Last season in top flight? Three reasons why I-league 2018-19 was special

There was no dearth of interesting stories in the I-League this season.

Real Kashmir had not just the Indian football fraternity but football lovers from all over the world invest in them thanks to the unique backstory.

Indian Arrows proved a solid unit under the stewardship of Floyd Pinto.

Shillong Lajong finally threw in the towel after putting on a brave fight for many years.

Minerva Punjab managed to just stay afloat despite winning the title only last season.

East Bengal missed out on an I-League title — again.

Chennai City kept up the trend of minnows finishing atop the standings, playing some of the most attractive football the country has seen.

Anyway, here are three reasons why the I-League 2018-19 season was special.

3. Last season as premier division?

East Bengal and Mohun Bagan will likely move to the ISL next season

A single-league system has been mooted to come into existence for some time now.

Next season, however, it’s finally happening, according to I-League CEO, Sunando Dhar.

He said on the eve of the final day of the I-League 2018-19 campaign, "The aim is to have a proper structure in place where there will be one league at the top, followed by the second and third divisions.”

He revealed the All India Football Federation (AIFF) couldn’t introduce relegation and promotion right away given the ISL clubs’ “contractual obligations.”

East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, two of the biggest clubs in the I-League, are touted to move to the Indian Super League (ISL), with some reports suggesting the former have already picked up the franchise papers.

The recent events point to the I-League’s being made the understudy to the ISL.

It was fun while it lasted, but it’s time to say goodbye to I-League as the country’s premier division.

2. Title race going down the wire

Gaurav Bora struck a brace against Minerva Punjab to seal the I-League title for Chennai City

Over the last five seasons, the I-League title race has gone down the wire on four occasions.

This year, until the last few matchdays, it seemed any of Churchill Brothers, Real Kashmir, East Bengal and Chennai City could end up lifting the title.

On the final day, however, only the latter two prevailed.

Chennai seemed the likeliest of the four as they sat atop the standings for the majority of the season.

However, a 2-3 loss to Churchill Brothers in their penultimate fixture meant East Bengal’s 0-1 win against Minerva Punjab inserted the Kolkata club back in the title reckoning.

On the final day, in Coimbatore, Roland Bilala opened the scoring for Minerva, throwing Chennai’s title chances up in the air.

Pedro Manzi, Chennai’s goal machine, however, levelled from the spot 10 minutes into the second half before Gaurav Bora bagged a brace to clinch the title for Akbar Nawas’ men minutes later.

In the end, East Bengal’s 1-2 victory over Gokulam Kerala didn’t matter as Chennai won the title in only their third and probably final season in the top-flight.

Last season, Minerva Punjab won it on the final day. The year before that, Aizawl claimed a Leicester City-like fairytale to be crowned the I-League champions.

Mohun Bagan similarly pipped Bengaluru FC for the I-League title in 2014-15 but Bengaluru reclaimed it the very next season.

1. Attendance figures surpassing Indian Super League’s

The ISL attendance figures have been steadily declining since the 2014-15 season, when it stood at 26,000.

This season, however, the figure has more than halved.

The average attendance stands at a paltry 11,634 this season.

NorthEast United’s rise saw the club witness an increase of 5,000 from last season’s figure whereas ATK saw a bump of nearly 6,000.

Jamshedpur managed to bring in over 20,000 fans for the second season running.

However, heavyweights Bengaluru and Chennaiyin combined to lose 8,000 in average attendance during league stages.

Kerala Blasters’ mismanagement saw the club drop from 32,000 to a measly 17,000.

I-League, meanwhile, saw attendance figures shoot up despite the games’ being held predominantly during afternoons and evenings.

Gokulam Kerala, Neroca, East Bengal and, most notably, Real Kashmir all drew five-figure attendances rather consistently.

East Bengal, in particular, drew 64,867 fans for their home derby, which saw them defeat Mohun Bagan 3-2. Over 43,000 fans witnessed their 1-1 draw with Churchill Brothers.

They averaged 27,170 per match, a stark contrast to what they’d managed over the last four seasons (7000, 9000, 13,000 and 17,000).

Reducing I-League to a second-tier competition can’t come at a worse time, as it’s now gaining in popularity like never before.