Mizoram premier league season 9 to kick off after a gap of three years

Mizoram Premier League (MPL) will be back on the ground on September 8, 2022, after a halt of almost three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The much-awaited opening ceremony of Mizoram Premier League Season 9 will see the attendance of Minister of Sports and Youth Services Robert Romawia Royte as well.

The Captains of each club partook in oath-taking led by former India international Lalchhuanmawia, and another ex-Indian player Jerry Zirsanga conducted the draw for the league matches. 

Attendants of this ceremony were serenaded with songs from top local artists and the top models of the state thrilled the crowd by supporting the jerseys of the different clubs. 

The MPL will be contested by eight teams: defending champions and four-time winners Aizawl FC, two-time champions Chanmari FC, champions of 2017 Chhinga Veng FC, Mizoram Police, Electric Veng FC, FC Venghnuai, Chawnpui FC and a newly promoted team FC Bethlehem. 

Watch: 

Each team will face the other twice in the course of the league with the top-four sides securing a spot in the semifinal. While the semifinals will be two-legged ties, the summit clash will be a one-off encounter.

The inaugural match of MPL Season 9 will kick off on 8th  September at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Aizawl where the champions Aizawl FC will face Chawnpui FC. 

This will be the ninth edition of the Mizoram Premier League, which has now become one of the most popular state leagues in the country - the last edition of MPL was played way back in 2019 and was halted due to the pandemic. 

Over the years, the Mizoram Premier League has worked as a launch platform for many players who are now plying their trade in the I-League and the Indian Super League.

MPL season 9 is sponsored by Zote Honda with all matches to be broadcast live on Zonet TV.

The Mizoram Premier League is the highest state-level football league in Mizoram On a national scale, the state's top tier league is the 4th tier of the Indian football league system.

The competition is conducted by the Mizoram Football Association, the official football body of Mizoram. The league started on 24 October 2012 for the first time