| 2009–10 I-League | |
| League: | I-League |
| Sport: | Association football |
| Pixels: | 100px |
| Duration: | 1 October 2009 – 28 May 2010 |
| No Of Teams: | 14 |
| Season: | I-League season |
| Season Champs: | Dempo 2nd I-League title 4th Indian title |
| Top Scorer: | Odafa Onyeka Okolie |
| Seasonslistnames: | I-League |
| Prevseason Link: | 2008–09 I-League |
| Prevseason Year: | 2008–09 |
| Nextseason Link: | 2010–11 I-League |
| Nextseason Year: | 2010–11 |
The 2009–10 I-League season began on 1 October 2009 with Mahindra United hosting defending champions Churchill Brothers in Mumbai.[1] The season marked the addition of four new teams, with Lajong, Pune, Salgaocar and Viva Kerala were confirmed to participate in the I-League. With the inception of these four clubs, many club transfers have been undergone within India, and around the world. The length of the regular season will be longer than in previous years, with 26 rounds rather than 22.
India became the latest member association to adopt AFC's 3+1 rule which will allow clubs to recruit one player of Asian origin in addition to their regular quota of three foreigners.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) executive committee decided to embrace the new AFC rule which encourages the mobility of talented Asian players and provides a fillip to the regional game.[2]
Two of the I-League teams were playing in the 2010 AFC Cup. This had caused some delays in scheduling. East Bengal lost all its round robin matches and was out of the tournament, but Churchill Brothers were at Knockout stage.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahindra United |  Derrick Pereira | Resigned[3] | David Booth[4] | Pre season | ||
| Mumbai | David Booth | Resigned[5] | Khalid Jamil[6] | 20 June 2009 | Pre season | |
| Shillong Lajong | Herring Shangpliang | Sacked[7] | Stanley Rozario | 1 June 2009 | Pre season | |
| Salgaocar | Peter Vales | Promoted to technical director[8] |  Tim Hankinson | 12 July 2009 | Pre season | |
| Sporting Goa |  Clifford Chukwuma | Lacked qualifications[9] [10] |  Roy Barreto | Pre season | ||
| Churchill Brothers |  Zoran Đorđević | Contract Expired[11] |  Carlos Roberto Pereira da Silva | 3 July 2009 | Pre season | |
| Pune | Stewart Hall | Contract Expired | ||||
| East Bengal | Subhash Bhowmick | Resigned[12] |  Philippe De Ridder | 12 | ||
| Sporting Goa | Roy Barreto | Resigned[13] | Vishwas Goankar | 14 December 2009. | 14 | |
| Air India | Bimal Ghosh | Resigned[14] | Yusuf Ansari | 8 January 2010. | 12 | |
| Mohun Bagan |  Karim Bencherifa | Sacked[15] | Satyajit Chatterjee | 7 | ||
| Salgaocar | Tim Hankinson | Sacked | Karim Bencherifa | |||
| Mohun Bagan | Satyajit Chatterjee | Resignation[16] | Biswajit Bhattacharjee | 1 April 2010 | 5 |
As of 18 May 2010 (season end)
Edmar Figueira (Pune) N.D.Opara (Air India) Mohammed Rafi (Mahindra United) Jose Ramirez Barreto (Mohun Bagan)| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odafa Onyeka Okolie | Churchill Brothers | Chirag United Kerala | 4–2 | 2010-3-07 | |
| Muritala Ali | Mahindra United | Air India | 4–0 | 2009-11-12 | |
| Muritala Ali | Mahindra United | Salgaocar | 4–1 | 2009-10-18 | |
| Baljit Singh Sahni | JCT | Shillong Lajong | 5–1 | 2009-10-4 |