I-League 2017: Know your I-League club home stadiums
The 2017 I-League season has begun and football fans in India are in for another exciting competition after the recently concluded Indian Super League which saw Kolkata-based franchise, Atletico de Kolkata lift their second trophy in two years. In spite of the I-League’s diminishing popularity because of the ISL, it is still the official top-tier football league in India which will see ten clubs competing against each other to win this year’s honours.
Any football competition is incomplete without their fans. The fans who fill the grounds to cheer and shout for their clubs are a major motivator and act as the twelfth man for the football game.
Some clubs have a long-standing fanbase united by their roots as is the case with Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, while some other teams like Bengaluru FC and Shillong Lajong, have accumulated a huge fan base in recent times due to the immense popularity of the game in the region.
The ten teams in this year’s completion will play in ten different stadiums. While we will miss the big guns like the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata and the Fatorda Stadium in Goa this year, there are some other spectacular stadiums with a great atmosphere where the I-League teams will walk out of the tunnel.
Here is a list of all the ten host stadiums for this year’s I-league:
#1 Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Mizoram (Aizawl FC)
Aizawl FC’s introduction to the I-league in 2015-16 meant that Indian football fans would get a view of the picturesque Rajiv Gandhi Stadium located in Mualpui in Aizawl, Mizoram. Named after former Prime Minister of India, the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium is still under construction; the empty the eastern part of the ground overlooks the beautiful Himalayan mountainscape.
Once completed, the stadium will be able to hold 20,000 fans. Aizawl FC came into the I-league scene in 2015-16 after winning the 2015 I-League Second Division and have made the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium their home ground since. The surface of the stadium is a revolutionary artificial turf which is gaining popularity all over India in recent times.
The club has a strong fanbase from all over Mizoram and they flock in huge numbers when Aizawl play in their red home colours at the beautiful stadium.