# 2022–23 I-League 2nd Division

2022–23 Hero I-League 2nd Division (known as Hero 2022–23 2nd Division League) was the 15th season of the I-League 2nd Division since its establishment in 2008. This was the first season of I-League 2nd Division since rebranding as the third tier of Indian football league system. The league's group stage has been played from March to May 2023, parallel to the remaining part of both I-League and Indian Super League seasons. The top two teams on the league table, Delhi and Shillong Lajong, secured a place in the 2023–24 I-League season.
On 27 September 2022, the league committee meeting presided by Lalnghinglova Hmar was held. It was initially decided that 15 teams would participate in the upcoming season, including the reserve sides of ISL teams. The final phase of the league will be played on a home-and-away basis.
However, on 16 December, the league committee decided that 20 teams would play in I-League 2, consisting of 12 state league champions along with 6 ISL reserve sides and two qualification tournament winners.
On 13 January, the League committee decided that two clubs would be promoted to I-League, and two relegated clubs, along with the remaining three final-round clubs, would directly qualify for the final round of next season.

## Changes from last season

* The league will have state league champions or other eligible teams nominated by their respective state football associations besides the six reserve teams of the Indian Super League.
* Teams will be divided into zones to minimize the travel, and the winners from each zone will qualify for the final phase.
* The final round will be played on a home and away basis, consisting of 5 teams.
* The two among five teams who finish at the top of the table after the final phase is promoted to the l-League.
* The two relegated I-League teams and the other three final phase teams will directly qualify for the I-League 2 final phase next season.
* Mandatory club licensing criteria are removed for participating in the league.

## Qualification
### Selection criteria

* State association can nominate the state league champions or other clubs based on the conducted state leagues in the previous season.
* State association can also nominate other clubs for the qualifier tournament without the state league.
* Nominated institutional clubs are ineligible for participation in the league.

### Teams selection through state leagues

As per AIFF, teams will be selected to participate in I-League 2 through state leagues nominations. Only the top-qualified team can be nominated from the state league. KLASA FC was the champions of the Manipur state league, but the All Manipur Football Association didn't nominate it but instead nominated the 5th position KIYC. AIFF decided not to allow any club from Manipur in the competition.
The following clubs were confirmed by their state football associations for the 2022–23 season of I-League 2.
| No. | State | Qualifying tournament | Qualifying tournament | Selected | City | Position |
| No. | State | Name | Season | Selected | City | Position |
| 1 | Chhattisgarh | Chhattisgarh State Men's Football League Championship | 2021–22 | RKM FA | Narainpur | Champions |
| 2 | Delhi | Delhi Football League | 2021–22 | Delhi FC | New Delhi | Champions |
| 3 | Goa | Goa Professional League | 2021–22 | Dempo SC | Panjim | Champions |
| 4 | Gujarat | Gujarat SFA Club Championship | 2021–22 | ARA FC | Ahmedabad | Runners-up |
| 5 | Himachal Pradesh | Himachal Football League | 2022 | Techtro Swades United FC | Una | Champions |
| 6 | Karnataka | Bangalore Football League | 2021–22 | FC Bengaluru United | Bengaluru | Champions |
| 7 | Kerala | Kerala Premier League | 2021–22 | Golden Threads FC | Kochi | Champions |
| 8 | Madhya Pradesh | Madhya Pradesh Premier League | 2021–22 | The Diamond Rock FC | Balaghat | 3rd place |
| 9 | Maharashtra | Mumbai Football League | 2021–22 | Ambernath United Atlanta FC | Ambernath | Champions |
| 10 | Punjab | Punjab State Super Football League | 2021–22 | Jagat Singh Palahi FC | Phagwara | 3rd place |
| 11 | West Bengal | Calcutta Football League | 2021–22 | United SC | Kolkata | Semi-finalist |
The following clubs were not allowed to participate by the state football associations for the 2022–23 season of I-League 2.
| No. | State | Qualifying tournament | Qualifying tournament | Selected | City | Position |
| No. | State | Name | Season | Selected | City | Position |
| 1 | Manipur | Manipur State League | 2021–22 | KLASA FC | Bishnupur | Champions |

### Reserve teams

The reserve teams of the 6 Indian Super League clubs will participate. However, they would not be eligible for promotion.
| No. | Club | City | State |
| 1 | Bengaluru FC Reserves | Bengaluru | Karnataka |
| 2 | Chennaiyin FC Reserves | Chennai | Tamil Nadu |
| 3 | East Bengal Club Reserves | Kolkata | West Bengal |
| 4 | FC Goa Reserves | Margao | Goa |
| 5 | Hyderabad FC Reserves | Hyderabad | Telangana |
| 6 | Mumbai City FC Reserves | Mumbai | Maharashtra |

### Qualification tournament

The states that did not conduct their leagues in the previous season nominated respective clubs to participate in the qualification tournament. The top 2 teams qualified for I-league 2.
| No | Teams Selected | City | State |
| 1 | Corbett | Rudrapur | Uttarakhand |
| 2 | Downtown Heroes | Srinagar | Jammu and Kashmir |
| 3 | Shillong Lajong | Shillong | Meghalaya |
| 4 | United Chirang Duar | Kokrajhar | Assam |

### Qualifier group

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SHL | DTH | UCD | COR |
| 1 | Shillong Lajong | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 7 | Group stage | — | 1–1 | 6–1 | — |
| 2 | Downtown Heroes | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 7 | Group stage | — | — | — | 2–1 |
| 3 | United Chirang Duar | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 3 | | — | 1–5 | — | 2–1 |
| 4 | Corbett | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0 | | 0–2 | — | — | — |

## Clubs
### Stadiums and locations

| Club | State/UT | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| ARA | Gujarat | Ahmedabad | Shahibaug Police Stadium | 20,000 |
| Ambernath United Atlanta | Maharashtra | Mumbai | Cooperage Ground | 5,000 |
| Delhi | Delhi | Delhi | Minerva Academy Ground | |
| Dempo | Goa | Panjim | Dempo Academy Ground | 3,000 |
| Downtown Heroes | Jammu & Kashmir | Srinagar | TRC Turf Ground | 11,000 |
| Bengaluru United | Karnataka | Bengaluru | Bangalore Football Stadium | 8,400 |
| Golden Threads | Kerala | Kochi | Panampally Ground | 2,500 |
| Jagat Singh Palahi | Punjab | Phagwara | Hargobind Stadium | |
| RKM FA | Chhattisgarh | Narainpur | Ramakrishna Mission Sports Complex | |
| Shillong Lajong | Meghalaya | Shillong | SSA Stadium | 5,000 |
| Techtro Swades United | Himachal Pradesh | Una | Minerva Academy Ground | |
| The Diamond Rock | Madhya Pradesh | Balaghat | Mulna Stadium | 15,000 |
| United | West Bengal | Kalyani | Kalyani Stadium | 20,000 |
| Bengaluru (R) | Karnataka | Bengaluru | Bangalore Football Stadium | 8,400 |
| Chennaiyin (R) | Tamil Nadu | Chennai | SSN College Ground | |
| East Bengal (R) | West Bengal | Kolkata | Naihati Stadium | 25,000 |
| Goa (R) | Goa | Margao | Nagoa Football Ground | |
| Hyderabad (R) | Telangana | Hyderabad | Bangalore Football Stadium | 8,400 |
| Mumbai City (R) | Maharashtra | Mumbai | Cooperage Ground | 5,000 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| ARA | Vivek Nagul | Naro Hari Shrestha | SEVEN | Amul |
| Ambernath United Atlanta | Steven Dias | Himanshu Patil | | Ambernath United Atlanta |
| Delhi | Surinder Singh | Gurtej Singh | Astro | Colordesign India |
| Dempo | Samir Naik | Shallum Pires | Shiv Naresh | Dempo |
| Downtown Heroes | Hilal Rasool Parray | Zubair Ahad Akhoon | Chinar | J&K Bank |
| Bengaluru United | Fernando Varela | Sushil Meitei | Hummel | NIMIDA |
| Golden Threads | Samuel Geevarghese | Bibake Thapa | Nivia | Wayna |
| Jagat Singh Palahi | Sukhwinder Kumar | Shamsher Singh Mahala | JB Sports | JSP Football Academy |
| RKM FA | Jahar Das | Suresh Kumar Dhruv | Nivia | |
| Shillong Lajong | Bobby Nongbet | Atlanson Kharmaw | Nivia | |
| Techtro Swades United | Vipin Thapa | Janio Fernandas | King | |
| The Diamond Rock | Chandan Rathod | Sujit Hansda | Nivia | Apollo Tyres |
| United | Steve Herbots | Sanjib Mondal | Trak Only | |
| Bengaluru (R) | Kaizad Ambapardiwala | Harmanpreet Singh Lara Sharma | Puma | JSW |
| Chennaiyin (R) | Cleofas Alex | Aqib Nawab | Nivia | |
| East Bengal (R) | Bino George | Sanjib Ghosh | Trak Only | Emami |
| Goa (R) | Sugitesh Mandrekar | Mevan Dias | T10 Sports | Parimatch News |
| Hyderabad (R) | Renjith Ajithkumar | Mark Zothanpuia | Hummel | Stake News |
| Mumbai City (R) | Anthony Fernandes | Ahan Prakash | Puma | |

## Group stage

6 Indian Super League reserve sides play in this round, along with 12 state champions and two state qualification tournament winners.
Twenty teams are divided into four groups of 5, where each team plays each other twice in a home and away format. Each group winner along with the best second placed team qualify for the final round.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | DEL | DTH | JSP | TSU | MCI |
| 1 | Delhi | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 5 | +15 | 16 | Advance to Final round | — | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 |
| 2 | Downtown Heroes | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 14 | | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| 3 | Jagat Singh Palahi | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 13 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 3–3 |
| 4 | Techtro Swades United | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 12 | | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 |
| 5 | Mumbai City (R) | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 23 | −19 | 2 | | 0–5 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | — |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | USC | SHI | EAB | TDR |
| 1 | United | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 14 | Advance to Final round | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Shillong Lajong | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 13 | Advance to Final round | 1–1 | — | 5–0 | 4–0 |
| 3 | East Bengal (R) | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 7 | | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | 5–0 |
| 4 | The Diamond Rock | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 18 | −15 | 0 | | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | — |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | FCBU | GTFC | BFC | CFC | RKM |
| 1 | Bengaluru United | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 5 | +16 | 17 | Advance to Final round | — | 2–2 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 4–0 |
| 2 | Golden Threads | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 12 | | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 |
| 3 | Bengaluru (R) | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 11 | | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| 4 | Chennaiyin (R) | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 17 | −10 | 9 | | 0–5 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 |
| 5 | RKM FA | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 15 | −7 | 7 | | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AMB | ARA | DEM | HYD | GOA |
| 1 | Ambernath United Atlanta | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 9 | +8 | 17 | Advance to Final round | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| 2 | ARA FC | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 17 | | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| 3 | Dempo | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 14 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| 4 | Hyderabad (R) | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 4 | | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–1 |
| 5 | Goa (R) | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 17 | −13 | 4 | | 3–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–2 | — |
* 1 2 Head-to-head points: Ambernath United Atlanta 4, ARA 1.

### Ranking of second-placed teams

Since Group B has fewer teams, the result against fifth-placed teams in other groups will not be counted for the table ranking below.
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | B | Shillong Lajong | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 13 | Advanced to Final round |
| 2 | D | ARA | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 11 | |
| 3 | A | Downtown Heroes | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | |
| 4 | C | Golden Threads | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 9 | |

## Final round

The top 5 teams from the group stage will play each other in the final round in a single-leg format. The top 2 teams will qualify for the I-League.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Delhi | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 7 | Champions and Promotion to 2023–24 I-League |
| 2 | Shillong Lajong | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 7 | Promotion to 2023–24 I-League |
| 3 | Ambernath United Atlanta | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 6 | 2023–24 I-League 2 |
| 4 | Bengaluru United | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2023–24 I-League 2 |
| 5 | United | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 3 | 2023–24 I-League 2 |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of 26 May 2023
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Irfan Yadwad | Bengaluru United | 13 |
| 2 | Hardy Nongbri | Shillong Lajong | 8 |
| 3 | Balwant Singh | Delhi | 7 |
| 3 | Ateeb Ahmed Dar | Downtown Heroes | 7 |
| 3 | Himanshu Patil | Ambernath United Atlanta | 7 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
| Irfan Yadwad | Bengaluru United | Chennaiyin (R) | 0–5 (A) | 31 March 2023 | |

### Clean sheets

    As of 26 May 2023
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Bishal Lama | Shillong Lajong | 6 |
| 2 | Furqan Ahmad Dar | Downtown Heroes | 5 |
| 2 | Antonio Da Silva | Dempo | 5 |
| 2 | Srijith R | Bengaluru United | 5 |
| 5 | Sangramjit Roy Chowdhury | ARA | 4 |
| 5 | Nitish Mehra | Delhi | 4 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 4
** Gaurav Rawat
** Himanshu Patil
** Shahmeer Tariq
** Aron Vanlalrinchhana
* Most red cards: 1
** 18 players

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 21
** FC Bengaluru United
* Most red cards: 3
** FC Goa (R)

## Attendances
### Overall statistical table

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Shillong Lajong | 8,875 | 5,275 | 400 | 1,775 | n/a$^†$ |
| 2 | RKM FA | 4,730 | 1,500 | 750 | 1,182 | n/a$^†$ |
| 3 | Ambernath United Atlanta | 6,950 | 2,150 | 300 | 1,158 | n/a$^†$ |
| 4 | Downtown Heroes | 2,700 | 2,000 | 50 | 675 | n/a$^†$ |
| 5 | East Bengal (R) | 1,650 | 1,000 | 300 | 550 | n/a$^†$ |
| 6 | United | 2,435 | 1,000 | 205 | 487 | n/a$^†$ |
| 7 | ARA | 1,520 | 850 | 120 | 380 | n/a$^†$ |
| 8 | Jagat Singh Palahi | 1,250 | 500 | 200 | 312 | n/a$^†$ |
| 9 | Mumbai City (R) | 1,143 | 523 | 200 | 285 | n/a$^†$ |
| 10 | Bengaluru United | 1,494 | 500 | 147 | 249 | n/a$^†$ |
| 11 | Hyderabad (R) | 995 | 550 | 120 | 248 | n/a$^†$ |
| 12 | Goa (R) | 937 | 500 | 40 | 234 | n/a$^†$ |
| 13 | Bengaluru (R) | 850 | 300 | 150 | 212 | n/a$^†$ |
| 14 | Delhi | 1,030 | 250 | 60 | 171 | n/a$^†$ |
| 15 | Golden Threads | 667 | 275 | 67 | 166 | n/a$^†$ |
| 16 | Dempo | 643 | 250 | 40 | 160 | n/a$^†$ |
| 17 | Techtro Swades United | 640 | 250 | 90 | 160 | n/a$^†$ |
| 18 | The Diamond Rock | 206 | 125 | 27 | 68 | n/a$^†$ |
| 19 | Chennaiyin (R) | 235 | 100 | 25 | 58 | n/a$^†$ |
| | League total | 38,950 | 5,275 | 25 | 475 | n/a$^†$ |
Source: I-League.org