According to reports, ISL 2021-22 schedule is confirmed to start on November 19, 2021, and will conclude with the final on March 20, 2022. AFC has announced that the club must have played a minimum of 27 matches in their domestic leagues to get a slot in the AFC Champions League. That means more matches will be played this Indian Super League season, and international players would be decreased to four.
The biggest football festival in India and the top-tier league of the country. The ISL has been a success and garnered many viewers since it started telecasting 7 years ago. The number of teams has increased since the first season as well. With East Bengal, Bengaluru, Odisha, Jamshedpur, and Hyderabad coming with new clubs. In contrast, teams based on Pune, Delhi have moved out. Also Atletico de Kolkata merging to become a single club- ATK Mohun Bagan.
Some stakes of the teams are held by Bollywood stars and cricketers. Virat Kohli owning FC Goa, Mahindra Singh Dhoni and Abishek Bachchan owning the majority of Chennaiyin FC. Sourav Ganguly owning ATK Mohun Bagan, Ranbir Kapoor having stakes in Mumbai City FC. Rana Daggubati holds part of Hyderabad FC, John Abraham owns Northeast FC.
The upcoming season of the Indian Super League 2021-22 is reported to start on 20 November 2021. And will conclude on 20 March 2022 with the final at Fatorda Stadium in Goa. Thus, the entire fixtures of the upcoming ISL season will be played across Goa at Fatorda Stadium, Bambolim Stadium, and the Tilak Maidan stadium. The last season was not the best season that the tournament had due to the empty stadiumsfor the COVID-19 pandemic. AIFF will hope that things get under control to open gates for the fans as it brings in a significant chunk of the league's revenue.
The complete tournament is once again played in Goa due to the coronavirus pandemic like last season. IPL 2021 season was postponed mid-way due to the spike in coronavirus cases in the country. If the situation did not improve. Then ISL 2021-22 would be held in three stadiums of GOA. The GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda and the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco.
The teams will play the ISL 2021/22 season in a double round-robin format and the top-four at the end of the league stage will advance to the playoffs.
Here are the 11 teams in the tournament :
| SEASON | WINNERS | SCORE | RUNNERS UP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Mumbai City FC | 2-1 | ATK Mohun Bagan |
| 2019-20 | Atlético de Kolkata | 3-1 | Chennaiyin FC |
| 2018-19 | Bengaluru FC | 1-0 | FC Goa |
| 2017-18 | Chennaiyin FC | 3-2 | Bengaluru FC |
| 2016-17 | Atlético de Kolkata | 1-1(4-3) penalty | Kerala Blasters |
| 2015-16 | Chennaiyin FC | 3-2 | FC Goa |
| 2014-15 | Atlético de Kolkata | 1-0 | Kerala Blasters |
ATK has won the Indian Super League twice, making them the most successful team in the ISL. ATK won their first trophy in 2014, while the second win came in 2019 by beating Kerala Blasters. Although, Mumbai City Fc is the defending Champions of this ISL 2021-22 season.
The entire ISL 2021-22 season will be live telecast on Star Sports Network, the league's official broadcaster. All the games will be played behind closed doors in Goa. Online viewers can use Hotstar as well as Jio app to watch ISL live streaming online.
