Kolkata is set to stage the next edition of the Hero I-League and the domestic football tournament is likely to kick off in December later this year, the AIFF said on Saturday. League CEO Sunando Dhar apprised the committee that the I-League will be played among 13 teams this season.
“The format of the League will be the same as the last edition with all teams playing each other once, and then divided into two groups,” Dhar said in a release.
“While the top half vying for the Championship will comprise 7 teams, the bottom half which will be battling it out for the relegation will have 6 teams. The number of matches will also be more this edition — a rise from 80 to 114.
“We are looking at a tentative date of mid-December onwards for kicking-off the Hero I-League. We are in talks with the Indian Football Association (Bengal), and also the Government of West Bengal to successfully organise the League in Kolkata and its suburbs like the last edition.”