I-League 3

The I-League 3 is a men's professional football league in India. It forms the fourth tier of the Indian football league system, below the I-League 2 and above the State leagues.^[2][3]

I-League 3

Organising body	AIFF
Founded	13 June 2023; 10 months ago (2023-06-13)
Country	India
Confederation	AFC
Number of teams	25
Level on pyramid	4
Promotion to	I-League 2
Relegation to	State leagues
Domestic cup(s)	Federation Cup Durand Cup^[a]
Current champions	Sporting Goa (1st title)^[1]
Most championships	Sporting Goa (1 title)
TV partners	SportsKPI Indian Football (YouTube)
Website	I-League.org
Current: 2024–25

History

For the first time, the AIFF introduced qualifiers for the I-League 2 in the 2022–23 season.^[4] On 13 June 2023, the AIFF league committee announced introducing a new league below the I-League 2, where champions of State leagues and nominated clubs will play. State FAs have to nominate a team before July 31.^[5] The AIFF wants to create a competitive pyramid with a concrete progression pathway, aimed to allow even the smallest of clubs to get promoted to the higher divisions.

Clubs

There are total 22 clubs competing in the I-League 3.

Current clubs

Further information: 2024–25 I-League 3

 

 

ARA

 

Baroda

 

Kerala United

 

Kickstart

 

RKM

 

New Friends

 

Lake City

 

Bhawanipore

 

Diamond Harbour

 

Doaba United

 

International

 

Jaipur Elite

 

Sports Odisha

 

KLASA

 

KIYC

 

Chirang Duar

 

Rangdajied

 

Abbas Union

 

JIT

 

Delhi

 

Delhi clubs
Garhwal
Vatika

 

Mumbai

 

Mumbai clubs
Millat
Maharashtra Oranje
Kenkre

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Locations of the I-League 3 clubs

No.	Club	City	State	League	Position
1	RKM	Narayanpur	Chhattisgarh	2023 Chhattisgarh State Men's Football League Championship	1^st
2	New Friends	Bade Bacheli			2^nd
3	Vatika	New Delhi	Delhi	2022–23 Delhi Premier League	1^st
4	Garhwal				3^rd
5	Baroda	Vadodara	Gujarat	2022–23 Gujarat SFA Club Championship	1^st
6	ARA	Ahemedabad			2^nd
7	Kickstart	Bangalore	Karnataka	2022–23 Bangalore Super Division	1^st
8	Lake City	Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh	2022–23 Madhya Pradesh Premier League	1^st
9	International	Phagwara	Punjab	2022 Punjab State Super Football League	3^rd
10	Doaba United	Jalandhar			4^th
11	Jaipur Elite	Jaipur	Rajasthan	2022 R-League A Division	1^st
12	Millat	Mumbai	Maharashtra	2022–23 MFA Elite Division	3^rd
13	Bhawanipore	Kolkata	West Bengal	2022 Calcutta Premier Division	2^nd
14	Diamond Harbour	Diamond Harbour		2022 Calcutta First Division	3^rd
15	Kerala United	Malappuram	Kerala	2022–23 Kerala Premier League	Champions^[b]
16	Rangdajied United	Shillong	Meghalaya	2022-23 Meghalaya State League	1^st
17	KLASA	Bishnupur	Manipur	2022 Manipur State League	Champions^[b]
18	KIYC	Imphal			Semifinalist^[b]
19	United Chirang Duar	Chirang	Assam	2023 ATPA Shield	Champions^[c]
20	Sports Odisha	Cuttack	Odisha	2023 FAO Super Cup	Champions^[b]
21	Abbas Union	Hyderabad	Telangana	Rahim League “A” Division	-
22	Jeppiaar Institute of Technology	Pondicherry	Pondicherry	Pondicherry Men's League Championship	-

1. Participation via an invitation
2. The club qualified via a cup or knock-out tournament after the conclusion of the league stage
3. No state or district league conducted.

Relegated clubs from I-League 2 to I-League 3

Season	Clubs
2023–24	Kenkre, Maharashtra Oranje

Results

Source:^[6]

Season	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	No. of teams
2023–24	Sporting Goa	Dempo	Sporting Bengaluru	25

See also

• Football in India
• History of Indian football
• List of football clubs in India
• NFL Second Division
• NFL Third Division
• Santosh Trophy

References

1. Times, Navhind (31 December 2023). "Sporting Clube de Goa crowned I-League 3 champions – The Navhind Times". Retrieved 31 December 2023.
2. "Five teams submit bids for direct Hero I-League entry". www.the-aiff.com. from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
3. "Record five bids for I-League; no ISL reserves in 2nd and 3rd divisions". Hindustan Times. 13 June 2023. from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
4. Chatterjee, Triyasha (1 May 2023). "I-League: AIFF League Committee inflict 3-TIER BIDDING structure for DIRECT entry into I-League 2023-24- Check Out". Inside Sport India. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
5. "AIFF League committee announce I-League direct entry bidders and revamped league structure for IWL". Khel Now. from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
6. . the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.