ISL's new season to kick off on 17 Nov
The fourth edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) will kick off on 17th November, with a season opener between reigning champions Atletico de Kolkata, and last season's runner-up Kerala Blasters, in Kolkata. The new expanded league featuring 10 teams will include a total of 95 matches. ISL, for the first time, will have a four-month long season.
The two new additions
Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC are the two new teams to be included for the ISL season 4. Selected through a bidding process, the two teams won the right to participate in the three-year-old-tournament. Established in 2013, JSW Group-owned Bengaluru FC has joined ISL, leaving the I-League. On the other hand, Jamshedpur FC is a new franchise owned by Tata Steel Ltd.
Special mention
Bengaluru FC, featuring Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri, has won the I-League twice (2013-14, 2015-16), in the four seasons it was a part of the tournament.
Format and fixtures
The 95-game tournament includes: 90 games where 10 teams will play each other in home-and-away matches; two-legged semi-finals making it 4 games; and a final. All matches will take place from Wednesday-Saturday at 8 pm, with double headers on Sundays at 5:30 pm and 8 pm. Bengaluru and Jamshedpur teams will play their first matches at home against Mumbai and Kolkata clubs respectively.
Focus on home grown talent
For the 2017-18 ISL season, the 10 participating teams have spent a whopping Rs. 132.75 crores in signing 166 domestic and 77 international footballers. In the current season, the maximum number of foreign players that can be included in the playing XI of a team has been brought down to five from six previously. This has resulted in clubs investing more on domestic talent.
