2011–12 I-League
The 2011–12 I-League is the fifth season of the I-League, the topmost level of the Indian football pyramid. The season began in October 2011 and ended in May 2012. Salgaocar are the defending champions, having won their maiden title in the previous season.
The current edition has a total of 14 teams contesting for the honors. These include the top twelve teams from the 2010–11 season along with the two promoted sides, Shillong Lajong and Sporting Clube de Goa, who had been the winner and the runner-up in the 2011 I-League 2nd Division respectively.
Teams
According to the AIFF's rules, the two bottom-most teams from the 2010–11 season-ending points table were supposed to be relegated to the second tier, but in actuality, only ONGC FC were relegated after their second to last place finish, while the team finishing the last, JCT FC decided to disband their senior football team at the close of the session.Shillong Lajong FC and Sporting Clube de Goa, the Champions & Runner-up respectively, of the 2011 I-League 2nd Division, were promoted to the I-League after being relegated only the previous year.
Stadiums and locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Air India | Mumbai | Cooperage Ground | |
| Chirag United Club Kerala | Kozhikode | Kaloor International Stadium | |
| Churchill Brothers | Salcette | Fatorda Stadium | |
| Dempo | Panjim | Fatorda Stadium | |
| East Bengal | Kolkata | Salt Lake Stadium | |
| HAL | Bangalore | Bangalore Football Stadium | |
| Mohun Bagan | Kolkata | Salt Lake Stadium | |
| Mumbai | Mumbai | Cooperage Ground | |
| Pailan Arrows | Kolkata | Salt Lake Stadium | |
| Prayag United | Kolkata | Salt Lake Stadium | |
| Pune | Pune | Balewadi Sports Complex | |
| Salgaocar | Vasco | Fatorda Stadium | |
| Shillong Lajong | Shillong | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium | |
| Sporting Clube de Goa | Panjim | Fatorda Stadium |
Managerial changes
In chronological order from the bottom| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Mohun Bagan |  | Caretaker | 1 June 2011 | Pre-season |  | 19 July 2011 |
| Churchill Brothers |  | Caretaker | 1 June 2011 | Pre-season |  Manuel Gomes | 9 June 2011 |
| Pailan Arrows |  | Sacked | 13 August 2011 | Pre-season | Sukhwinder Singh | 13 August 2011 |
| Chirag United Club Kerala | P. K. Unnikrishnan | Sacked | 1 October 2011 | Pre-season |  Pakir Ali | 2 October 2011 |
| Mohun Bagan | | Resigned | 15 October 2011 | Pre-Season | | 18 October 2011 |
| Pailan Arrows |  Sukhwinder Singh | Resigned | 7 February 2012 | 13th | Sujit Chakravarty | 8 February 2012 |
| Churchill Brothers |  Manuel Gomes | Sacked | 14 February 2012 | 5th |  Carlos Roberto Pereira | 15 February 2012 |
| Chirag United Club Kerala | Pakir Ali | Sacked | 18 February 2012 | 12th | Biswajit Bhattacharya | 18 February 2012 |
Foreign players
Ownership changes
- 1: Anglian Holdings only brought 20% in Shillong Lajong. The rest of the club is still owned by Shillong Lajong plc.
League table
Season charity
IMG Reliance and the I-League have joined hands with the polio eradication campaign India Unite to End Polio Now. IUEPN is an initiative of Aidmatrix Foundation, supported by UNICEF, and a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, World Health Organisation, National Polio Surveillance Project, Rotary International and US Centre for Disease Control.Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 |  Ranti Martins | Dempo | 32 |
| 2 | Odafa Onyeka Okolie | Mohun Bagan | 26 |
| 3 |  Tolgay Özbey | East Bengal | 18 |
| 3 |  Henry Antchouet | Churchill Brothers | 18 |
| 5 |  James Moga | Sporting Goa | 16 |
| 5 |  Mandjou Keita | Pune | 16 |
| 7 |  Yusif Yakubu | United SC | 12 |
| 8 |  Josimar | United SC | 11 |
| 8 | Ogba Kalu | Sporting Goa | 11 |
| 10 | Gbeneme Friday | Mumbai | 10 |
| 10 |  David Sunday | Chirag United Kerala | 10 |
Top Indian scorers
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Odafa Onyeka Okolie | Mohun Bagan | Pailan Arrows | 23 10 2011 | |
| James Moga | Sporting Clube de Goa | Salgaocar | 5 11 2011 | |
| Josimar | United SC | Pune | 5 11 2011 | |
 Tolgay Özbey | East Bengal | HAL | 23 11 2011 | |
| Henry Antchouet | Churchill Brothers | Shillong Lajong | 17 12 2011 | |
| David Opara | Churchill Brothers | Sporting Clube de Goa | 28 12 2011 | |
| Odafa Onyeka Okolie | Mohun Bagan | Churchill Brothers | 15 1 2012 | |
| David Opara | Churchill Brothers | Chirag United Kerala | 04 04 2012 | |
 Rohit Chand | HAL | Pune | 10 04 2012 | |
| Gbeneme Friday | Mumbai | HAL | 14 04 2012 | |
| David Sunday | Chirag United Kerala | East Bengal | 16 04 2012 | |
| Chinadorai Sabeeth | Pailan Arrows | Chirag United Kerala | 25 04 2012 |
Scoring
- First goal of the season: C.K. Vineeth for Chirag United Club Kerala against HAL
- Fastest goal of the season: 3 minutes – Anthony Pereira for Dempo against Shillong Lajong
- Widest winning margin: 7 goals
- *HAL 1-8 East Bengal
- Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 10 goals
- * Pune 6-4 HAL
- Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 4 goals
- *Pune 6-4 HAL
- Most goals scored in a match by a single player: 4 goals
- * Tolgay Özbey for East Bengal against HAL
- * Gbeneme Friday for Mumbai against HAL
End of season awards
- Fan's Player of the Year — Francis Fernandes
- FPAI Young Player of the Year — Manandeep Singh
- FPAI Foreign Player of the Year — Ranti Martins
- FPAI Indian Player of the Year — Syed Rahim Nabi
- FPAI Coach of the Year — Trevor Morgan
FPAI Team of the Year
| Nat. | Position | Name | Club |
| GK | Karanjit Singh | Salgaocar |
| RB | Deepak Mondal | United SC |
| CB | Mahesh Gawli | Dempo |
| CB | Uga Okpara | East Bengal |
| LB | Syed Rahim Nabi | Mohun Bagan |
| RM | Rocus Lamare | Salgaocar |
 | CM | Pierre Djidjia Douhou | Pune |
| CM | Beto | Churchill Brothers |
| LM | Penn Orji | East Bengal |
| ST | Odafa Onyeka Okolie | Mohun Bagan |
| ST | Ranti Martins | Dempo |
 | Coach | Trevor Morgan | East Bengal |