ISL Championship
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ISL Championship is the top division of the Indian Super League, a professional football league in India, which is contested by ten teams, including ATK, Bengaluru FC, and Chennaiyin FC. The league is organized by the All India Football Federation and is one of the two main leagues in Indian football, along with the I-League. The ISL Championship has gained popularity over the years, with many international players like Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov, and Alessandro Del Piero participating in the league, which is broadcast in many countries, including Australia, United Kingdom, and United States. The league has also attracted many famous coaches, such as Marco Materazzi and Steve Coppell, who have managed teams like Delhi Dynamos FC and Jamshedpur FC.
● Introduction
The ISL Championship is a professional football league that was founded in 2014 by the Reliance Industries and the International Management Group. The league is played in a double round-robin format, with each team playing the other teams twice, once at home and once away, at stadiums like the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata and the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi. The team with the most points at the end of the season is crowned the champion, and the top four teams qualify for the Indian Super League playoffs, which feature teams like FC Goa and Mumbai City FC. The league has gained recognition from the Asian Football Confederation and has been granted a spot in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, which feature teams like Al-Hilal FC and Persepolis FC.
● History
The ISL Championship has a short but exciting history, with the first season being played in 2014, which featured teams like Kerala Blasters FC and NorthEast United FC. The league was founded by the Reliance Industries and the International Management Group, with the aim of promoting football in India and creating a professional league that could compete with the best leagues in the world, like the English Premier League and the La Liga. The league has grown in popularity over the years, with many international players and coaches participating, including Gianluca Zambrotta and Nicolas Anelka, who have played for teams like FC Pune City and Mumbai City FC. The league has also attracted many sponsors, including Hero MotoCorp and PepsiCo, which have partnered with teams like ATK and Bengaluru FC.
● Format
The ISL Championship is played in a double round-robin format, with each team playing the other teams twice, once at home and once away, at stadiums like the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati and the Fatorda Stadium in Margao. The team with the most points at the end of the season is crowned the champion, and the top four teams qualify for the Indian Super League playoffs, which feature teams like FC Goa and Mumbai City FC. The playoffs are played in a knockout format, with the winner of each match advancing to the next round, and the final match is played at a neutral venue, like the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The league also features a fair play award, which is given to the team with the best disciplinary record, and a golden boot award, which is given to the top scorer in the league, like Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua.
● Teams
The ISL Championship features ten teams from across India, including ATK, Bengaluru FC, and Chennaiyin FC. The teams are owned by various companies and individuals, including Reliance Industries, Tata Group, and Venus Sports, which have partnered with teams like Mumbai City FC and Delhi Dynamos FC. The teams have a mix of international and domestic players, including Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov, and Alessandro Del Piero, who have played for teams like ATK and Kerala Blasters FC. The teams also have a strong rivalry with each other, with matches between teams like Bengaluru FC and Chennaiyin FC being highly anticipated, like the Derby della Madonnina between AC Milan and Inter Milan.
● Winners
The ISL Championship has had several winners since its inception, including ATK, Chennaiyin FC, and Bengaluru FC. The first season was won by ATK, who defeated Kerala Blasters FC in the final, which was played at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The subsequent seasons were won by Chennaiyin FC and Bengaluru FC, who defeated FC Goa and FC Goa respectively in the finals, which were played at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao and the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. The winners of the ISL Championship qualify for the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, which feature teams like Al-Hilal FC and Persepolis FC.
● Records
The ISL Championship has several records, including the most goals scored by a player in a season, which is held by Sunil Chhetri, who scored 14 goals for Bengaluru FC in the 2017-18 season, like the Golden Boot award in the English Premier League. The record for the most wins in a season is held by Bengaluru FC, who won 13 matches in the 2017-18 season, like the La Liga record held by Barcelona. The record for the most points in a season is also held by Bengaluru FC, who accumulated 40 points in the 2017-18 season, like the Bundesliga record held by Bayern Munich. The league also has a record for the fastest goal scored, which is held by Jeje Lalpekhlua, who scored a goal in 23 seconds for Chennaiyin FC against FC Goa in the 2018-19 season, like the FIFA World Cup record held by Hakan Şükür.