HYDERABAD, INDIA: The announcement of the start of the Durand Cup from 25 July has brought cheers to Indian football supporters, with a tentative date for the Indian Super League (ISL) given as 4 September. Fans, who have been left heartbroken ever since the senior men’s national team endured a winless four-match streak this summer, will eagerly look forward to the resumption of football.
The Durand Cup will be played across five venues this year – Kolkata, Ranchi, Imphal, Guwahati and Shillong. As always, several top-tier clubs, services, as well as foreign clubs are expected to participate in it, acting as a curtain-raiser for the Indian football season. This reason alone prompts first-division clubs to play their second XIs in this tournament, mainly since their transfers are not completed yet.
The uncertainty surrounding the ISL also meant that clubs shied away from making major investments in the market. Currently, they only have blanket assurances from the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the sports ministry that the ISL will get underway in early September. But the clubs have not been shown any decisive plan of action through which the league will be held.
The MRA between AIFF and FSDL ended in 2025
The culmination of the Master Rights Agreement between the AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) in late December last year ensured that the truncated 2025-26 ISL was organised by the federation alone. The league was played across four months, with a round-robin structure, in which teams played each other only once. East Bengal were declared the winners.
With the upcoming season of the ISL, however, the AIFF has to go back to having a commercial partner to make the future look safe for footballers and the various stakeholders involved. Clubs, quite naturally, will be unwilling to make promises of a kind nature either to players, coaches or other staff members since there is currently no plan given to them by the AIFF, or by the league’s governing council.
Another reason the office-bearers of the AIFF – who have been found enjoying the fruits of their office to fly to the USA and watch the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026 on the federation’s dime – must keep in mind is the expiry of hundreds of players’ contracts on 31 May. As reported by The Times of India, 148 registered players became free agents at the end of that month, 20% of whom include national team players, or those who have played or are about to play for the country.
The new club-led ISL model will be in place for two seasons
Meanwhile, the clubs have taken the initiative vis-à-vis the governing rights of the ISL from this season. Recently, they submitted a petition to the sports ministry as well as the AIFF, stating that they (the clubs) would like a pilot two-year model in which each of them pays INR 1.1 crore to the governing body each season. The accumulated ‘entry fee’ is expected to help the AIFF cover the organising costs.
A twist in this tale has also emerged. The UK-headquartered Genius Sports, which had earlier bid INR 64.5 crore annually (with a 5% hike every season, for 20 seasons) for the commercial rights of the ISL and the Federation Cup, has been invited to a discussion by the clubs, offering the former first preference to the data rights of the new model of the ISL.
With this club-led model for two seasons, the future of the ISL temporarily appears safe. However, the AIFF cannot rest easy. The federation, led by the much-maligned Kalyan Chaubey, needs to be actively on the lookout for finding long-term commercial partners, so that in the future, players, coaches, support staff, employees and supporters are assured of a roadmap.
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