Openly backing the ISL as the country's elite competition for the first time, the Indian FA (AIFF) said its recommendation was based on the Master Rights Agreement it signed in 2010 with its commercial partners Football Sports Development Limited.
Tata group has been a constant in India's sporting landscape and the conglomerate's involvement only grew under Ratan Tata.
East Bengal finished the season in the bottom-place on the points table, with only one win in 20 matches
It was Kattimani's day as his heroics helped Hyderabad prevail in the shoot-out. He saved the spot kicks from Mark Leskovic, Nishu Kumar and Jeakson Singh.
The result stretches BFC's winless run to six matches.
Jamshedpur FC finished with 43 points from 20 games, winning 13 games.
The result has elevated Odisha to the sixth place in the points table.
ATKMB looked the likelier of the two teams to take the lead in the opening exchanges, with the Mariners needing two goals at least to make a comeback.
All eyes were on the 131-year-old club Mohun Bagan as they were making their ISL debut following their 'marriage' with three-time defending champions ATK.
Behind closed doors and with a raft of health safety measures in place, Indian Super League (ISL) will kick off in Bambolin on Friday and become the country's first major tournament to be organised since the enforcement of a COVID-19 lockdown eight months ago.
Chennaiyin FC returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Odisha FC
Vicuna rang in five changes to the side that drew against SC East Bengal while Hyderabad made two changes with Liston Colaco returning to the starting eleven.
Adam Le Fondre smashed in a 75th-minute winner after Hernan Santana (45th) had cancelled Jakub Sylvestr's first goal.
The win ended BFC's five-match winless run as they jumped from 10th to eighth position, three points behind Chennaiyin FC.
The Yellow Army rose to the third place in the points table while handing the Marina Machans their second defeat of the season, which saw them drop to sixth.
VP Suhair and Patrick Flottmann scored to give NorthEast the win.
Chennaiyin were off to a good start, but in no time Mumbai were back to doing what they do best, keep the ball and dictate the tempo of the game.
Roy Krishna scored inside five minutes to give the Blues an early advantage but Prasanth Karuthadathkuni scored at the stroke of half-time to restore parity.
Chennaiyin FC head coach Owen Coyle hoped for a positive start despite starting their campaign away.
The ISL organisers released the fixtures of only the first half of the 11-team league. The schedule covers matches to be played till January 11, 2011. The remaining fixtures will be released later.
Adam Le Fondre put Sergio Lobera's men further ahead in the 59th minute as Hyderabad tasted their first defeat of the season.
Mumbai City FC ended their seven-game winless run in the Indian Super League (ISL) with win over Chennaiyin FC
The ISL champions would also be entitled to a play-off place in the AFC Champions League and the I-League champions would take a place in the AFC Cup.
Chennaiyin's defense was a tough nut to crack as Eli Sabia and Vishal Kaith came with crucial interceptions and blocks to deny Sunil Chhetri and Paartalu.
Anwar was handed a four-month ban by All India Football Federation (AIFF) in early September with the governing body holding the player "guilty" of terminating his contract with Mohun Bagan in an unjust manner and signing a new deal with East Bengal, having returned to his parent club Delhi FC.
Odisha named an unchanged XI from the side that lost to Bengaluru FC while NorthEast coach Gerard Nus rang in four changes with Federico Gallego handed a start.
'Marquez is trying to instil his philosophy, and that's going to take time. In every camp, we're getting closer to what he wants from us as a team. With time, training, and the level of coaching he has, I have no doubt we'll be a strong team in the qualifiers.'
Mohamed Irshad scored a goal deep into injury time but that didn't matter in the end as Khalid Jamil's side remained on 10 points from 16 games. Kerala now have 23 points from 13 outings.
By the middle of the first half, there were pacey crosses in either direction, with robust challenges also coming into the fray which would result in three yellow cards before the half-time whistle.
The home side, who kicked off the fifth ISL season with a 0-2 loss to Kerala Blasters, were reduced to 10 players in the 32nd minute when Sena Ralte was sent off for a sloppy challenge.
Bengaluru took just three minutes to register their first shot on target. Kristian Opseth's free-kick nearly curled into the bottom corner, only to be kept out by a diving TP Rehenesh.
East Bengal's winless streak got extended after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Hyderabad FC in an Indian Super League match, in Bambolim, Goa, on Thursday. The draw enabled the Nizams to rise to second place on the points table and extend their unbeaten run to six matches.
Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are likely to play in the Indian Super League from the 2019-20 season, according to officials.
Alia is rumoured to be dating MUFC's owner, actor Ranbir Kapoor.
The Sergio Lobera side now have six points from three matches, while SC East Bengal remained at the bottom of the table, yet to open their account in their debut ISL season.
Defending champions Bengaluru FC registered their first victory in this season's Hero Indian Super League, thrashing Chennaiyin FC 3-0, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
NEUFC could have doubled their tally soon after the half-hour mark had Suhair VP converted his chance. Rochharzela whipped a cross for the unmarked striker in the box, but he cushioned his header over the crossbar.
'Overall it's time that the federation focuses on how to take Indian football forward. You cannot just have Vision 2046 on paper and not implement things.'
The Nizams remain unbeaten in the competition while JFC are yet to taste victory.
Deshorn Brown (23rd) scored in his first start for the Blues before goals by Rahul Bheke (25th) and Sunil Chhetri (61st) sealed the tie in favour of the home side.
