All you need to know about the league structure in Mizoram

Soham Mukherjee

All you need to know about the league structure in Mizoram image

In India, it is very rare occurrence that a local league generates so much enthusiasm and fanfare that a broadcaster gets into a muti-year deal with the state association to televise all the matches live. Apart from the Calcutta Football League (CFL), the Mizoram Premier League (MPL) is the only local league which is broadcast live. Even for the CFL, only the fixtures of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are telecasted and the rest is given a miss.

Whereas in the MPL, every match irrespective of teams are televised by a local television channel who bought the broadcasting rights of MPL for a whooping ₹ 1.25 crore to telecast a revamped version of the state's football league back in 2012. After a successful run of five years, Zonet, the official broadcasters, have renewed their deal for the next five years starting the sixth edition for a total sum of ₹ 1.50 crore. 

"The Mizoram Premier League is the one of the best managed and structured league in the country. This is one of the first leagues before Indian Super League (ISL) where all matches were televised. Even in I-League, back then all matches were not broadcasted. We have all matches on record," says Lalnghinglova Hmar, Honorary Secretary of the Mizoram Football Association.

Chhinga Veng FC are the defneding champions.


History of MPL


MPL 17/18

The first season kicked off on 24th October 2012.

An instant hit among the masses, the first edition of the MPL saw sellout crowds at the Assam Rifles ground in Lammual which was newly refurbished for the 2012 North-East Games.

Since then, talents from the MPL have been scouted by teams from the I-League and the ISL alike.

"MPL is the perfect platform where young talents showcase and audition for greater achievements. Lalruatthara belongs to a very small village in Mizoram. He came to Aizawl to play MPL at a very tender age. He played the first five seasons in MPL, where he performed well and now he is plying his trade with the Kerala Blasters in ISL and have also got his call-up in the Indian National team.

"Jerry Mawihmingthanga promoted his team Lunglei FC single-handedly to the MPL. It was a proud moment for us when he scored the fastest goal in ISL history in this season. Danmawia (Ralte) and Chullova (Lalramchullova) is now playing for East Bengal. All these are products of the MPL," says Hmar.
 


Past Winners


Chanmari FC Mizoram Premier League 2013

The inaugural season saw Dinthar FC lift the crown as Chanmari FC followed up with their 2013/14 triumph. The next two years belonged to Aizawl FC but Chanmari FC came back again in 2016/17 to join Aizawl FC as the joint two-time winners of the MPL.

2012/13 - DINTHAR FC

2013/14 - CHANMARI FC

2014/15 - AIZAWL FC

2015/16 - AIZAWL FC

2016/17 - CHANMARI FC

2017/18 - CHHINGA VENG FC


Format & Venue


Aizawl FC celebration

Eight teams play each other twice in round-robin league system.

After 14 rounds, the top four teams progress to the semi-finals. The semi-finals are a two-legged affair with the winners progressing to the in the grand finale. All the matches are played at the Assam Rifles ground in Lammual. The eighth-placed team is relegated to the Mizoram First Division League while the seventh-placed team will have to face a relegation play-off with the runners-up of the second-division to retain their top-flight place for next season. 

Chawngpui FC have qualified for MPL 7 after winning the MPL Qualifier. 

MPL

 


District Leagues


In each of the eight districts they have their district first division, district second division, district third division leagues.  The team with the lowest point gets relegated from the A and B divisions. The MFA does not decide how many teams gets promoted or relegated from these divisions but it is left to the district management to decide. 

Mizoram has not only been manufacturing promising talents but a robust league structure ensures that the players are nurtured and developed. In 2014, Mizoram lifted the Santosh Trophy for the first time in their history when they beat Services 3-0 in the final. Two years later, Aizawl FC went on to become the first team from Mizoram to play in the top tier professional league of the country and scripted history by winning it the next year. The MPL plays a major role behind these achievements of Mizo football.

Soham Mukherjee