# 2023–24 I-League 3

The 2023–24 I-League 3 was the 1st season of the I-League 3, and the national fourth tier of the Indian football league system. The top three clubs qualified for 2023–24 I-League 2.

## Clubs

On 22 August 2023, 15 clubs were nominated for the I-League 3rd Division by nine state FAs (Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Bengaluru, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Mumbai). Nominations from 10 other states (Manipur, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Kerala, Pondicherry, Sikkim, Assam, Odisha, Telangana, and West Bengal) were assessed after due diligence.
Group A Group B Group C Group D
| No. | Club | City | State | League | Position |
| 1 | RKM | Narayanpur | Chhattisgarh | 2023 Chhattisgarh State Men's Football League Championship | 1st |
| 2 | New Friends | Bade Bacheli | Chhattisgarh | 2023 Chhattisgarh State Men's Football League Championship | 2nd |
| 3 | Vatika | New Delhi | Delhi | 2022–23 Delhi Premier League | 1st |
| 4 | Garhwal | New Delhi | Delhi | 2022–23 Delhi Premier League | 3rd |
| 5 | Dempo | Panaji | Goa | 2022–23 Goa Professional League | 1st |
| 6 | Sporting Goa | Panaji | Goa | 2022–23 Goa Professional League | 2nd |
| 7 | Baroda | Vadodara | Gujarat | 2022–23 Gujarat SFA Club Championship | 1st |
| 8 | ARA | Ahemedabad | Gujarat | 2022–23 Gujarat SFA Club Championship | 2nd |
| 9 | Sporting Bengaluru | Bengaluru | Karnataka | 2022–23 Bangalore Super Division | 1st |
| 10 | Kickstart | Bengaluru | Karnataka | 2022–23 Bangalore Super Division | 3rd |
| 11 | Lake City | Bhopal | Madhya Pradesh | 2022–23 Madhya Pradesh Premier League | 1st |
| 12 | International | Phagwara | Punjab | 2022 Punjab State Super Football League | 3rd |
| 13 | Doaba United | Jalandhar | Punjab | 2022 Punjab State Super Football League | 4th |
| 14 | Jaipur Elite | Jaipur | Rajasthan | 2022 R-League A Division | 1st |
| 15 | Millat | Mumbai | Maharashtra | 2022–23 MFA Elite Division | 3rd |
| 16 | Bhawanipore | Kolkata | West Bengal | 2022 Calcutta Premier Division | 2nd |
| 17 | Diamond Harbour | Diamond Harbour | West Bengal | 2022 Calcutta First Division | 3rd |
| 18 | Kerala United | Malappuram | Kerala | 2022–23 Kerala Premier League | Champions |
| 19 | Rangdajied United | Shillong | Meghalaya | 2022-23 Meghalaya State League | 1st |
| 20 | KLASA | Bishnupur | Manipur | 2022 Manipur State League | Champions |
| 21 | KIYC | Imphal | Manipur | 2022 Manipur State League | Semifinalist |
| 22 | United Chirang Duar | Chirang | Assam | 2023 ATPA Shield | Champions |
| 23 | Sports Odisha | Cuttack | Odisha | 2023 FAO Super Cup | Champions |
| 24 | Abbas Union | Hyderabad | Telangana | Rahim League “A” Division | - |
| 25 | Jeppiaar Institute of Technology | Pondicherry | Pondicherry | Pondicherry Men's League Championship | - |
* 1 2 3 4 The club qualified via a cup or knock-out tournament after the conclusion of the league stage
* ↑ No state or district league conducted.

## Venues

| Group | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| A | Bhopal | Jagran Lakecity University Stadium | 1,800 |
| B | Vadodra | VMC Sports Complex | 3,500 |
| C | Panjim | Dempo Academy Ground | 500 |
| D | Bangalore | Bangalore Football Stadium | 8,400 |
| D | Bangalore | HAL Sports Club Ground | 2,000 |
| E | Narainpur | Ramakrishna Mission Sports Complex | 1,000 |
| Playoffs | Vasco | Tilak Maidan | 5,000 |
| Playoffs | Nagoa | Nagoa Ground | 1,000 |

## Changes from last season

Until the previous season, the AIFF allowed only state champions to feature in the qualifiers, but with the removal of the ISL reserve teams and the creation of the I-League 3 from where teams would move to I-League 2 in the same season, state FAs were allowed to nominate a second team.

## Group stage

25 teams are divided into five groups of five each. Each team will play the teams in the same group in single-legged fixtures.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SPG | LKC | INT | ARA | NFC |
| 1 | Sporting Goa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | +13 | 10 | Advanced to Play-offs | | | | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Lake City (H) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 8 | Relegated to State leagues | 0–0 | | | | 7–2 |
| 3 | International | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | Relegated to State leagues | 0–1 | 1–2 | | | |
| 4 | ARA | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 4 | Relegated to State leagues | | 1–1 | 0–1 | | |
| 5 | New Friends | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 26 | −24 | 0 | Relegated to State leagues | 0–10 | | 0–3 | 0–6 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KLA | ODI | CHD | BAR | JPE |
| 1 | KLASA | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 10 | Advanced to Play-offs | | | 2–1 | | |
| 2 | Sports Odisha | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 | Relegated to State leagues | 0–1 | | 1–1 | | 3–1 |
| 3 | United Chirang Duar | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | Relegated to State leagues | | | | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| 4 | Baroda (H) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | Relegated to State leagues | 0–1 | 0–2 | | | |
| 5 | Jaipur Elite | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 2 | Relegated to State leagues | 0–0 | | | 0–2 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | DEM | RGD | KST | JIT | MIL |
| 1 | Dempo (H) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 10 | Advanced to Play-offs | | | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Rangdajied United | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 8 | Relegated to State leagues | 0–0 | | | | 5–0 |
| 3 | Kickstart | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 7 | Relegated to State leagues | | 2–2 | | 7–0 | 6–0 |
| 4 | JIT | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 3 | Relegated to State leagues | | 0–1 | | | |
| 5 | Millat | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 14 | −13 | 0 | Relegated to State leagues | 0–1 | | | 1–2 | |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SCB | DHB | VAT | DUN | ABU |
| 1 | Sporting Bengaluru (H) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 10 | Advanced to Play-offs | | | | 6–0 | 3–1 |
| 2 | Diamond Harbour | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 10 | Relegated to State leagues | 2–2 | | 3–0 | | |
| 3 | Vatika | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 6 | Relegated to State leagues | 0–2 | | | | 3–2 |
| 4 | Doaba United | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 3 | Relegated to State leagues | | 0–2 | 0–2 | | 3–1 |
| 5 | Abbas Union | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 0 | Relegated to State leagues | | 0–1 | | | |

### Group E

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KUN | BHW | GRH | KYC | RKM |
| 1 | Kerala United | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 8 | Advanced to Play-offs | | | 3–0 | | 2–1 |
| 2 | Bhawanipore | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 7 | Relegated to State leagues | 3–3 | | 0–1 | 2–1 | |
| 3 | Garhwal | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 6 | Relegated to State leagues | | | | 1–4 | |
| 4 | KIYC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 4 | Relegated to State leagues | 2–2 | | | | 1–2 |
| 5 | RKM (H) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 3 | Relegated to State leagues | | 1–3 | 1–3 | | |

## Play-offs

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion | SPG | DEM | SCB | KUN | KLA |
| 1 | Sporting Goa (C, H) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 7 | Promoted to I-League 2 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | | |
| 2 | Dempo (H) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Promoted to I-League 2 | | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| 3 | Sporting Bengaluru | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7 | Promoted to I-League 2 | | | | 2–1 | |
| 4 | Kerala United | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | | 2–1 | | | | 2–1 |
| 5 | KLASA | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 1 | | 1–1 | | 2–3 | | |

## Broadcast

Matches are broadcast by AIFF, SportsKPI SportsCast India on their official YouTube channels.

## Statistics

    30 December 2023

### Top scorers

Bold indicates the player is currently active in the tournament.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Arif Shaikh | Sporting Bengaluru | 5 |
| 2 | Khanngam Horam | Kickstart | 4 |
| 2 | Ngangbam Pacha Singh | KIYC | 4 |
| 2 | Lloyd Cardozo | Sporting Goa | 4 |
| 5 | 14 Players | 14 Players | 3 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Bhaskar Jalmi | Sporting Goa | 6 |
| 2 | Wellyster Mendes | Dempo | 4 |
| 3 | Golmei Rongmei | KLASA | 3 |
| 3 | Susnata Malik | Diamond Harbour | 3 |
| 5 | Dylan D'Silva | Dempo | 2 |
| 5 | Banshanskhem Kharsyntiew | Rangdajied United | 2 |
| 5 | Kabir Toufik | Kickstart | 2 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 4
** Dhiraj Chouhan
* Most red cards: 1
** 6 players

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 18
** Sporting Bengaluru
* Most red cards: 2
** Kerala United

## Attendances
### Group Stage

| Match No. | Group A | Group A | Match No. | Group B | Group B | Match No. | Group C | Group C |
| Match No. | Fixture | Attendance | Match No. | Fixture | Attendance | Match No. | Fixture | Attendance |
| 1 | Lake City-Sporting Goa | 200 | 1 | Baroda-KLASA | 350 | 1 | Dempo-JIT | 100 |
| 2 | ARA-International | 50 | 2 | United Chirang Duar-Jaipur Elite | 175 | 2 | Rangdajied United-Millat | 100 |
| 3 | New Friends-ARA | 20 | 3 | Sports Odisha-United Chirang Duar | 75 | 3 | Kickstart-Rangdajied United | 100 |
| 4 | International-Sporting Goa | 20 | 4 | Jaipur Elite-KLASA | 375 | 4 | Millat-JIT | 50 |
| 5 | International-Lake City | 10 | 5 | Jaipur Elite-Baroda | 250 | 5 | Millat-Dempo | 100 |
| 6 | New Friends-Sporting Goa | 10 | 6 | Sports Odisha-KLASA | 180 | 6 | Kickstart-JIT | 50 |
| 7 | Sporting Goa-ARA | 10 | 7 | KLASA-United Chirang Duar | 280 | 7 | JIT-Rangdajied United | 50 |
| 8 | Lake City-New Friends | 10 | 8 | Baroda-Sports Odisha | 315 | 8 | Dempo-Kickstart | 100 |
| 9 | New Friends-International | 10 | 9 | Sports Odisha-Jaipur Elite | 45 | 9 | Kickstart-Millat | 50 |
| 10 | ARA -Lake City | 20 | 10 | United Chirang Duar-Baroda | 65 | 10 | Rangdajied United-Dempo | 100 |
| Group A Total | Group A Total | 360 | Group B Total | Group B Total | 2,110 | Group C Total | Group C Total | 800 |
| Match No. | Group D | Group D | Match No. | Group E | Group E |
| Match No. | Fixture | Attendance | Match No. | Fixture | Attendance |
| 1 | Diamond Harbour-Vatika | 120 | 1 | RKM-Garhwal | 3,100 |
| 2 | Sporting Bengaluru-Abbas Union | 180 | 2 | KIYC-Kerala United | 1,600 |
| 3 | Doaba United-Diamond Harbour | 75 | 3 | Garhwal-KIYC | 800 |
| 4 | Vatika-Abbas Union | 250 | 4 | RKM-Bhawanipore | 2,100 |
| 5 | Doaba United-Abbas Union | 250 | 5 | Kerala United-RKM | 1,100 |
| 6 | Vatika-Sporting Bengaluru | 50 | 6 | Bhawanipore-Garhwal | 800 |
| 7 | Abbas Union-Diamond Harbour | 75 | 7 | Bhawanipore-KIYC | 400 |
| 8 | Sporting Bengaluru-Doaba United | 50 | 8 | Kerala United-Garhwal | 500 |
| 9 | Doaba United-Vatika | 60 | 9 | Bhawanipore-Kerala United | 800 |
| 10 | Diamond Harbour-Sporting Bengaluru | 150 | 10 | KIYC-RKM | 1,100 |
| Group D Total | Group D Total | 1,260 | Group E Total | Group E Total | 12,300 |

### Playoffs

| Match No. | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Match No. | Fixture | Attendance |
| 1 | Sporting Goa-Sporting Bengaluru | 50 |
| 2 | Kerala United-KLASA | 150 |
| 3 | Dempo-Kerala United | 150 |
| 4 | KLASA-Sporting Bengaluru | 250 |
| 5 | KLASA-Sporting Goa | 100 |
| 6 | Dempo-Sporting Bengaluru | 250 |
| 7 | Sporting Bengaluru-Kerala United | 50 |
| 8 | Sporting Goa-Dempo | 250 |
| 9 | Dempo-KLASA | 250 |
| 10 | Kerala United-Sporting Goa | 250 |
| Total | Total | 1,750 |
Source: I-League