| Competition: | Hero I-League |
| Season: | 2020–21 |
| Dates: | 9 January – 27 March 2021 |
| Winners: | Gokulam Kerala 1st I-League title 1st Indian title |
| Continentalcup1: | AFC Cup |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Gokulam Kerala |
| Matches: | 80 |
| Total Goals: | 216 |
| League Topscorer: | Bidyashagar Singh (12 goals) |
| Best Goalkeeper: | Kiran Chemjong (105 mins per goal) |
| Highest Scoring: | (10 January 2021) (14 January 2021) (13 February 2021) |
| Longest Wins: | TRAU (5 games) |
| Longest Unbeaten: | Churchill Brothers (11 games) |
| Longest Winless: | Indian Arrows (7 games) |
| Longest Losses: | NEROCA (6 games) |
| Prevseason: | 2019–20 |
| Nextseason: | 2021–22 |
The 2020–21 I-League (known as the Hero I-League for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of the I-League, one of the top tier Indian professional football leagues, since its establishment in 2007. The tournament was hosted in bio-secure bubble across four venues in Kolkata due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation in India.
Mohun Bagan was declared the champion of the 2019–20 season after the cancellation of matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic, since the second placed team could not catch up even if all 20 games were completed.[1] However, following Mohun Bagan's merger with Indian Super League (ISL) club ATK, the club began competing in the ISL from the 2020–21 ISL season.[2]
Throughout the First Phase, Churchill Brothers kept its dominance with an unbeaten run of 11 games, while in the Second Phase, Gokulam Kerala, Churchill Brothers and TRAU traded the lead several times throughout the Championship Stage. Entering the final matchday, Gokulam Kerala were ahead on goal difference. However, with the Gokulam and TRAU facing off, either team could claim the title with a win. A draw in the Gokulam Kerala–TRAU match and a win were needed for Churchill Brothers to be crowned champions. The game ended in a 4–1 win for Gokulam, giving the Malabarians their first I-league title and qualification for the AFC Cup. NEROCA finished bottom of the Relegation Stage and were to relegated, but were reinstated by AIFF after the viewing the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
All India Football Federation (AIFF) issued an invitation to accept bids for new clubs from non I-League cities, like Delhi, Gangtok, Ranchi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mangalore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ahmedabad and Calicut among many others, to join the league from 2020 onwards. The invitation mentioned that the entity which wins the bid will be granted the right to own and operate a new football club.[6] On 12 August, AIFF announced that Sudeva of Delhi would join the league from this season and Sreenidi Deccan, which is based in Hyderabad, will be playing from Visakhapatnam from the following season.[7] [8] [9]
East Bengal and Mohun Bagan moved to the Indian Super League, when East Bengal joined the league as an expansion team, while Mohun Bagan and ATK, the champions of 2019–20 ISL season, merged to play as ATK Mohun Bagan in the ISL.[10] [11]
Promoted from the 2019–20 2nd Division League
Relegated from the 2019–20 I-League
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all the matches will be played in a single venue. AIFF declared Kolkata as the venue on 14 August.[13] Matches will be played in Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kishore Bharati Krirangan and Mohun Bagan Ground[14] in Kolkata, and Kalyani Stadium in Kalyani.[15]
| Stadium | Capacity | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan | 85,000 | Salt Lake, Kolkata | |
| Kishore Bharati Krirangan | 12,000 | Jadavpore, Kolkata | |
| Mohun Bagan Ground | 20,000 | Maidan, Kolkata | |
| Kalyani Municipal Stadium | 20,000 | Kalyani, Nadia |
| scope=col | Team | scope=col | Head coach | scope=col | Captain | scope=col class=unsortable | Kit Manufacturer | scope=col class=unsortable | Shirt Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Aizawl |  Yan Law |  Alfred Jaryan | Vamos[16] | NECS Limited[17] | ||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Chennai City | Satyasagara | Charles Anandraj | Nivia Sports[18] | TVS Group | ||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Churchill Brothers |  Fernando Santiago Varela |  Bazie Armand | Nivia Sports | Churchill | ||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Gokulam Kerala |  Vincenzo Alberto Annese |  Mohamed Awal | SEGA[19] | Sree Gokulam Group[20] | ||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Indian Arrows | Shanmugam Venkatesh | Lalchhanhima Sailo | SIX5SIX[21] | Hero MotoCorp | ||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Mohammedan | Sankarlal Chakraborty | Kingsley Obumneme | Trak Only[22] | BunkerHill Sports[23] | ||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | NEROCA | Gift Raikhan | Bishorjit Loitongbam | Ambition Sportswear[24] | Grow Manipur Team[25] | ||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Punjab | Curtis Fleming | Bikramjit Singh | T10 Sports[26] | RoundGlass Sports[27] | ||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Real Kashmir | David Robertson | Mason Robertson | Adidas[28] | Hotel CH2 | ||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Sudeva Delhi | Chencho Dorji | Ajay Singh | Puma[29] | Liquid Life[30] | ||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | TRAU | Nandakumar Singh | Phalguni Konsam | Romi Bag[31] | HVS Foundation |
| scope=col | Team | scope=col | Outgoing coach | scope=col | Manner of departure | scope=col | Date of vacancy | scope=col class=unsortable | scope=col | Position in table | scope=col | Incoming coach | scope=col | Date of appointment | scope=col class=unsortable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Gokulam Kerala | Fernando Santiago Varela | End of contract | 17 August 2020 | [32] | Pre-season | Vincenzo Alberto Annese | 19 August 2020 | [33] | ||||||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Churchill Brothers | Mateus Costa | End of interim period | 23 September 2020 | Fernando Santiago Varela | 23 September 2020 | [34] | ||||||||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Chennai City |  Akbar Nawas | Mutual consent | 26 October 2020 | [35] | Satyasagara | 10 December 2020 | [36] | |||||||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Aizawl | Stanley Rozario | Mutual consent | 18 January 2021 | [37] | 10th | Yan Law | 19 January 2021 | |||||||||
| scope=row style="text-align: left; | Mohammedan | José Hevia | Mutual consent | 19 February 2021 | [38] | 7th | Sankarlal Chakraborty | 19 February 2021 | [39] |
Minimum of three and maximum of four foreign players including one player from AFC—affiliated country per team.[40] Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign players as they are a part of AIFF's developmental program. The newly joined team, Sudeva Delhi will field an all-Indian squad for its debut I-League season.[41]
All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated for administrative purposes.
All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated for administrative purposes.
All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated for administrative purposes.
The table includes only the top 10 goalscorers of this season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bidyashagar Singh | TRAU | 12 | |
| 2 |  Luka Majcen | Churchill Brothers | 11 | |
| Denny Antwi | Gokulam Kerala | |||
| 4 |  Clayvin Zuniga | Churchill Brothers | 8 | |
| 5 | Chencho Gyeltshen | Punjab | 7 | |
| 6 |  Komron Tursunov | TRAU | 6 | |
| Mason Robertson | Real Kashmir | |||
| Pedro Manzi | Mohammedan | |||
| Lukman Adefemi | Real Kashmir | |||
| 10 | Philip Adjah | Gokulam Kerala | 5 | |
| Source: I-League | ||||
The table includes only the list of top Indian goalscorers with more than 2 goals in this season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bidyasagar Singh | TRAU | 12 | |
| 2 | MC Malsawmzuala | Aizawl | 3 | |
| Lalremsanga Fanai | Aizawl | |||
| William Pauliankhum | Sudeva Delhi | |||
| Harsh Patre | Indian Arrows | |||
| Vineeth Velmurugan | Chennai City | |||
| Konsam Phalguni Singh | TRAU | |||
| Brandon Vanlalremdika | Aizawl | |||
| Kean Lewis | Sudeva Delhi | |||
| Danish Farooq Bhat | Real Kashmir | |||
| Emil Benny | Gokulam Kerala | |||
| Songpu Singsit | NEROCA | |||
| Source: I-League | ||||
The table includes only the top 10 assist providers of the season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Antwi | Gokulam Kerala | 7 | |
| 2 | Komron Tursunov | TRAU | 6 | |
| 3 | Sena Ralte | Real Kashmir | 5 | |
| 4 | Joseph Olaleye | TRAU | 4 | |
| Tirthankar Sarkar | Mohammedan | |||
| Deepak Devrani | Gokulam Kerala | |||
| 7 | Songpu Singsit | NEROCA | 3 | |
| Luka Majcen | Churchill Brothers | |||
| Nathaniel Garcia | NEROCA | |||
| Bryce Miranda | Churchill Brothers | |||
| Source: Global Sports Archive | ||||
| Player | Club | Against | Goals | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bidyashagar Singh | TRAU | Mohammedan | 3 | 5 March 2021 | |
| Real Kashmir | 10 March 2021 | ||||
| Clayvin Zuniga | Churchill Brothers | Indian Arrows | 3 | 10 January 2021 | |
| Lukman Adefemi | Real Kashmir | NEROCA | 3 | 13 February 2021 |
The table includes only the list of top goalkeepers with more than 1 cleansheet in this season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiran Chemjong | Punjab | 7 | |
| 2 | Mithun Samanta | Real Kashmir | 5 | |
| Rakshit Dagar | Sudeva Delhi | |||
| 4 | Shibinraj Kunniyil | Churchill Brothers | 4 | |
| Ubaid Kadavath | Gokulam Kerala | |||
| 6 | Subham Roy | Mohammedan | 3 | |
| Lalmuansanga | Aizawl | |||
| Bishorjit Singh | NEROCA | |||
| 9 | Shilton Paul | Churchill Brothers | 2 | |
| Ahan Prakash | Indian Arrows | |||
| Amrit Gope | TRAU | |||
| Zothanmawia | Aizawl | |||
| Source: I-League | ||||
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Hero of the League | Bidyashagar Singh[43] | TRAU |
| Golden Boot | Bidyashagar Singh | TRAU |
| Golden Glove | Kiran Chemjong | Punjab |
| Jarnail Singh Award (Best Defender) |  Hamza Kheir | Churchill Brothers |
| Best Midfielder | Konsam Phalguni Singh | TRAU |
| Syed Abdul Rahim Award (Best Coach) | Leimapokpam Nandakumar Singh | TRAU |
| Emerging Player of the League | Emil Benny | Gokulam Kerala |
Source: arunfoot.com
Raphael Onwrebe
