New Delhi, July 8: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Indian Super League (ISL) sides on Wednesday reached a landmark agreement, allowing the clubs to run a full-fledged top-tier competition of the country for at least two years.
The AIFF handed over the commercial rights of the ISL to the clubs for four years. But there is an option for the clubs to exit it unilaterally after two years.
The development brought an end to the uncertainty over the fate of the ISL. The 2025-26 edition of the ISL was delayed and curtailed to just 13 matches per club played in a single leg for just over three months after the Master Rights Agreement between the AIFF and its then commercial partners FSDL ended December last.
However, there was no formal signing of a written agreement. Nonetheless, the AIFF has accepted the club-led model of running the ISL while the administrative and regulatory functions remain with the national federation.
The 2026-27 ISL is scheduled to start on September 4.
SPV to be formed to run ISL
A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be formed as a private limited company to run the ISL with each club contributing Rs 1.1 crore in two instalments as administrative fees to be given to the AIFF.
If all the 14 clubs take part in the upcoming season, the AIFF will receive Rs 15.4 crore to cover the costs associated with the regulatory functions such as refereeing, legal, integrity and anti-doping support.
The AIFF will also receive 10 per cent of the net profit from the ISL while the remaining 90 per cent goes to the clubs. The clubs, on their part, agreed to the AIFF appointing an auditor of their choice to audit the ISL SPV.
Uncharted territory
The ISL club representatives admitted that they are entering “uncharted territory” and they have to move forward carefully, taking all the stakeholders in mind.
“It’s also our responsibility as clubs to help and contribute to the national team set up in various categories, men’s and women’s. The league should be sustainable in terms of financial capability. We need to monetise the league.
“It’s our intention to put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) to try and bring potential broadcasters on board as soon as possible. We also need to go to the market to work with potential sponsors, potential corporates in the country who might be interested in investing in this sport.”
Signing OCI players not mandatory
The AIFF climbed down from its earlier directive and said it is not mandatory for ISL clubs to sign Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders.
In a June 20 media statement after its Special General Body Meeting, the AIFF had said it had “proposed and approved that in the ISL and the (second tier) Indian Football League (IFL), clubs may field a starting eleven comprising three foreign players and one OCI player”.
But, addressing a press conference AIFF deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan said the signing of OCI players was optional.
“As of now, we are telling the clubs that we encourage you, if you want, please enlist OCI players to play in the league. Other than that, there is no change in the way they (the clubs) get their players,” Satyanarayan said.
If any club signs an OCI card holder, he would be considered as part of the foreign player quota.
Satyanarayan also said that its earlier instruction to the clubs to ensure one Indian striker remaining on the field for the entire 90 minutes of the match was also optional. (PTI)
