The 2017-18 season of Indian Super League (ISL) will be a six-month affair, an apparent extension of last year’s duration three-month. In 2016, the cash-rich franchise based tournament kicked off on October 1 and continued until December 18 when Atletico de Kolkata defeated Kerala Blasters in the final to lift their second ISL title.
According to sources of India.com, the Reliance-IMG and All India Football Federation (AIFF) decided to extend the time of the league with an intent to make it a national league of India replacing with the I-League in near future.
If everything goes well, the 2018-19 season could be an eight-month affair, the sources added.
The ambitious tournament kicked off its journey from 2014 when Kolkata’s Atletico de Kolkata defeated Kerala Blasters in the final at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. ISL has already caught the imagination of Indian football loving fans.
The AIFF has also expressed their wish to replace this league with I-League as a national league of the country as it offered a path breaking development to Indian football. With quality but aged overseas players embracing this league as a professional opportunity, Indian players are taking full benefit of their presence in the dressing room. Indian players got the chance to share the dressing room with big names of European football which helped Indian players to learn tricks and skills of the game.
Right now, ISL is comprised of eight teams, and the teams are Delhi Dynamos, FC Pune City, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters, Chennaiyin FC, Mumbai City FC, Atletico de Kolkata, and North East United. Meanwhile, a new team from Jamshedpur sponsored by Tata Steel is waiting for their ISL debut alongside JSW’s Bengaluru FC.
Recently, AIFF took an initiative to pave way for Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal’s participation in the ISL.
