ISL 2022-23 to start from October 7 in Kochi, to mark return of fans

09/01/2022

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At the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, the runners-up from the previous season, Kerala Blasters, will take on East Bengal FC to start off the 2022–23 Hero Indian Super League. As they prepare for ISL season, all clubs are presently taking part in the Durand Cup, Asia's oldest sporting event.

A lengthier football schedule that gives players more competitive games throughout the year has been the goal of all Indian football stakeholders. The Super Cup will come after the Hero ISL in April 2023.

The 2022–2023 season will also be noteworthy since it will mark the beginning of the supporters' two-season return to the stadiums. The ISL has established a fixture calendar with games taking place on weekends in order to make it easy for more supporters and families to visit and see their teams in action. With each Matchweek being held between Thursday and Sunday, the ISL is on par with the biggest football leagues throughout the world.

Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) has also added a new playoff system for the league, bringing two entertaining games to the schedule, starting with this season. The top two clubs at the conclusion of the league stage will be given automatic qualification. Teams that place third through sixth will participate in a single-leg playoff to determine the other two semifinalists.

On October 9, Hyderabad FC will face previous champions Mumbai City FC at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Gachibowli to begin the championship defence in front of their home crowd.

Two days later, on October 11, Jamshedpur FC will play Odisha FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex. Jamshedpur FC won the 2021–22 League Shield.

On October 29 and February 25 of next year, fans may witness ATK Mohun Bagan and East Bengal FC compete in India's largest rivalry at Kolkata's venerable Vivekananda Yuvabharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium).

The ISL is back to enthral fans at ten locations throughout the nation with 117 matches of high-octane football excitement. The ISL league stage will last for nearly five months for the first time ever, apart from the playoffs, semi-finals, and final. As the league stage comes to an end on February 26th, each team will play 20 league matches—10 at home and 10 away—from the fall of this year to the spring of the next year.

New ISL Playoff Format:

Eliminator 1: 3rd placed team vs 6th placed team

Eliminator 2: 4th placed team vs 5th placed team

Semi-Final 1 1st Leg: 1st placed team vs (Winner – Eliminator 2)

Semi-Final 2 1st Leg: 2nd placed team vs (Winner – Eliminator 1)

Semi-Final 1 2nd Leg: (Winner – Eliminator 2) vs 1st placed team

Semi-Final 2 2nd Leg: (Winner – Eliminator 1) vs 2nd placed team

Final: (Winner Semi-Final 1) vs (Winner Semi-Final 2)

Key dates for the 2022-23 Hero ISL season at a glance:

Opening Match: October 7th, 2022