2022–23 Hero I-League 2nd Division (known as Hero 2022–23 2nd Division League) was the 15th season of the I-League 2nd Division since its establishment in 2008. This was the first season of I-League 2nd Division since rebranding as the third tier of Indian football league system. The league's group stage has been played from March to May 2023, parallel to the remaining part of both I-League and Indian Super League seasons. The top two teams on the league table, Delhi and Shillong Lajong, secured a place in the 2023–24 I-League season.
On 27 September 2022, the league committee meeting presided by Lalnghinglova Hmar was held. It was initially decided that 15 teams would participate in the upcoming season, including the reserve sides of ISL teams. The final phase of the league will be played on a home-and-away basis.
However, on 16 December, the league committee decided that 20 teams would play in I-League 2, consisting of 12 state league champions along with 6 ISL reserve sides and two qualification tournament winners.
On 13 January, the League committee decided that two clubs would be promoted to I-League, and two relegated clubs, along with the remaining three final-round clubs, would directly qualify for the final round of next season.
Changes from last season The league will have state league champions or other eligible teams nominated by their respective state football associations besides the six reserve teams of the Indian Super League.
Teams will be divided into zones to minimize the travel, and the winners from each zone will qualify for the final phase.
The final round will be played on a home and away basis, consisting of 5 teams.
The two among five teams who finish at the top of the table after the final phase is promoted to the l-League.
The two relegated I-League teams and the other three final phase teams will directly qualify for the I-League 2 final phase next season.
Mandatory club licensing criteria are removed for participating in the league.
Qualification Selection criteria State association can nominate the state league champions or other clubs based on the conducted state leagues in the previous season. State association can also nominate other clubs for the qualifier tournament without the state league. Nominated institutional clubs are ineligible for participation in the league.
Teams selection through state leagues
As per AIFF, teams will be selected to participate in I-League 2 through state leagues nominations. Only the top-qualified team can be nominated from the state league. KLASA FC was the champions of the Manipur state league, but the All Manipur Football Association didn't nominate it but instead nominated the 5th position KIYC. AIFF decided not to allow any club from Manipur in the competition.
Reserve teams The reserve teams of the 6 Indian Super League clubs will participate. However, they would not be eligible for promotion.
No.Club CityState1Bengaluru FC ReservesBengaluruKarnataka 2Chennaiyin FC ReservesChennai Tamil Nadu3East Bengal Club ReservesKolkata West Bengal 4FC Goa ReservesMargaoGoa5Hyderabad FC ReservesHyderabad Telangana 6Mumbai City FC ReservesMumbai Maharashtra
Qualification tournament The states that did not conduct their leagues in the previous season nominated respective clubs to participate in the qualification tournament. The top 2 teams qualified for I-league 2.
NoTeams SelectedCityState1CorbettRudrapurUttarakhand2Downtown HeroesSrinagarJammu and Kashmir3Shillong LajongShillongMeghalaya4United Chirang DuarKokrajharAssam
Qualifier group
Clubs Stadiums and locations
ClubState/UTCityStadiumCapacityARAGujaratAhmedabadShahibaug Police Stadium20,000Ambernath United AtlantaMaharashtraMumbai Cooperage Ground5,000DelhiDelhiDelhiMinerva Academy GroundDempoGoaPanjimDempo Academy Ground3,000Downtown HeroesJammu & KashmirSrinagarTRC Turf Ground11,000Bengaluru UnitedKarnataka Bengaluru Bangalore Football Stadium8,400Golden ThreadsKerala Kochi Panampally Ground2,500Jagat Singh PalahiPunjab PhagwaraHargobind StadiumRKM FAChhattisgarh Narainpur Ramakrishna Mission Sports ComplexShillong LajongMeghalayaShillongSSA Stadium5,000Techtro Swades UnitedHimachal Pradesh UnaMinerva Academy GroundThe Diamond RockMadhya PradeshBalaghatMulna Stadium15,000UnitedWest Bengal Kalyani Kalyani Stadium20,000Bengaluru (R)Karnataka Bengaluru Bangalore Football Stadium8,400Chennaiyin (R)Tamil NaduChennaiSSN College GroundEast Bengal (R)West Bengal Kolkata Naihati Stadium25,000Goa (R)GoaMargaoNagoa Football GroundHyderabad (R)TelanganaHyderabad Bangalore Football Stadium8,400Mumbai City (R)Maharashtra Mumbai Cooperage Ground5,000
Personnel and kits TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsorARA Vivek Nagul Naro Hari ShresthaSEVENAmulAmbernath United Atlanta Steven Dias Himanshu PatilAmbernath United AtlantaDelhi Surinder Singh Gurtej SinghAstroColordesign IndiaDempo Samir Naik Shallum PiresShiv NareshDempoDowntown Heroes Hilal Rasool Parray Zubair Ahad AkhoonChinarJ&K BankBengaluru United Fernando Varela Sushil MeiteiHummelNIMIDAGolden Threads Samuel Geevarghese Bibake ThapaNiviaWaynaJagat Singh Palahi Sukhwinder Kumar Shamsher Singh MahalaJB SportsJSP Football AcademyRKM FA Jahar Das Suresh Kumar DhruvNivia Shillong Lajong Bobby Nongbet Atlanson KharmawNiviaTechtro Swades United Vipin Thapa Janio Fernandas KingThe Diamond Rock Chandan Rathod Sujit HansdaNivia Apollo TyresUnited Steve Herbots Sanjib MondalTrak OnlyBengaluru (R) Kaizad Ambapardiwala Harmanpreet Singh Lara SharmaPumaJSWChennaiyin (R) Cleofas Alex Aqib NawabNiviaEast Bengal (R) Bino George Sanjib GhoshTrak OnlyEmamiGoa (R) Sugitesh Mandrekar Mevan DiasT10 SportsParimatch NewsHyderabad (R) Renjith Ajithkumar Mark ZothanpuiaHummelStake NewsMumbai City (R) Anthony Fernandes Ahan PrakashPuma
Group stage 6 Indian Super League reserve sides play in this round, along with 12 state champions and two state qualification tournament winners.
Twenty teams are divided into four groups of 5, where each team plays each other twice in a home and away format. Each group winner along with the best second placed team qualify for the final round.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Ranking of second-placed teams Since Group B has fewer teams, the result against fifth-placed teams in other groups will not be counted for the table ranking below.
Final round The top 5 teams from the group stage will play each other in the final round in a single-leg format. The top 2 teams will qualify for the I-League.
Season statistics Top scorers As of 26 May 2023
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Irfan YadwadBengaluru United132 Hardy NongbriShillong Lajong83 Balwant SinghDelhi7 Ateeb Ahmed DarDowntown Heroes Himanshu PatilAmbernath United Atlanta
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Ref Irfan YadwadBengaluru UnitedChennaiyin (R) 0–5 (A)
Clean sheets As of 26 May 2023
RankPlayerClubClean sheets1 Bishal LamaShillong Lajong62 Furqan Ahmad DarDowntown Heroes5 Antonio Da SilvaDempo Srijith RBengaluru United5 Sangramjit Roy ChowdhuryARA4 Nitish MehraDelhi
Discipline Player Most yellow cards: 4 Gaurav Rawat Himanshu Patil Shahmeer Tariq Aron Vanlalrinchhana
Most red cards: 1 18 players
Club Most yellow cards: 21 FC Bengaluru United
Most red cards: 3 FC Goa (R)
Attendances Overall statistical table
See also 2022–23 Indian Super League 2022–23 I-League 2022–23 Elite Youth League 2023 RF Development League
References
Further reading
External links I-League AIFF