(PC: AIFF) I-League 2nd division 2018 kickstarts today with Mohammedan Sporting Club taking on Jamshedpur FC reserves at Barasat, West Bengal. The first phase will be held from March 14 to May 15, 2018. The second phase starts on May 21 and concludes on May 27, 2018. The opening match will be followed by Langsning FC squaring off against Chennaiyin FC Reserves at JLN stadium in Shillong. A total of 18 teams are divided in 3 groups that will battle in the round robin format in preliminary phase.
Three teams are making their debut this season- TRAU FC from Imphal, Manipur, FC Kerala from Thrissur, Kerala and Madhya Bharat FC from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
Groups classification in I-League 2nd Division 2018
A : Delhi Dynamos FC (reserves), Delhi United, FC Pune City (reserves), Hindustan FC, Lonestar Kashmir, Real Kashmir.
B : Fateh Hyderabad AFC, FC Kerala, Madhya Bharat SC, FC Goa (reserves), Kerala Blasters (reserves), Ozone FA.
C : TRAU FC, Langsning FC, Mohammedan Sporting, JSW Bengaluru FC (reserves), Jamshedpur FC (reserves), Chennaiyin FC (reserves).
In the preliminary phase, the teams have been divided into three groups of six. The teams will take on each other on a home and away basis with the top two from each group qualifying for the six team Final Phase. The winner of the Final Phase will then be promoted to the top tier of Indian football. You may like| I-League 2017-18: Minerva Punjab FC wins maiden I-League title
However the top two sides from the preliminary phase will be contracted to qualify for the Final Phase, the ISL Reserve sides will not qualify for the Final even if they finish within the top two spots and their place will go to the next best non-ISL team.
Participating teams will solely comprise of Indian players. An added criterion is that apart from 3 players the teams can have only U-23 players in their squad.
(ANI inputs)
