The Indian Football League 2026, the second tier of the country’s domestic pyramid, will kick off on Friday, with Namdhari FC set to face Aizawl FC in the opening match of the competition.
Recently rebranded as the Indian Football League, the competition was formerly known as the I-League, which began in 2007 as the country’s premier domestic club tournament.
Following the elevation of the Indian Super League (ISL) as the nation’s top division, the I-League became the second tier of football in the country.
Gokulam Kerala, Namdhari, Rajasthan United, Diamond Harbour, Real Kashmir, Shillong Lajong, Aizawl, Sreenidi Deccan, Chanmari and Dempo are the 10 clubs that will feature in the Indian Football League.
Inter Kashi, winners of the 2024-25 I-League, earned promotion to the ISL while Diamond Harbour and Chanmari moved up to the Indian Football League from I-League 2.
The upcoming Indian Football League season will be played in a two-stage format, similar to the 2020-21 and 2021-22 editions of the I-League.
All clubs will compete in a single-leg round-robin league stage with the top five teams in the standings advancing to the championship round, while the rest will compete in a centralised relegation round.
Points accumulated during the league stage will be carried forward into the second phase of the competition.
The league toppers at the end of Stage 2 will be crowned the Indian Football League champions and earn promotion to the ISL 2026-27 season.
Goan outfit Dempo is the most successful team in the league’s history with three titles. Two-time I-League winners Gokulam Kerala and former champions Aizawl FC will also be in the mix.
While the stage 1 fixtures for the Indian Football League have already been announced, stage 2 matches will be revealed at a later date.
