When ATK took on Chennaiyin FC in the last Indian Super League (ISL) season's final, the COVID-19 pandemic was just starting to become a frightening reality across the country. Played behind closed doors, the final was one of the last sporting events held in the country before normal life essentially shut down.

Fast forward eight months, ISL will become the first major sporting event in the country to return to the daily lives of people as the action unfolds in Goa starting Friday with the tournament opener between Kerala Blasters and ATK Mohun Bagan. Once again, there will be no fans with all teams converging in Goa under the protection of a bio-secure bubble.

But that won't be the only thing different about this season.

For starters, the 2020-21 season will be the biggest ISL to date, with the addition of SC East Bengal taking the total number of teams to 11 and the number of matches to 115, up from 95 last season. And a plethora of foreign players - from Spanish to Australian to Fijian to Senegalese. 

East Bengal's entry and defending champions ATK's merger with Mohun Bagan mean that two of the oldest names in Indian football will go head-to-head in the ISL for the first time. The much-awaited Kolkata Derby in ISL will kick off on November 27.

"After the fixtures came out, we have been told about the derby and how big the derby is," new East Bengal recruit and former Norwich City star Anthony Pilkington was quoted as saying in an ISL media release. "So, I really cannot wait to get the season going and it is going to be really exciting I am sure."

Fans will be able to see a number of exciting new stars on their television screens, with the likes of former Reading striker Adam le Fondre and former Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor deciding to make the trip to India. Others, like last season's joint top scorer Nerijus Valskis, who has now joined Jamshedpur FC, and India's rock-at-the-back Sandesh Jhingan, who signed for ATK Mohun Bagan, will exchange their old jerseys for new ones.

And while fans will have to stay at home, the three stadiums hosting matches this season in Goa -- Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, GMC Stadium in Bambolim and Tilak Maidan in Vasco -- will not be devoid of their presence. The innovative 'fan wall' concept will see home and away fans cheer on their teams through two LED screens mounted in the stadiums.

The ISL will  inspire other sports in India to resume, after the lead taken by the Indian Premier League (IPL), in times of Covid pandemic, says former Indian cricket captain and now cricket board chiefSourav Ganguly, who is "attached" with ATK Mohun Bagan.

"Cricket has just finished; now it's time for more sports, time for football. I have always been very connected with the ISL. I have enjoyed it because born in Calcutta and from a very young age, I have seen football only. Cricket came later, so I have been attached with ATK and now ATK Mohun Bagan since the inception of the ISL," he said on ISL's Instagram Live session.

"We have been champions three times, so the attachment is even more because when you play well and win, you get more attached to it, so looking forward to another great season starting in Goa from November 20," he said.

Ganguly said ISL would inspire a lot of other sports as well.

"We have to slowly enlarge the ISL and it will happen. Give this sport 10 years, give ISL 10 years, and let's talk after 10 years. There's no quick fix in this world, especially with football. We need to give it a bit more time. So, more teams will obviously be involved. We have seen it. We started from eight in the first year to 11 now and with time it's going to bring interested parties back to the game."

(IANS)