tata | |
| Kerala | T G Purushothaman[16] | TGP | Yogakshemam Loans | |
| Kerala Blasters (R) | Renjith Ajithkumar | Admiral | Muthoot | |
| Langsning | Hering Shangpliang[17] | None | Lotto | |
| Lonestar Kashmir |  Clebson Duarte da Silva[18] | TBA | TBA | |
| Madhya Bharat | José Carlos Hevia[19] | None | None | |
| Mohammedan | Biswajit Bhattacharya[20] | Kaizen [21] | TBA | |
| Ozone | Dave Booth[22] | None | Ozone Group | |
| Pune City (R) | Roger Lamesa Grau | Adidas | Suzuki Gixxer | |
| Real Kashmir | David Robertson[23] | TBA | TBA | |
| TRAU | L Nandakumar Singh[24] | Nike[25] | HVS |
Each club, excluding the Indian Super League reserve sides, can register three foreign players in their squad. One of the foreign players has to be from an AFC Member Nation.[1]
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | AFC player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi United |  Ladji Saika Sylla | Kouame Konan Zacharie | ||
 Edmund Owusu Peprah | Godwin Quashiga |  Nuriev Vladislav | ||
| Hindustan | Amestrong Alexandré[26] |  Martins Rami | ||
| Bala Alhassan Dahir[27] | ||||
| Lancine Toure | Jacson Glei Da Silva Clemente |  Kento Sakurai | ||
 Alexandre Tabillon[28] | ||||
 Ibrahim Sylla | ||||
 Fikru Teferra[29] | Echezona Anyichie[30] | Wael Ayan[31] | ||
| Robert de Souza Ribeiro [32] | Chika Wali[33] | |||
| Loveday Enyinnaya | Yao Kouassi Bernard | |||
| Princewell Emeka [34] | Christoppe Jonnette[35] |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert D‘Souza Ribiero | Ozone | 10 |
| 2 | Ozone | 9 | |
| 3 | Aakif Javaid | Lonestar Kashmir | 7 |
| Kerala Blasters (R) | |||
| Kerala Blasters (R) | |||
| Kitboklang Pale | Langsning | ||
| Princewill Emeka | TRAU | ||
| 8 | Shreyas VG | Kerala | 6 |
| Gourav Mukhi | Jamshedpur (R) | ||
| Hitova Ayemi | Fateh Hyderabad | ||
| Kushant Chauhan | Hindustan |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mithun Samanto | Hindustan | 7 |
| Abhishek Das | Ozone | ||
| 3 | Anuj Kumar | Pune City (R) | 6 |
| 4 | Sukhwinder Singh | Real Kashmir | 5 |
| 5 | Royal Basumatary | Delhi United | 4 |
| 6 | Ahamad Afsar | Kerala | 3 |
| Shayon Roy | Delhi Dynamos (R) | ||
| Surjay Kumar Pariyar | Langsning | ||
| Tajuddin | TRAU | ||
| Avjit Kar | Kerala Blasters (R) | ||
| Mohammed Nawaz | Goa (R) |
| Rank | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | Date | Stadium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamshedpur (R) | 1–3 | Langsning | 8,256 | JRD Tata Sports Complex | ||
| 2 | Jamshedpur (R) | 3–2 | Chennaiyin (R) | 6,315 | JRD Tata Sports Complex | ||
| 3 | Real Kashmir | 0–0 | Pune City (R) | 5,992 | TRC Turf Ground | ||
| 4 | Jamshedpur (R) | 1–1 | Mohammedan | 5,342 | JRD Tata Sports Complex | ||
| 5 | Jamshedpur (R) | 1–1 | TRAU | 4,200 | JRD Tata Sports Complex | ||
| 6 | Kerala | 3–2 | Kerala Blasters (R) | 4,000 | Corporation Stadium | ||
| 7 | TRAU | 1–2 | Bengaluru (R) | 3,500 | Khuman Lampak Main Stadium | ||
| 8 | TRAU | 4–1 | Mohammedan | 3,100 | Khuman Lampak Main Stadium | ||
| 9 | Lonestar Kashmir | 0–1 | Delhi Dynamos (R) | 3,000 | TRC Turf Ground | ||
| 10 | TRAU | 3–1 | Langsning | 3,000 | Khuman Lampak Main Stadium |