New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) The expanded I-League with fourteen teams and a record 182 matches to be played across 26 rounds will kick-off Thursday with defending champions Churchill Brothers taking on Mahindra United at the Cooperage in Mumbai.
The third season of the I-League will be the biggest since its inception as the National Football League (NFL) in 1996-97 and this time it will truly reflect why it is called a national league.

This time the league has moved ahead from being played only in Kolkata, Goa, Mumbai and Ludhiana. It will now go down South to Kochi in Kerala with Viva Kerala’s promotion and for the first time there will be representation from North East, now the powerhouse of Indian football, with Shillong’s Lajong Football club.

With more teams and matches, the I-League will be the best platform for home grown players.

While some clubs are heavily banking on overseas imports, others are content with the local talent. So the third edition of the I-League will prove whether Indian clubs can win titles with bare minimum foreign players.

This time the Asian Football Federation (AFC) has allowed clubs to recruit four overseas players, including one of Asian origin. The new rule will however challenge the Indians to prove that they are equally talented to win matches.

The success of Goan clubs especially Churchill Brothers and Dempo Sports Club have shifted the focus from Kolkata, which is now losing its status as the epicentre of Indian football.

The last time a Kolkata club won the national league, rechristened as the I-League in 2006, was in 2003-04 when East Bengal won their third title.

But since then much has changed and Goan clubs have surged ahead with their professionalism.

For the last three years, Dempo (2006, 2007) and Churchill Brothers (2008) have dominated the I-League. Last year, three-time national league winner Mohun Bagan came close but lost to Mahindra United to finish second.

This time Mohun Bagan have showed some prospects and made the two back-to-back finals in the IFA Shield and Durand Cup, but on both occasions finished runners-up to the formidable Churchill Brothers.

While Mohun Bagan can take some heart from finishing second, all is not good for East Bengal. The three-time national league champions made a horrendous start to the season with four consecutive losses, something that has happened rarely in the club’s 99-year old history.

With fingers being pointed at the wrong selection of foreigners, East Bengal coach Subhash Bhowmick can only hope the return of national captain Bhaichung Bhutia, who got interim relief from the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to play in the league, can lift the team’s spirit.

But all eyes will be on Churchill’s star-striker Odafe Onyeka Okolie, who reportedly settled for $200,259 annual bonanza, a figure unheard of in Indian football. The prolific goal scorer has set high-benchmark at Churchill Brothers and the club’s chances of retaining the title will again centre on the 26-year-old Nigerian’s performance.

Among Indian players, Mahindra United striker Mohammad Rafi will be the player to watch out for. The Kerala boy has scored six goals in Shield and the Durand and if he continues in the same vein, a call from national coach Bob Houghton won’t be too far.