Panaji: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has confirmed that this season’s Indian Football League (IFL) will kick off on Oct 30.The governing council of the IFL which met at the Football House in Delhi on Tuesday, with representatives of all 11 participating clubs, approved a regulation permitting a maximum of three foreign players on the pitch at a time during IFL matches for the upcoming season.The move is to bolster the prospects of domestic players, particularly strikers.The league will also get two new venues. Samaleswari FC, who recently featured in the Durand Cup, will represent from Odisha, after taking over Delhi FC, while Nagaland United SC is set for their IFL debut after their move to acquire former champions Aizawl FC’s license.“It was a very cordial meeting, and we are happy that the new dates for the IFL season have now been confirmed,” said AIFF deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan on Tuesday. “It was a very cordial meeting, and we are happy that the new dates for the IFL season have now been confirmed. Last season, despite being a truncated campaign, the league generated a lot of interest, and the viewership figures were very encouraging.The IFL will return to a full-fledged home-and-away format.Goa will once again be represented by Dempo SC.Returning to the top tier Indian Super League (ISL) has always been Dempo’s focus since their return to the national stage. The five-time national champions gave a good account of themselves in the last two seasons where they managed to finish mid table despite injuries to key players and other challenges.This season, Samir Naik’s team will look for a fresh start.Dempo have already signed Ghanaian striker Richmond Owusu, who donned their colours earlier.However, Dempo will miss the services of Marcus Joseph who spearheaded their attack for the last two seasons. The Trinidad and Tobago striker finished as the league’s top scorer with nine goals and has since secured a move to Real Kashmir FC.
