AIFF's 2nd Division League to kick off on Saturday

The 2nd Division League preliminary round will get underway on Saturday in four different venues in Kerala, Gujarat and West Bengal, the All India Football Federation said on Thursday. ATK Reserves take on Jamshedpur Reserves in Group A, Bhawanipore FC face Mohammedan Sporting in Group B, while ARA FC and Mumbai City FC Reserves and FC Kerala and Kerala Blasters Reserves face each other in Group C on the first day. A total of 17 teams are taking part in this edition of the 2nd Division League, which is organised by the AIFF, out of which, nine are reserves sides of I-League or ISL clubs.

The teams have been divided into three groups, with Group A and C consisting of six teams each, while Group B has five. The teams finishing at the top of each group will advance to the final round. The second-placed teams out of Group A and C with the highest number of points will also make it to the final round, which will be played in a single leg round-robin format, with the top team gaining promotion to the I-League. The reserves sides of the ISL and I-League teams, however, will not be eligible to qualify for the final round. In case they finish in one of the qualification spots in any particular group, the next best-placed non-reserves team in the group will progress to the final round.