SL: BIG UPDATE! ISL to introduce new format from next season, SIX teams will qualify for playoffs – The Indian Super League will introduce a new format from the 2022/23 season onwards, wherein six teams will qualify for the playoffs instead of four. Follow live ISL updates on InsideSport.IN.
Initially started as an eight-team affair back in 2014, the number of participants in ISL were increased to ten a couple of years ago, following the inclusion of East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan. However, the playoffs format remained the same with four teams battling for a spot in the grand finale.
ISL: BIG UPDATE! ISL to introduce new format from next season, SIX teams will qualify for playoffs – Check Details
That, however, will change from the upcoming season. According to reports in the Times of India, the ISL technical committee has approved a new format which has also been conveyed to the ten teams. In this new format, six teams will be involved in the playoffs.
ISL: BIG UPDATE! ISL to introduce new format from next season, SIX teams will qualify for playoffs – Check Details
The top two teams will get a direct entry into the playoffs, whereas teams finishing between 3 to 6 will compete against each other for a place in the final four. The third-placed team will take on the sixth-placed team, whereas the fourth-placed team will face the fifth-placed team.
Unlike the current playoffs, these two fixtures will not be two-legged affairs but will be played over a single leg, to be held at the home venue of the higher-ranked team. On the other hand, the format for the top four stages will remain the same, where teams will play two-legged semi-finals.
Reportedly, the club officials are supportive of this new format. “That’s understandable. Qualifying for the playoffs is getting tougher with each passing season and nobody is really assured of a place among the top four. It’s competitive, so if there are more spots to fight for, I don’t think the clubs would object,” one club official told TOI, whereas another official termed it as a “win-win situation.”
ISL: BIG UPDATE! ISL to introduce new format from next season, SIX teams will qualify for playoffs – Check Details
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