The 2013–14 I-League (known as the Airtel I-League for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the I-League, the top-tier Indian professional league for football clubs, since its establishment in 2007. The season began on 21 September 2013, and ended on 28 April 2014.
| Season | 2013–14 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Bengaluru 1st I-League title 1st Indian title |
| Relegated | Mohammedan |
| AFC Champions League | Bengaluru |
| AFC Cup | Bengaluru East Bengal |
| Matches played | 156 |
| Goals scored | 402 (2.58 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Cornell Glen Sunil Chhetri Darryl Duffy (14 goals each) |
| Biggest home win | Mohun Bagan 4–0 United (6 December 2013) Sporting Goa 5–1 Shillong Lajong (14 December 2013) Dempo 4–0 Sporting Goa (8 March 2014) Rangdajied United 4–0 United (9 March 2014) |
| Biggest away win | Shillong Lajong 0–4 East Bengal (9 October 2013) |
| Highest scoring | Mohammedan 4–5 Shillong Lajong (16 April 2014) |
| Longest winning run | 5 games Salgaocar[1] |
| Longest unbeaten run | 8 games East Bengal[1] |
| Longest losing run | 4 games Salgaocar[1] |
| Highest attendance | 80,000[2] Mohun Bagan 0–1 East Bengal (24 November 2013) |
| Average attendance | 5,618[3] |
← 2012–13 2014–15 → | |
Churchill Brothers were the defending champions, having won their second I-League title in the previous season.[4]
On 21 April 2014, Bengaluru were crowned champions with one game remaining, winning their first ever I-League title by defeating Dempo 2–4 at Fatorda Stadium. Bengaluru FC also created history by becoming the first team ever to win the I-League title in its debut season.[5] On 28 April 2014, Mohammedan were relegated from the I-League when Churchill Brothers defeated Salgaocar 2–1, and hence survived relegation. Churchill Brothers also avoided being the first defending champions to be relegated.[6]
During the season, Maria Rebello became the first woman referee internationally to officiate in a country's premier league match when she officiated in Pune vs Shillong Lajong on 8 March 2014.[7]
Teams
A total of 13 teams are currently registered to start the new season. Ten clubs from the previous campaign, two promoted sides from the 2013 I-League 2nd Division and one new expansion team.
Rangdajied United as champions and Mohammedan as runners-up secured direct promotion from the 2nd Division.
United Sikkim and Air India were relegated, although Air India would not have been given a licence to compete in this edition after failing to fulfill the AIFF criteria. This same fate happened to ONGC who have also been left out of the coming season.
Mumbai Tigers was accepted into the league on 27 May 2013 but later withdrew citing unavoidable circumstances with only 20 days left into the start of the new season.[8][9]
Bengaluru was also accepted into the league and is based in Bangalore. One other consortium from Kerala, whose leading company is Eagles FC, also expressed interest in joining the league. It was also announced in late May that English club Queens Park Rangers also expressed interest but look to be prepared to enter for the 2014–15 season.[10]
On 29 August 2013, the AIFF decided to shut down Pailan Arrows and withdraw them from the coming season.[11] The league committee also announced in May 2013 to use a Conference Model, the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. The top-four from each Conference would advance to play the final round. But this was later dropped.[12]
On 20 September 2013, it was announced that the largest cellular service provider in India, Airtel, will be the title sponsor of I-League for the 2013–14 season.[13]
Venues and locations
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Captain | Shirt sponsor | Kit sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru |  Ashley Westwood |  Sunil Chhetri | JSW | none |
| Churchill Brothers | Mariano Dias | Lenny Rodrigues | Churchill | none |
| Dempo |  Arthur Papas | Clifford Miranda | Dempo | Nike |
| East Bengal | Armando Colaco | Mehtab Hussain | Kingfisher and SRMB TMT1 | Shiv-Naresh |
| Mohammedan | Sanjoy Sen | R Dhanarajan | EMTA Group2 | none |
| Mohun Bagan |  Karim Bencherifa |  Odafe Okolie | McDowell's No.1 | Fila |
| Mumbai | Khalid Jamil |  Zohib Amiri | TEN HD | Seven |
| Pune |  Mike Snoei | Anas Edathodika | Peninsula | Adidas |
| Rangdajied United | Herring Shangpliang | Poibang Pohshna | none | Diadora |
| Salgaocar | Derrick Pereira | Francis Fernandes | Salgaocar | none |
| Shillong Lajong | Thangboi Singto |  Minchol Son | Aircel | Adidas |
| Sporting Goa |  Óscar Bruzón | Matthew Gonsalves | Models | none |
| United | Ananta Kumar Ghosh | Deepak Mondal | T.H.P.L. | none |
Transfers
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing head coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming head coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru | Expansion team | Pre-season | Ashley Westwood | 2 July 2013[15] | ||
| Dempo | Armando Colaco | End of Contract | 31 May 2013[16] | Arthur Papas | 1 June 2013[17] | |
| East Bengal | Trevor Morgan | Mutual Agreement | 12 May 2013[18] |  Marcos Falopa | 12 June 2013[19] | |
| Mohammedan | Sanjoy Sen | Resigned | 10 May 2013[20] | Abdul Aziz Moshood | 10 June 2013[21] | |
| Pune | Derrick Pereira | End of Contract | 12 May 2013[22] | Mike Snoei | 12 May 2013[23] | |
| Rangdajied United | None1 | Santosh Kashyap | 6 June 2013[24] | |||
| Salgaocar | Dave Booth | End of Contract | 12 May 2013[25] | Derrick Pereira | 12 May 2013[25] | |
| East Bengal | Marcos Falopa | Resigned | 13 November 2013[26] | 10th (5 games in) | Armando Colaco | 20 November 2013[26] |
| Mohammedan | Abdul Aziz Moshood | Sacked | 17 December 2013[27] | 11th (13 games in) | Sanjoy Sen | 17 December 2013[27] |
| United | Eelco Schattorie | Resigned | 27 January 2014[28] | 9th (15 games in) | Ananta Kumar Ghosh | 15 February 2014[29] |
| Rangdajied United | Santosh Kashyap | Sacked | 21 February 2014[30] | 13th | Herring Shangpliang | 1 March 2014[31] |
- 1. ^ Rangdajied United, during the 2013 I-League 2nd Division, were under the control of their General Secretary, Karsing Kurbah.[32]
Foreign players
Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team could use four foreign players on the field during each game including at least one player from the AFC country.
- ^1 Foreign players who left their clubs midway or after first half of the season.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bengaluru (C) | 24 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 47 | Qualification for 2015 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off |
| 2 | East Bengal | 24 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 39 | 23 | +16 | 43 | Qualification for 2015 AFC Cup group stage |
| 3 | Salgaocar | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 39 | |
| 4 | Dempo | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 35 | |
| 5 | Sporting Goa | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 34 | |
| 6 | Shillong Lajong | 24 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 33 | |
| 7 | Pune | 24 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 28 | 32 | −4 | 29 | |
| 8 | Mohun Bagan | 24 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 23 | 24 | −1 | 28 | |
| 9 | Mumbai | 24 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 31 | 32 | −1 | 28 | |
| 10 | United (R) | 24 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 22 | 32 | −10 | 26 | Excluded[a] |
| 11 | Rangdajied United (R) | 24 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 29 | 38 | −9 | 25 | |
| 12 | Churchill Brothers (R) | 24 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 25 | 37 | −12 | 25 | |
| 13 | Mohammedan (R) | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 24 | Relegation to 2015 I-League 2nd Division |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored; 5) taking lots[36]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Results
Season statistics
- As of 28 April 2014[37]
Top Indian Scorers
Hat-tricks
| Player | Club | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalu Ogba | Sporting Goa | Shillong Lajong | 5—1 | 14 December 2013 |
| Tolgay Özbey 4 | Dempo | Churchill Brothers | 4—1 | 28 March 2014 |
 Yusif Yakubu | Mumbai | Churchill Brothers | 4—2 | 13 April 2014 |
 Cornell Glen | Shillong Lajong | Mohammedan | 5—4 | 16 April 2014 |
4 Player scored 4 goals
Disciplinary
Most red cards (2)
Most yellow cards (7)- Worst disciplinary record (2 red cards & 5 yellow cards)
Fair play
The Fair Play qualities of the participating teams and which are pertinent to the spectators will be evaluated using the FIFA Fair Play evaluation form.[38] Salgaocar led the Fair Play rankings at the end of the season.[39]
| Rank | Team | Games | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salgaocar | 24 | 1904.643 |
| 2 | United | 24 | 1850.357 |
| 3 | Rangdajied United | 24 | 1841.429 |
| 4 | Mumbai | 24 | 1839.286 |
| 5 | Dempo | 24 | 1824.286 |
| 6 | Bengaluru | 24 | 1816.571 |
| 7 | East Bengal | 24 | 1813.514 |
| 8 | Shillong Lajong | 24 | 1797.143 |
| 9 | Mohun Bagan | 24 | 1788.214 |
| 10 | Pune | 24 | 1760.357 |
| 11 | Mohammedan | 24 | 1744.286 |
| 12 | Sporting Goa | 24 | 1719.286 |
| 13 | Churchill Brothers | 24 | 1672.071 |
Average attendance
Average attendance at the various clubs were as follows:[2][3]
| Rank | Team | Average attendance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohun Bagan | 17,068 |
| 2 | Shillong Lajong | 11,308 |
| 3 | East Bengal | 8,667 |
| 4 | Rangdajied United | 7,687 |
| 5 | Mohammedan | 7,083 |
| 6 | Bengaluru | 7,038 |
| 7 | Pune | 2,586 |
| 8 | Dempo | 2,542 |
| 9 | Churchill Brothers | 2,450 |
| 10 | Salgaocar | 2,421 |
| 11 | United | 2,250 |
| 12 | Sporting Goa | 1,608 |
| 13 | Mumbai | 321 |
| League Average | 5618 |
Awards
AIFF Awards
All India Football Federation awarded the following awards for the I-League season, voted by all the captains and the coaches of all the participating clubs.[40]
- Best player of I-League: Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru)
- Best goalkeeper of I-League: Karanjit Singh (Salgaocar)
- Best defender of I-League: John Johnson (Bengaluru)
- Best midfielder of I-League: Douhou Pierre (Pune)
- Best forward of I-League: Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru)
- Best referee of I-League: Pratap Singh
- Best assistant referee of I-League: Sapan Kennedy
FPAI Awards
Football Player's Association of India awarded the following award for the season[41]
- Indian player of the year :
Balwant Singh - Coach of the season :
Ashley Westwood - Young player of the season : Alwyn George
- Foreign player of the season :
Daryl Duffy - Fans player of the season : Boithang Haokip