The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Indian Super League (ISL) clubs have locked in a major agreement, securing the future of the country’s top-tier tournament for at least the next two years. The AIFF has handed over the commercial rights of the ISL to the clubs for a four-year period, though the clubs retain a unilateral exit option after two years.
This breakthrough finally ends the intense speculation surrounding the league, following a severely disrupted 2025-26 season that was cut short to just 13 single-leg matches per club over three months after the previous marketing agreement ended last December.
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“We have agreed on certain things with the clubs. We are giving them the commercial rights of the ISL and as usual the AIFF will hold on to the administrative and all the important aspects of running the league,” AIFF Deputy Secretary-General M Satyanarayan announced at a press conference.
While a formal written contract has not been signed yet, the federation has officially approved this new club-led structure.
The upcoming 2026-27 season is scheduled to kick off on September 4. Satyanarayan noted that the AIFF will send out official letters to all teams within 24 hours, giving them 15 days to confirm their entry.
“From our side, we are committed to making this league one of the best in Asia at least and we have been receiving a lot of cooperation from the clubs… who are one of the biggest investors and who have stood by this league for over 10 years through thick and thin. Now with the relegation also being implemented, it is going to get more exciting,” he added.
To manage operations, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be set up as a private limited company. Each of the 14 clubs will pay an administrative fee of Rs 1.1 crore in two instalments, generating Rs 15.4 crore for the AIFF to handle refereeing, legal, anti-doping, and integrity matters. Profits will be split, with 90 percent going to the clubs and 10 percent to the federation, under an independent auditor.
Ravi Puskur, CEO of FC Goa, represented the clubs alongside Mandar Tamhane (Northeastern United) and Dhruv Sood (Sporting Club Delhi).
Puskur stated: “The 14 clubs have come forward and presented a league that we hope will be sustainable, viable and effective year on year. We hope to build on it.” He explained that an independent professional team will run day-to-day operations under a Governing Council, without direct club interference.
Reflecting on the transition, Puskur said “What happened last season was unfortunate for Indian football but hopefully this time that will not be the case and we will have a full-fledged season where every team will play their respective home-and-away games in a full quota rather than having to play a truncated format. From a commercially broadcast-driven model, we are going ahead to a club-led model. From a financial sustainability point of view, we as clubs and the AIFF believe that this is the way forward.”
(With PTI inputs)
