New Delhi, February 15 The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on Sunday that the Indian Football League 2025-26 season will begin on February 27, releasing the full fixture schedule in advance.
The season, originally scheduled to begin on February 21, has been postponed by six days, with two matches now planned for the revised opening day on February 27.
Namdhari FC will play against Aizawl FC, while Chanmari FC will face Gokulam Kerala FC on the first day of the competition.
According to the proposal by the clubs, the IFL 2025-26 season will feature a two-stage format.
In Stage 1, the 10 participating clubs will compete in a single-leg home-and-away round-robin format.
In Stage 2, the teams will be divided into two groups. Those that finished in the top half in Stage 1 will advance to a home-and-away championship round, while the bottom half will compete in a centralised relegation round.
All points from the initial stage will carry forward to preserve the competitive context of the league.
The teams that finish at the top at the end of Stage 2 will be crowned the Indian Football League champions and will be promoted to the Indian Super League 2026-27.
The Indian Football League, formerly known as the I-League, is the second tier of men's professional football league in India.
The former I-League was recently rebranded as the Indian Football League.
