ISL 2020-21 All you need to know: Squads, head coaches, schedule, venues, broadcast and more

A new season of Indian Super League starts from 20 November with defending champions ATK Mohun Bagan facing Kerala Blasters. This is the seventh year of the league and it will run from November 2020 to March 2021.

In the past six years, the league was bereft of two of the biggest clubs in the Indian football but this season, both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have entered the fray.

Mohun Bagan have merged with ATK and will play this season as ATK Mohun Bagan while the Kolkata club’s arch-rival East Bengal will also make their debut in the tournament as SC East Bengal.

So 11 teams will fight for the title and will also look to seal qualifications to the continental tournaments in AFC Champions League and AFC Cup.

Venues

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers have taken the decision to conduct all the matches in Goa. All the matches will be played behind closed doors and in a bio-secure bubble. Games will be played at three venues: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda; GMC Athletic Stadium, Bambolim; and Tilak Maidan Stadium, Vasco.

Format

This season, due to an extra team, there will be a total of 115 matches, 20 more than last season. All teams will play each other in a ‘home’ and ‘away’ round-robin format and the top four sides will qualify for the playoffs. The winner of the league table will book their spot in next year’s AFC Champions League.

Changes

Because of the coronavirus-forced long break, which might lead to many injuries to players, each team can make five substitutions instead of three. Teams can make five substitutions in at most three intervals.

Teams have the option of signing a minimum of five and a maximum of seven foreign players. But the squad should include at least one foreign player who is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation.

Each club can register maximum number of 35 players in their squad.

Broadcast

LIVE action of all the league matches will be shown on Star Sports Network and Asianet Plus. The games will also be streamed online on Disney+ Hotstar VIP and Jio TV.

Schedule

The first match of the new season is between defending champions ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim. The organisers have released the first 11 rounds of fixtures, till 11 January 2021 and it will feature six double-headers which will be played on Sundays. Rest of the fixtures will be released in December.

The first Kolkata derby between old rivals will be played on 27 November at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco. FC Goa, who finished top of the league table last season will begin their campaign against Bengaluru FC in Fatorda on 22 November.

Here’s the schedule:

Full squad and head coaches

ATK Mohun Bagan

Head coach: Antonio Lopez Habas

Goalkeepers: Arindram Bhattacharja, Arsh Shaikh, Aryan Niraj Lamba, Avilash Paul, Dheeraj Singh

Defenders: Tiri, Prabir Das, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose, Sumit Rathi

Midfielders: Boris Singh, Bradden Inman, Cark McHugh, Edu Garcia, Javier Hernandez, Glan Martins, Jayesh Rane, Michael Soosairaj, N Engson Singh, Pronoy Halder, Regin Michael, Sahil Sheikh.

Forwards: David Williams, Manvir Singh, Md Fardin Ali Molla, Roy Krishna.

Bengaluru FC 

Head coach: Carles Cuadrat

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lalthummawia Ralte, Lara Sharma

Defenders: Ajith Kumar, Diswa Darjee, Francisco Gonzalez, Joe Zoherliana, Juanan, Namgyal Bhutia, Parag Srivas, Pratik Chaudhari, Rahul Bheke, Wungngayam Muirang

Midfielders: Ajay Chhetri, Amay Morajkar, Cleiton Silva, Dimas Delgado, Emanuel Lalchhanchhuaha, Erik Paartalu, Harmanjot Khabra, Suresh Wangjam, Thoi Singh.

Forwards: Deshorn Brown, Edmund Lalrindika, Kristian Opseth, Leon Augustin, Ashique Kuruniyan, Naorem Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Semboi Haokip

Chennaiyin FC

Head coach: Csaba Laszlo

Goalkeepers: karanjit Singh, Revanth BY, Samik Mitra, Vishal Kaith

Defenders: Aqib Nawab, Balaji Ganesan, Deepak Tangri, Eli Sabia, Enes Sipovic, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Reagan Singh, Lalchhuanmawia, Remi.

Midfielders: Abhijit Sarkar, Anirudh Thapa, Dhanpal Ganesh, Edwin Vanspaul, Memo Mouro, Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev, Germanpreet Singh, Thoi Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Pandian Sinivasan, Rafael Crivellaro.

Forwards: Aman Chhetri, Esmael Goncalves, Jakub Sylvestr, Rahim Ali.

FC Goa

Head coach: Juan Ferrando

Goalkeepers: Antonio D’Silva, Mohammad Nawaz, Naveen Kumar, Shubham Dhas

Defenders: Aiban Dohling, Ivan Gonzalez, James Donachie, Leander D’Cunha, Mohamed Ali, Sanson Pereira, Serineo Fernandes, Saviour Gama, Seriton Fernandes.

Midfielders: Alberto Noguera, Alexander Jesuraj, Brandon Fernandes, Edu Bedia, Flan Gomes, Jorge Mendoza, Lenny Rodrigues, Nestor Dias, Phrangki Buam, Princeton Rebello, Redeem Tlang, Seiminlen Doungel.

Forwards: Aaren D’Silva, Devendra Murgaonkar, Igor Angulo, Ishan Pandita, Makan Chote

Hyderabad FC

Head coach: Manuel Marquez Roca

Goalkeepers: Lalbiakhlua Jongte, Laxmikant Kattimani, Manas Dubey, Subrata Paul

Defenders: Akash Mishra, Asish Rai, Chinglensana Singh, Dimple Bhagat, Kynsailang Khongsit, Nikhil Prabhu, Odei Onaindia, Sahil Panwar.

Midfielders: Abhishek Halder, Adil Khan, Sahil Tavora, Halicharan Narzary, Hitesh Sharma, Joao Victor, Laldanmawia Ralte, Lluis Sastre, Mark Zothanpuia, Mohammed Yasir, Nikhil Poojary, Souvik Chakrabarti, Sweden Fernandes.

Forwards: Aridane Santana, Fran Sandaza, Ishan Dey, Joel Chianese, Lalawmpuia, Liston Colaco, Rohit Danu.

Jamshedpur FC

Head coach: Owen Coyle

Goalkeepers: Niraj Kumar, Pawan Kumar, Raj Mahato, TP Rehenesh, Vishal Yadav

Defenders: Joyner Lourenco, Karan Amin, Laldinliana Renthlei, Manash Protim Gogoi, Narender Gahlot, Peter Hartley, Ricky Lallawmawma, Sandip Mandi, Stephen Eze, Subhash Barua.

Midfielders: Aitor Monroy, Alexander Lima, Amarjit Singh, Billu Teli, Gaurab, Gorachand Mamdi, Harsha Parui, Issac Vanmalsawma, Jitendra Singh, Mohammad Mobashir, Manisana Singh, Jackichand SIngh.

Forwards: Aniket Jadhav, Bhupender Singh, David Grande, John Fitzgerald, Nerijus Valskis, Sapam Kennedy, William Lalnunfela

Kerala Blasters

Head coach: Kibu Vicuna

Goalkeepers: Albino Gomes, Bilal Husain Khan, Muheet Khan, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill

Defenders: Abdul Hakku, Bakary Kone, Costa Nhamoinesu, Jessel Carneiro, Lalruatthara, Nishu Kumar

Midfielders: Arjun Jayaraj, Ayush Adhikari, Jeakson Singh, Vincente Gomez, Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Givson Singh, Nongdamba Naorem, Prasanth Karuthadathkuni, Rahul KP, Ritwik Das, Rohit Kumar, Sahal Abdul Samad, Seityasen Singh, Sergio Cidoncha, Yendrembam Denechandra.

Forwards: Facundo Pereyra, Gary Hooper, Jordan Murray, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Shaiborlang KHarpan.

Mumbai City FC

Head coach: Sergio Lobera

Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Nishit Shetty, Phurba Lachenpa, Vikram Singh.

Defenders: Amey Ranawade, Valpuia, Mandar Rao Dessai, Mehtab Singh, Mohamad Rakip, Tondonba Singh, Sarthak Golui, Mourtada Fall.

Midfielders: Ahmed Jahouh, Bidyananda Singh, Bipin Singh, Cy Goddard, Farukh Choudhary, Hernan Santana, Hugo Boumous, Asif Khan, Pranjal Bhumij, Raynier Fernandes, Rowlin Borges, Sourav Das, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, Vikram Singh.

Forwards: Bartholomew Ogbeche, Adam Le Fondre

Odisha FC

Head coach: Stuart Baxter

Goalkeepers: Ankit Bhuyan, Arshdeep Singh, Kamaljit Singh, Ravi Kumar.

Defenders: Gaurav Bora, George D’Souza, Hendry Antonay, Jacob, Kamalpreet Singh, Mohd Sajid Dhot, Saurabh Meher, Shubham Sarangi, Steven Taylor.

Midfielders: Baoringdao Bodo, Cole Alexander, Isak Vanlalruatfela, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, S Lalhrezuala, Nandhakumar Sekar, Paul Ramfangzauva, Samuel Lalmuanpuia, Thoiba Singh, Vinit Rai

Forwards: Daniel Lalhlimpuia, Diego Mauricio, Laisham Singh, Manuel Onwu, Marcelo Pareira

NorthEast United FC

Head coach: Gerard Nus

Goalkeepers: Gurmeet, Nikhil Deka, Sanjiban Ghosh, Subhasish Roy.

Defenders: Ashutosh Mehta, Benjamin Lambot, Dylan Fox, Gurjinder Kumar, Mashoor Shereef, Nabin Rabha, Nimm Dorjee, Provat Lakra, Rakesh Pradhan, Wayne Vaz.

Midfielders: Fedrico Gallego, Imran Khan, Khassa Camara, Lalengmawia, Lalremouia Fanai, Pragyan Gogoi.

Forwards: Britto PM, Idrissa Sylla, Ninthoinganba Meetei, Kwesi Appiah, Lalkhawpuimawai, Luis Machado, Suhair Vadakkepeedika.

SC East Bengal

Head coach: Robbie Fowler

Goalkeepers: Debjit Majumder, Rafique Ali, Mirshad Michu, Sankar Roy.

Defenders: Abhishek Ambedkar, Anil Chawan, Daniel Fox, Gurtej Singh, Lalramchullova, Mohamed Irshad, Narayan Das, N Rohen Singh, Novin Gurung, Rana Gharami, Samad Malick, Scott Neville, Pritam Singh.

Midfielders: Aaron Amadi-Holloway, Anthony, Bikash Jairu, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Haobam Singh, Jacques, Loken Meitei, Milan Singh, Mohammed Rafique, Sehnaj Singh, Surchandra Singh, Matti Steinmann, Wahengbam Luwang, Yumnam Singh.

Forwards: Balwant Singh, CK Vineeth, Girik Khosla, Hermanpreet Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua.