2017–18 I-League


The 2017–18 I-League is the 11th season of the I-League. Aizawl were the defending champions. NEROCA entered as the promoted team from the 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division. The season began on 25 November 2017.

Teams

invited bids for new teams on 21 July 2017 from Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Ranchi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bhopal, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Malappuram and Trivandrum, among others.
On 20 September, after second round of bidding invitation, the Bid Evaluation Committee decided to award Sree Gokulam Group the right to field their team in the Hero I-League 2017–18 season onward from Kozhikode, Kerala. Bengaluru FC successfully bid for a place in 2017–18 Indian Super League season and thus was not a part of I-League. NEROCA F.C. were promoted for winning 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division. After successful hosting of FIFA U-17 World Cup, AIFF revived Indian Arrows project to field the colts in I-League.

Stadiums and locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
AizawlAizawl, MizoramRajiv Gandhi Stadium20,000
Chennai CityCoimbatore, Tamil NaduJawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Coimbatore30,000
Churchill BrothersSalcete, GoaTilak Maidan Stadium6,000
East BengalKolkata, West BengalSalt Lake Stadium
Barasat Stadium
66,000
East BengalKolkata, West BengalSalt Lake Stadium
Barasat Stadium
22,000
Indian ArrowsDelhi, New Delhi
Bambolim, Goa
Ambedkar Stadium
GMC Bambolim Athletic Stadium
35,000
Indian ArrowsDelhi, New Delhi
Bambolim, Goa
Ambedkar Stadium
GMC Bambolim Athletic Stadium
6,500
Gokulam KeralaKozhikode, KeralaEMS Stadium54,000
Minerva PunjabLudhiana, PunjabGuru Nanak Stadium15,000
Mohun BaganKolkata, West BengalSalt Lake Stadium
Barasat Stadium
Mohun Bagan Ground
66,687
Mohun BaganKolkata, West BengalSalt Lake Stadium
Barasat Stadium
Mohun Bagan Ground
22,000
Mohun BaganKolkata, West BengalSalt Lake Stadium
Barasat Stadium
Mohun Bagan Ground
22,000
NEROCAImphal, ManipurKhuman Lampak Main Stadium30,000
Shillong LajongShillong, MeghalayaJawaharlal Nehru Stadium30,000

Personnel and kits

Foreign players

On 2 August 2017, it was announced by the All India Football Federation that the number of foreigners for each I-League club would go up to six, with two of the six having to be born in Asia or registered with the AFC.
Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign players as they are the AIFF developmental team.
ClubForeigner 1Foreigner 2Foreigner 3Foreigner 4AFC Foreigner 1AFC Foreigner 2
Aizawl Léonce Dodoz Alfred Jaryan Kareem Omolaja Andrei Ionescu Masih Saighani Yugo Kobayashi
Chennai City Jean-Michel JoachimAleksandar Rakić Uroš Poljanec Venyamin Shumeyko Kim Dong-hyeon
Churchill Brothers Dawda Ceesay Francis Onyeama Monday Osagie Willis Plaza Bektur Talgat Uulu Hussein Eldor
East Bengal Eduardo Ferreira Ansumana Kromah Dudu Omagbemi Katsumi Yusa Mahmoud Amnah
Gokulam Kerala Daniel Addo Emmanuel Chigozie Henry Kisekka Musa Mudde Mahmood Al-Ajmi Gulom Urunov
Minerva Punjab William Opoku Bazie Armand Guy Eric Dano Kassim Aidara Chencho Gyeltshen Kiran Chemjong
Mohun Bagan Aser Pierrick Dipanda Akram MoghrabiBimal Gharti Magar Kingsley Obumneme Cameron Watson Yuta Kinowaki
NEROCA Nedo Turković Fabien Vorbe Varney Kallon Felix Chidi Odili Nick Ward Aryn Williams
Shillong Lajong Lawrence Doe Abdoulaye Koffi Daniel Odafin Saihou Jagne Oh Joo-ho

Results

League table

Results table

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Aser Pierrick DipandaMohun Bagan13
2 Dudu OmagbemiEast Bengal8
3 Chencho GyeltshenMinerva Punjab7
3 Felix Chidi OdiliNEROCA7
5 Katsumi YusaEast Bengal6
6 Jean-Michel JoachimChennai City5
6 William OpokuMinerva Punjab5
8 Yugo KobayashiAizawl4
8 Mechac KoffiChurchill Brothers4
8 Abhijit SarkarIndian Arrows4
8 Subhash SinghNEROCA4
8 Abdoulaye KoffiShillong Lajong4
8 Léonce Dodoz ZikahiAizawl4
8 Akram MoghrabiMohun Bagan4
8 Henry KisekkaGokulam Kerala4

Top Indian scorers

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
Dudu Omagbemi4East BengalChennai City7–024 2 2018

4 Player scored 4 goals.

Clean sheets

RankPlayerClubClean
sheets
1 Shilton PaulMohun Bagan8
2 Avilash PaulAizawl6
3 Phurba LachenpaShillong Lajong5
3 Uroš PoljanecChennai City5
3 Bishorjit SinghNEROCA5
6 Lalit ThapaNEROCA4
6 Rakshit DagarMinerva Punjab4
8 Luis BarretoEast Bengal3
8 James KithanChurchill Brothers3
8 Kiran ChemjongMinerva Punjab3
11 Dheeraj SinghIndian Arrows2
11 Prabhsukhan Singh GillIndian Arrows2
11 Nidhin LalShillong Lajong2
11 Ubaid C KEast Bengal2
11 Bilal Husain KhanGokulam Kerala2

Attendance

Average home attendances

Team
NEROCA9192,43835,28511,02021,382
East Bengal9156,29552,9518,69217,366
Mohun Bagan9142,42164,3604,36015,825
Gokulam Kerala973,17725,8416218,131
Chennai City973,73914,7513,0828,194
Minerva Punjab951,6278,2433,8455,736
Shillong Lajong949,0867,8803,0005,454
Aizawl938,2977,2802,8004,256
Indian Arrows929,3005,5632183,256
Churchill Brothers926,2853,4372,4002,921
Total90832,66564,36021810,280

Highest attendances

Awards

Hero of the Match

Season awards

Hero I-League 2017–18 awards were announced on March 22.