The AIFF announced the 2023/24 season of Indian football is set to begin from 1st June 2023 and will run until May 31, 2024.
Both Men’s and Women’s football will have the same dates for the 2023/24 season as Indian football look forward to an exciting 12 months. The national team of both genders and age-group levels will compete in a number of competitions with the major ones being the U17 Asian Cup, U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, Asian Games for both men and women, U17 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers, AFC Women’s Olympic qualifiers, 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup.
In addition to the major competitions, India’s senior men's team will play the Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championship 2023 with King’s Cup and Merdeka Cup abroad to prepare for the Asian Cup in January next year. For the senior women’s team, the Gold Cup will make a return with teams from other federations to be invited.
Additionally, the ISL will have 12 teams in the new season after RoundGlass Punjab became the first side to earn promotion from the I-League. The Hero Super Cup could be played simultaneously as well with the Durand Cup starting the men’s club season. The Indian Women’s League is expected to be a lot better than the last as promised by the board with a home-and-away format supposed to be implemented for the first time.
Indian clubs will also be involved in AFC Competitions. Mumbai City FC will compete in back-to-back AFC Champions League group stages after winning the ISL Winner's Shield playoff match against Jamshedpur FC. Super Cup winners Odisha FC will participate in the group stages of the AFC Cup for the first time after winning their playoff encounter with Gokulam Kerala. Officially now Mohun Bagan Super Giants, the club will play in the preliminary round of the competition having won against Hyderabad FC in the playoff game between the past two ISL champions. Meanwhile, Gokulam Kerala Women's team could earn a spot in the AFC Women's Club Championship group stage for lifting the IWL trophy three times in a row.
Indian football transfer window 2023/24
The summer transfer window for Indian football of the 2023/24 season will start on June 9, 2023. Clubs have already started finalizing player’s deals but they will officially be registered to the squad only after the date. The window ends on 31st August 2023 after a period of two and a half months. Meanwhile, the second window will begin on New Year’s Day and end on 31st January 2024.
This transfer window is applicable for both men's and women's football. Whereas, for the amateur players, the registration period will begin on 1st June 2023 and end on May 31, 2024, for the entire calendar year. Once again, it is applicable to both men and women footballers. For the clubs competing in the AFC competitions in the next season and also others for an ever-demanding league ahead, some top deals are expected to go through showcasing financial strength.
Indian football club licensing 2023/24
The Premier 1 licensing result of clubs for the 2023/24 season was announced earlier in May. Under the latest regulations, Indian Super League clubs are required to apply for "ICLS Premier 1" license to get eligible for the AFC Competition next season and for the league itself. The Hero I-League clubs are required to apply for "ICLS Premier 2" license to compete in the AFC Cup.
A total of 12 clubs applied for Premier 1 License for the 2023-24 club licensing process. Mumbai City FC, ATK Mohun Bagan FC, FC Goa, Jamshedpur FC, Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, Odisha FC, Kerala Blasters FC and Punjab FC were granted the license. I-League winners RoundGlass Punjab also secured it earning the promotion to ISL.
NorthEast United FC, Hyderabad FC and East Bengal FC failed to secure licenses due to multiple failures to fulfil the criteria of the licensing. However, they will continue to play in the ISL next season. The Premier 2 Licensing results will be announced later.
Check here Indian Football Calendar for the year 2023
