By Shoubhik Mukhopadhyay
I-League Media

NEW DELHI: It’s time for us to put on the team jerseys and cheer our heart out as Hero I-League 2015-16 is just around the corner. Mohun Bagan, the defending champions, will start their campaign against newbie Aizawl FC on 9^th January, 2016 while the outfits clash their swords at Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Saltlake.

The clamour will be back in the drawing room while Hero I-League will kick start on 9^th January. Incidentally, it’s the first time one Kolkata outfit is approaching Hero I-League as champions. Onus will be on gaffer Sanjoy Sen and his brigade to keep their heads on shoulder and hit the bull’s eye. “Last season is history now and we’ve to start from scratch. Everything will start from zero in the new season. There’s no room of complacency and everyone will be on same platform on 9^th January”, Sanjoy Sen sounds pretty focussed and meticulous ahead of the Hero I-League 2015-16.

DSK Shivajians, the Pune based football powerhouse who are going to embark their voyage in Hero I-League 2015-16, will play their home matches at Balewadi Stadium, Pune. DSK Shivajians will start their Hero I-League campaign against Flaming Oranje, the football powerhouse from Goa. The Pune outfit will etch the day of 30^th January in their history while they host their first ever Hero I-League match, incidentally that to champions Mohun Bagan.

Indian football fans always mark their calendar with the Kolkata derby date. The only Asian derby, which can be weighed against North London Derby or Athens Derby, is the sublime advertisement of Hero I-League, let alone Indian football. The Mariners are scheduled to host their arch rivals Kingfisher East Bengal at Salt lake Stadium on 23^rd January while the return leg is slated to be played on 2^nd April.

Aizawl FC, winners of Second Division League 2014-15, are rearing to unfurl their journey in Hero I-League. Lest we forget, it’s going to be the first Hero I-League season while we’ll witness an outfit from Mizoram, certainly they’ll show the same vigour and valour which they’ve already shown us in last edition of Second Division League. They’re going to host one of the snazziest outfits of Hero I-League, Bengaluru FC, at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on 16^th January. Myriads of Mizo football fans are expected to pour in the stadium to cheer their heart out for their much-loved outfit.