I-League hit by multiple COVID-19 cases; emergency meeting called

New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) The Hero I-League has reported "some positive" COVID-19 cases among "certain teams" and the League Committee has called an emergency meeting later on Wednesday to decide on the future course of action.

The I-League, which started on December 26 with the game between Manipuri club Tiddim Road Athletic United (TRAU) FC and Indian Arrows at the Mohun Bagan ground here, is being held across three venues -- the Mohun Bagan Ground, the Kalyani Stadium in Kalyani, and the Naihati Stadium in Naihati.

I-League tweeted on Wednesday morning informing about the positive COVID-19 cases, saying, "There have (been) some positive cases reported among certain #HeroILeague teams. The League is keeping a close tab on it and have already spoken to the clubs. In addition, an emergency meeting of the League Committee has also been summoned in the afternoon. Further details soon."

The number of teams in the I-League has increased this season, with as many as 13 clubs taking part. All the teams, along with the referees, officials, and volunteers have been housed inside bio-secure bubbles in four hotels across Kolkata.

Three new teams -- Sreenidi Deccan FC, Rajasthan United FC, and Kenkre FC -- are competing in this edition of the I-League.

As per the tournament format, all the teams will play against each other once in a round-robin format in Phase 1, before being split into two groups in Phase 2 of the league -- the top seven teams will make up Group A and the bottom six will make up Group B.

Once the divisions are made after the end of Phase I, the teams of each group will play against each another in a single leg round-robin format. While the teams in Group A will play to determine the champions, those in Group B will be in a relegation battle.