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The fifth season of the Hero Indian Super League has kicked off already, marking the beginning of the domestic tournament in style. Throughout the years, the ISL has grown exponentially in terms of value and viewership, making it one of the most valuable Indian sports competitions. There has also been a huge growth in the crowd attendance numbers in the stadium, which seems to be a great motivation for players to push harder.
This edition will run from September to March, where we will see the champion team get a spot in qualification stages of the AFC Cup, Asia's second-tier club competition. Last season, Bengaluru FC became the first ISL club to participate in the AFC Cup, where they qualified by virtue of being the Federations Cup champions from the previous season. Chennaiyin FC later became the first club to qualify for the AFC Cup via becoming the ISL Champion.
Most of these clubs play their home matches in large and open stadiums, where fans can come in huge numbers and support and cheer for their favourite team. Keeping this in mind, let us look at the largest stadiums in the ISL in terms of seating capacity.
#10 Mumbai Football Arena - Mumbai City FC
Believe it or not, the Mumbai Football Arena is the smallest stadium in the ISL in terms of seating capacity; with just 7,790 seats! Situated inside the Andheri Sports Complex, the stadium was recently redeveloped to match the FIFA guidelines. The stadium became the home of the Mumbai-based team from the 2016 season, before which the home team used to play at the Dr.DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
#9 Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium - FC Pune City
The Balewadi Stadium in the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex stadium hosts the home fixtures for FC Pune City. Previously it used to be the home ground to the I-League club Pune FC. The stadium can seat up to 10,237 spectators. This stadium has also hosted many matches for the Indian National Team as well.
#8 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium - Delhi Dynamos FC
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi has been famous for hosting huge events like the Asian Championships in Athletics in 1989 and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Seating a total of 14,342 spectators, it remains the home ground for the Delhi Dynamos FC since the beginning of the ISL. The ground also hosted various matches during the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
#7 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium - FC Goa
The Fatorda Stadium (official name - Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium) hosts FC Goa in the ISL, with a seating capacity of 18,600. It has also served as the home ground to the I-League clubs Dempo SC, Salgaocar FC, Churchill Brothers SC and Sporting Clube de Goa. The final of the second edition of the ISL was hosted here, along with many other matches like the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, as well as the Lusofonia Games.
#6 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium - Chennaiyin FC
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai is a multi-purpose stadium hosting several sports like football, athletics and cricket. It is the home ground for the two-time champions, Chennaiyin FC. Established in 1993, it currently has a seating capacity of 20,765. Despite the home team winning the competition twice, it has still not hosted a single ISL final.
#5 Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium - NorthEast United FC
The Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati is the home ground for the NorthEast United FC. Despite the name, it is primarily used for football where it seats a total of 23,627 spectators. It was also one of the six venues for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
#4 JRD Tata Sports Complex - Jamshedpur FC
The JRD Tata Sports Complex is a multipurpose stadium facilitating various sports including athletics, basketball, tennis, volleyball; though it is primarily used for football. It hosts the Jamshedpur FC, and with a seating capacity of 24,424, it is the largest stadium in Jamshedpur.
#3 Sree Kanteerava Stadium - Bengaluru FC
The Sree Kanteerava Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, with two outdoor rock-climbing walls, a running track, a volleyball court, and a football field for which the stadium is mainly used. It is the home of the Bengaluru FC, and their fan club West Block Blues. The stadium can accommodate a total of 24,790 West Block Blues, who create an amazing atmosphere around the stadium. The West Block Blues are considered to be the best-organized and ardently supportive fanbase of any football team in the country today.
#2 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium - Kerala Blasters FC
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi is the current home of the two-time ISL runner-ups Kerala Blasters FC. It was originally built as a football stadium but is also often used as a cricket ground. The ground is also famous for recording capacity crowds for almost every home game, which is a whopping 38,086!! It was perhaps one of the best host venues for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
#1 Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan - Atletico de Kolkata
Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan is the largest football stadium in India and one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world. It has hosted a number of important matches like the friendlies featuring Lionel Messi when Argentina played Venezuela, and the legendary Oliver Kahn in his farewell game for Bayern Munich against Mohun Bagan, which also saw the farewell of India's very own Baichung Bhutia. It hosted the first ever match of the ISL, and also the final of last season. It is the home to the first and two-time ISL champions, ATK with a crows capacity of a humongous 50,500 spectators!!! It also hosted the final for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup and is greatly considered to be the best stadium in the country.
