Indian Super League to kick off on September 21

The ISL 2023-24 kicks off on September 21 with the match between Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC in Kochi

New Delhi: The Indian Super League schedule was announced on Thursday amid doubts over the release of a few India players by clubs for the Asian Games later this month.

The league clashes with the Hangzhou Asian Games where the football competition begins on September 19 and continues till October 7. The ISL 2023-24 kicks off on September 21 with the match between Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC in Kochi.

League organisers FSDL announced the fixtures of the first half of the ISL till December 29. The 12-team ISL, now the country’s top-tier league, will be in its 10th edition. The 22-member Indian men’s squad for the Asian Games has players from 10 ISL clubs and it is learnt that some of them are reluctant to release all their players.

Out of the 22 players named in the squad, six are from Bengaluru FC, three from Mumbai City FC, while FC Goa, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Odisha FC and Kerala Blasters have two each. Newly-promoted Punjab FC, Chennaiyin FC and Hyderabad FC have one each. All India Football Federation (AIFF) Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran had on Monday written to the 10 ISL clubs to release their players selected for the Asian Games, keeping the “national interest in mind”.

It is, however, not mandatory for the clubs to release players as the Asian Games do not fall in any FIFA international match window. The last such window before the Asian Games is from September 4 to 12. League Shield winners Mumbai City FC, who will feature in the AFC Champions League (ACL) later this year, will begin their campaign on September 24 against NorthEast United in Guwahati.

The ISL League Shield winners will, however, not get a berth in the ACL, the continent’s top-tier club competition, from 2024 onwards. After a recent restructuring, Indian clubs will no longer get an ACL berth but will be given spots in AFC Cup, the second-tier league in Asia.