2009–10 I League

Rule changes

India became the latest member association to adopt AFC's 3+1 rule which will allow clubs to recruit one player of Asian origin in addition to their regular quota of three foreigners.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) executive committee decided to embrace the new AFC rule which encourages the mobility of talented Asian players and provides a fillip to the regional game.

Season so far

Chirag United has been the surprise of the season so far. Dempo, top of the ladder for the most time, has been unlucky with injury and their star striker Sunil Chhetri leaving to Kansas for playing in the MLS. Despite this, they beat defending champions Churchill Brothers SC 4-2 and remained at the top position. Mahindra United started slowly, but their consistent performance – with only one loss so far, has enabled the club to be at a close second spot. Mahindra reached the top position by defeating leader Dempo 3-1 putting the title race exciting to follow. The other surprise of the season is the up-down performance of the Kolkata teams East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. During round 18, both the teams suffered identical 4-1 defeats at the hands of bottom placed clubs Salgaocar and Shillong Lajong respectively. By losing to Salgaocar, East Bengal had suffered the club record of 13 straight games without a win in all competitions. Of the 4 newly promoted clubs to I-League Viva Kerala and Pune FC had some success, with Shillong Lajong and Salgaocar battling for coming out of the relegation zone. Sporting Clube de Goa, who had a good last season reaching third overall now looks to be heading for relegation.

Biggest wins of the season so far are by defending champions Churchill Brothers SC winning 6-0 against JCT followed by 5-0 by Mahindra United over Shillong Lajong and Mohan Bagan Air India. The top-scoring Indian player in the league is M. Mohammed Rafi of Mahindra United with 13 goals so far.

Round 19 Summary

A total of 21 goals were scored in this round, one of highest scoring rounds for this season. Foreigners scored 13 goals and 8 were scored by Indians. Round 19 saw a major shift in the title race with second placed Mahindra displacing league leaders Dempo after defeating the latter at the Cooperage. Meanwhile, Churchill Brothers stay in the hunt for the league title after they thrashed JCT at home.

Round 20 Summary

Dempo defeated East Bengal 1-0 to jump to the top of the table, after Mahindra United drew their match against Mumbai FC. Churchill Brothers SC also won their match 1-0 against Shillong Lajong with Odafe scoring the winning goal. Relegation threatened SC Goa won their third straight match against JCT 1-0. So with the exception of Salgaocar, only Goan-based clubs tasted victory during this round with a solitary goal. A total of 9 goals were scored during this round, with all teams only able to score atmost one goal. 5 goals were scored by foreigners and 4 by Indians.

Round 21 Summary

Almost all matches in this round produced results. This round can be called as upset round other than Dempo, most of the favorites to win lost their games. East Bengal opened this round with a win over Mumbai FC with a score of 1-0. Yusuf Yakabu scored the winning goal. Dempo beat Chirag United 3-1, Shillong scored upset victory over Mahindra United 2-1. JCT FC scored an important victory over Viva Kerala 5-1, Mohan Bagan also scored 4-0 victory over Air-India. A total of 23 goals were scored in this round. 20 Goals were scored by foreigners and 3 by Indians in this round. Shillong moved out of relegation at the end of the round.

Round 22 Summary

Out of the 7 matches played this round, 5 produced results and 2 ended in draws. A total of 16 goals were scored in this round, 10 were scored by foreigners and 6 by Indians. Opening this was the Shillong Lajong FC 1-1 draw with Mumbai FC. Next was a win by JCT FC over Chirag United. Mohan Bagan, Pune FC, Dempo SC won their matches and Salgacor drew their match with Air India.

Round 23 Summary

Round 23 started with Chirag United holding Shillong Lajong by a late Edmilson goal. Pune FC and Mahindra United also played in 1-1 draw, with Mahindra's hope of catching Dempo now almost impossible. It was during this round that Mahindra United decided to disband the club of 47 years for promoting grass-root football growth at National level. Meanwhile, Dempo looks certain to be the League Champions after humiliating Mohan Bagan 4-1. Air India suffered a loss in their attempt to clear from relegation by losing to JCT. Sporting earned a vital away point in their fight for survival as they held East Bengal to a 1-1 draw in Kolkata, while Viva Kerala suffered three consecutive loses after losing 0-1 to Mumbai FC lifting the Mumbai club above the relegation zone. The final match of the round was played between Churchill Brothers SC and Salgocar with Churchill winning 3-1 and pushing Salgocar into relegation zone. A total of 17 goals were scored in this round. 6 goals were scored by Indians and foreigners scored 11.

Round 24 Summary

Round 24 started with Pune FC taking on JCT FC on May 3, 2010. Pune FC won their match 2-0. Both sides are safe from relegation. On second match day, 3 matches were played Viva beats Shillong Lajong FC to leg up on relegation battle, in second match of the day Sporting Clube de Goa shocks Mahindra United 3-2 and in final match of day East Bengal defeats Chirag United 2-1. Match day 3: Dempo beats Air-India 2-0. Match day 4: Salgocar beat Mumbai FC and final match of the round was played between Churchill Brothers and Mohan Bagan. Churchill defeated Mohan Bagan 4-0. A total of 20 goals were scored on this round. 12 were scored by foreigners and 8 by Indians.

Round 25 Summary

Relegation battle is getting interesting as final rounds are approaching. Round 25 started with 3 matches being played on May 9, 2010. The first match was between Shillong Lajong and Dempo. This match is crucial for the survival of Shillong and Shillong lost it 0-1. Second match of the day was played between Air-India and Chirag United and Air-India Defeated Chirag 3-1 and final match of the day was played between JCT and East Bengal which was a 1-1 draw. On second match day of the round Pune FC hammered SC Goa 4-0. Relegation battlers Salgocar won against disbanding Mahindra United 2-1 and Viva Kerala drew with Mohan Bagan 1-1. So far a total of 16 goals were scored in this round and 6 were by Indians.

AFC Campaign

Two of the I-League teams are playing in 2010 AFC Cup. This has caused some delays in scheduling. East Bengal lost all its round robin matches and is out of the tourney, but Churchill Brothers are at Knockout stage.

League table

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
1. East Bengal qualified for the 2011 AFC Cup as 2010 Indian Federation Cup winners.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Fixtures and results

Updated to games played on 28 May 2010.
Source: http://www.indianfootball.com/en/I-League/1st_division/fixtures]
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers

As of 18 May 2010 (season end)