The 2023-24 I-League 2, featuring eight teams, is scheduled to commence on January 20, 2024. The tournament will follow a double round-robin format with home-and-away matches, determining promotion and relegation for the top two and bottom two teams, respectively. The participating teams comprise two clubs relegated from the 2022-23 I-League (Mumbai Kenkre FC and Sudeva Delhi FC), three from the 2022-23 I-League 2 Final Round (FC Bengaluru United, United SC, and The Oranje FC), and three from the 2024-25 I-League 3 (Sporting Clube de Goa, Dempo SC, and Sporting Club Bengaluru).
Sporting Clube de Goa, the I-League 3 champions, return to the national stage after seven years, alongside Dempo SC and Sporting Club Bengaluru. A 40-day gap between February 12 and March 23 is allocated for the Santosh Trophy Final Round, and the league will continue until the last week of April.
AIFF Acting Secretary General Mr. Satyanarayan M stated, “The AIFF had a meeting with the eight I-League 2 teams, and we agreed to have a gap in between for the Santosh Trophy. It will be a highly competitive league played on a home-and-away basis, benefiting all teams.”
The eight participating teams in the 2023-24 I-League 2 are as follows:
1. FC Bengaluru United (Dravid and Padukone COE, Bengaluru)
2. Dempo SC (Ella Ground, Goa)
3. Mumbai Kenkre FC (COE Khargar, Mumbai)
4. Sporting Club Bengaluru (Bangalore Football Stadium, Bengaluru)
5. Sporting Clube de Goa (Tilak Maidan, Goa)
6. Sudeva Delhi FC (Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi)
7. The Oranje FC (COE Khargar, Mumbai)
8. United SC (Kalyani Stadium, Kalyani)