I-League rebranded as Indian Football League, 2026 season to kick off from February 21

The I-League has been rebranded as the Indian Football League, the AIFF announced on Thursday.

Launched in 2007 as the country’s top-tier domestic club football competition, the I-League was demoted in 2019 after the Indian Super League (ISL) was promoted as the premier division under a new roadmap.

Since the 2022-23 season, the I-League champions have earned promotion to the ISL, while the bottom two clubs at the end of the season were demoted to I-League 2.

The league was temporarily paused amid uncertainty surrounding the ISL last year.

Ahead of the new season, which kicks off on February 21 as the Indian Football League, club owners and the AIFF agreed to adopt the competition’s new identity. The 2026 edition, however, will return in a truncated 55-match format.

A total of 11 clubs are set to feature in the 2026 season: Gokulam Kerala, Namdhari, Rajasthan United, Diamond Harbour, Real Kashmir, Shillong Lajong, Aizawl, Sreenidi Deccan, Chanmari, Churchill Brothers and Dempo.

Inter Kashi, winners of the 2024-25 I-League, earned promotion to the ISL. Diamond Harbour and Chanmari moved up from I-League 2.

The upcoming season will be played in a two-stage format, similar to the 2020-21 and 2021-22 editions.

All clubs will compete in a single-leg round-robin league stage. The top six teams in the standings will advance 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.

The newly renamed Indian Football League will kick off exactly one week after the ISL 2026 season, which starts on Saturday.