2017–18 Aizawl FC season
Aizawl FC’s 2017–18 season ran from 1 June 2017 to 31 May 2018. As the defending I‑League champions, the club aimed to continue its success but finished 5th in the league. They reached the Mizoram Premier League final but were runners‑up to Chhinga Veng FC.
In Asian competition, Aizawl began in the AFC Champions League qualifying play‑off but were beaten 3–1 by Zob Ahan, which sent them to the AFC Cup group stage. They finished bottom of Group E in the AFC Cup, which also included New Radiant (Maldives), Dhaka Abahani (Bangladesh), and Bengaluru FC (India). Their only continental win came later in the AFC Cup, when they defeated New Radiant 2–1 at home on 16 May 2018.
In the domestic cup, Aizawl were eliminated in the quarter‑finals of the Super Cup by East Bengal.
Management changed during the season: Paulo Menezes started as head coach but left on 12 February 2018 after a winless run, and Santosh Kashyap took over from 13 February. The club’s chairman was Robert Romawia Royte, and home games were played at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.
Top scorers
- League: Yugo Kobayashi (4) and Léonce Dodoz Zikahi (4)
- All competitions: Andrei Ionescu (12)
Attendance
- Highest home attendance: 7,280 vs East Bengal (16 January 2018)
- Lowest home attendance: 2,800 vs Gokulam Kerala (2 March 2018)
- Average home league attendance: 4,255
Key signings and loans
- Foreign players included Yugo Kobayashi (Japan), Léonce Dodoz Zikahi (Ivory Coast), Andrei Ionescu (Romania), Masih Saighani (Afghanistan), Kareem Omolaja (Nigeria), and others.
- Laltanpuia and Lalthathanga Khawlhring joined on loan from Mizoram Police FC and NorthEast United FC respectively.
- The club also brought back Lalchhawnkima on loan.
Overall, the season was a mixed one for Aizawl: they defended the previous year’s league title publicly, but the results across I‑League, domestic cup, and Asian competitions were not as strong as the previous season.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 03:30 (CET).