Edmilson Marquez, Nirmal Chhetri and Sunil Chhetri during practice on Thursday. A Telegraph picture

In 1996-97, when the eight-team National Football League (now renamed as the I-League) was started by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), it was greeted with enthusiasm by fans across the country. Twelve years on, the biggest challenge the I-League faces is the lack of spectators in the stands.

According to available statistics, the total number of spectators in the inaugural I-League was a little less than 600,000. While the two matches between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal attracted around 150,000 fans at the Salt Lake Stadium, the rest turned up for the remaining 88 contests at the other five venues.

So poor was the attendance in Goa that the local association had to do away with tickets in the later stages of the league. No match at the Nehru Stadium in Margao attracted more than 10,000 fans even though the first two spots in the championship were claimed by Goan outfits.

Teams, too, are very much aware of their declining popularity. Barring Mohun Bagan, no club have accepted the AIFF’s proposal to sell tickets for their matches.

Nevertheless, most of the clubs have spent huge amount of money to battle it out in the high-profile league. The AIFF, on its part, has decided to increase the prize money and raise the daily allowance of the players.

Here is a look at the participating teams (in alphabetical order):

Air India

Air India, still being run like an old fashioned institutional club, are struggling to adjust to the demands of the I-League like club licensing and corporate identity. Nevertheless, the Bimal Ghosh coached side from Mumbai are still considered the nursery for budding talent and continue to earn respect from opponents.

Strength: Good selection of youngsters is Air India’s biggest plus. They have always managed to stay afloat without the presence of star players. Young Subhas Singh could be Air India ’s star this season.

Weakness: The club have lost too many players in the transfer market. The loss of Nirmal Chhetri and Paresh Shivalkar could prove costly.

Churchill Brothers

The Goan club always seems to be in the news for the wrong reasons. Last season, the reported differences between the coach (Karim Bencharifa) and the main striker (Odafe Onyeka) received more publicity than their runners-up finish. This time the team management has already thrown out the Nigerian coach Emeka. Yet, Churchill have a team capable of running for the title.

Strength:: Onyeka. A brilliant goal-getter, the Nigerian has reportedly been paid a fortune. Churchill also have a bunch of proven youngsters.

Weakness: Onyeka. Despite his terrific scoring prowess that made him the top scorer in the inaugural I-League, the Nigerian has been a source of trouble because of his antics.

Dempo

Champions for the last two seasons, the Goans believe in the policy of “spend more to get more.” Apart from Mahindra, Dempo’s budget is believed to be the fattest and they have some of country’s top players on their rolls. With Armando Colaco in charge, Dempo are tipped favourites to retain the title.

Strength: Dempo are a deadly combination of quality foreigners and skilful Indian players. Though Ranty Martins and Beto are expected to lead the charge, players like Mahesh Gawli, Climax Lawrence, Clifford Miranda and Anthony Pereira are capable of carrying on the campaign on their own.

Weakness: Dempo have no apparent weakness but the players can get distracted by the call of the AFC Cup matches during the I-League.

East Bengal

The league title has eluded the red-and-yellow brigade for the past three seasons but this time they have a team capable of reaching the top. With six players from the national team in the squad, East Bengal have abundance of talent. It now depends on new coach Stanley Rozario to make the most of them.

Strength: East Bengal have some effective forwards in the team. Apart from Brazilian Edmilson and Sunil Chhetri, they also have Ghanaian Yusuf Yakubu and Ashim Biswas. All four are prolific scorers.

Weakness: Despite the presence of two experienced campaigners like Suresh and Surkumar Singh, the back-four looked below par.

JCT

Known for their consistent showings, the Phagwara club is north India’s sole representative in the I-League. Backed by a strong management and impressive infrastructure, JCT’s policy has always been to weave in quality foreign players with home-grown footballers. The strategy paid off well in the inaugural I-League as the Punjab side finished third.

Strength: A balanced side. If Brazilian Eduardo Escobar is there to take care of the scoring, Anwar Ali and Baldeep Singh (Jr) are good enough to bolster the defence and the midfield, respectively.

Weakness: Unlike previous seasons, JCT are yet to finalise their third foreign player after Escobar and Julius.

Mahindra United

The Mumbai side is the first in the country to introduce all the requirements of professional football. The team has a management with deep pockets who are willing to introduce changes for the betterment of the game. Coached by the experienced Derek Pereira, Mahindra are one of the strongest contenders for the title.

Strength: Mahindra have talented players like Steven Dias, NP Pradeep, Sukhwinder Singh, Harpreet Singh and Nigerian Edeh Chidi who have the necessary experience to steer the team through the long season.

Weakness: The injury to goalkeeper Sandeep Nandy is a big blow. Dias and Pradeep may take time to adjust as they have signed late.

Mumbai FC

Mumbai FC are a new generation Indian club who are trying to expand their support base in a city dominated by institutional teams. The team did well to become champions in the second division last season and have managed to recruit a decent bunch of players.

Strength: Coached by David Booth, Mumbai FC have experienced players like striker Abhishek Yadav, goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey, midfielder Kuttamani and three good foreign players.

Weakness: Lack of experience. Also, the team, it seems, lack the necessary sting to aim for the big in the Premier Division.

Mohammedan Sporting

Despite having a strong support base at almost every venue, Mohammedan Sporting have never done well in the league. Lack of funds, poor selection of players and impractical management had forced them to take a back seat in the Premier Division on previous occasions. Under experienced coach Shabbir Ali, they can be expected to do better this time.

Strength: The presence of Theodore Sunday and Mike Okoro have turned Mohammedan Sporting into a formidable side. Both are proven scorers and have the ability to tear open the best defence.

Weakness: A highly suspect defence and sheer lack of experienced players among the local recruits are their biggest problems.

Mohun Bagan

Three-time NFL champions, Mohun Bagan have not won the prestigious title since the 2001-02 season. In the inaugural I-League, they finished a distant fourth with 30 points. This time Mohun Bagan bagged the Calcutta league and appear to be a good combination of senior and junior footballers under Moroccan coach Bencharifa.

Strength: The presence of Bhaichung Bhutia and Jose Barreto in the forwardline is their biggest asset. They also have some good junior players like James Singh (junior), Rakesh Masih and Rino Anto.

Weakness: The absence of a quality central midfielder can be a problem. They are yet to finalise the third foreign recruit for the season.

Sporting Clube de Goa

Once regarded the rising stars in Goan football, the Panjim side are now struggling to survive in the big league. So far, they have managed to recruit only one foreign player. At least 15 foreigners have appeared for trials till date but the club management is yet to make up its mind.

Strength: Coached by Vishwas Gaonkar, Sporting are now relying more on youngsters like Anthony D’Souza, Steven Fernandes and Lavio Fernandes.

Weakness: There are reports that some of the players owing allegiance to previous coach Clifford Chukwuma are unhappy with the new trainer.

United SC

A newly-promoted side, they hardly have a support base but make it up with a fierce group of officials who have worked tirelessly to take the team to the Premier Division. But given the present combination of their team, United will have to work harder to stay in the race.

Strength: United have an astute tactician in coach Subroto Bhattacharya. They also have some experienced campaigners like Shasti Duley, Dulal Biswas and Basudev Mondal.

Weakness: Lack of quality foreigners may prove to be United’s biggest obstacle.

Vasco Sports Club

Till a few years ago, Vasco were considered to be Goa’s most popular club. They did well to finish third in the seventh NFL but soon disintegrated to get demoted to the lower division. They have managed to make the grade again, but their showings in the Goa league this season are not very encouraging.

Strength: The Goan side have managed to recruit three Uzbek players only a few days back to take charge of the defence, midfield and the forwardline. Vasco also have some experienced players like Covan Lawrence and Vincent Pires.

Weakness: While three foreigners have been recruited late, the coach, Roberto Fernandes has been reduced to a role of an assistant to the new technical director Elvis Goes only recently.