It has been 215 days since the Indian Premier League football match started. How long you can hold three IPL tournaments, five FIFA World Cups, 13 Olympics, and the entire 2024-25 ISL season (211 days including the qualifiers and final). For 59% of the calendar year, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) failed to perform its primary function, which is to run the Indian Premier League.
In typical AIFF fashion, the route here was scenic; That is, if you find inefficiency, bureaucracy, brinksmanship, and outright neglect akin to a lake of calm. As is also the case with the Indian Football Association, there have been multiple complexities and a lot of confusion as to how the Indian football environment has been brought to its knees.
Here is a simple explanation of the chaos that currently governs Indian football:
So…what happened to ISL?
To really understand this, we have to go back a bit to 2010, when Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) became the commercial partner of the AIFF through a 15-year Master Rights Agreement (MRA). The operation, broadcast and promotion of the ISL was the responsibility of the FSDL, and it has operated (relatively) smoothly since its first season in 2014. The deal was scheduled to expire on 8 December 2025.
Now, a responsible governing body was supposed to hold renewal talks after at least a year or two, given the risks involved. The AIFF claims to have begun renewal talks last November, although why their first meeting with FSDL officials came four months later (in February 2025) is unknown to anyone.
It is also curious that the AIFF formed a committee tasked with renewing the mutual recognition agreement on April 7, 2025 – two months after that initial meeting. That committee responded to the FSDL’s proposal on April 21, 2025, but five days later, a Supreme Court order barred the AIFF from entering into long-term agreements (more on the Supreme Court’s involvement later).
In short, with no clarity on the future of the ISL, the FSDL has suspended the 2025-26 ISL season. This is a situation that continues to this day.
Why is the court involved?
To understand this, we have to go back to 2010 again, when Rahul Mehra filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court, claiming that the AIFF’s election process was not compliant with the National Sports Code. The case dragged on for seven years, with the Delhi High Commission directing the AIFF to hold fresh elections along with changes in the governing statute. The case was then escalated to the Supreme Court, which stayed the SC’s order in November 2017, ordering the AIFF to form a new constitution consistent with the NSC.
Matters came to a head five years later in May 2022, when the SC replaced the AIFF Executive Committee (which was headed by then president Praful Patel) with a committee of administrators. This led to a ban by FIFA (due to third party interference), and as a result the SC dissolved its Agriculture Committee a few months later and ordered new elections. The FIFA ban was overturned, and Kalyan Chaubey took power in September 2022.
The question of the AIFF’s constitution continued in court, and in September this year, the SC instructed the AIFF to launch an open tender for a new commercial partner, ensure that the club football season begins with the Super Cup, and adopted the draft constitution (which was compatible with the National Sports Administration Act 2025).
The SC order came in September – why no ISL yet?
In short, FIFA has got things wrong. In the wake of the Supreme Court order, the AIFF greatly overestimated its bargaining power, putting out an open tender for a new commercial partner with a Request for Proposal (RFP) that was simply not commercially viable. Four parties (including FSDL) were reportedly interested, but with potential operating losses rising to Rs 200 crore annually – on top of a guaranteed Rs 37.5 crore paid to AIFF annually – not a single bid was made.
Additionally, the RFP offered the commercial partner only one seat on the league’s six-member board, with the AIFF having two seats as well as veto power regarding the operation of the league. Promotion and relegation proved to be another sticking point, with interested commercial partners pointing out that it would be difficult to get investors if the club could be relegated and lose top-flight revenue.
In an ideal world, the RFP would have received a bid had the AIFF not overrated it. By having a commercial partner, it was possible to schedule the Indian Premier League and with assurances for the future, the clubs could resume operations and we would be about to watch some actual football matches.
It is unfortunate that the current scenario makes FIFA submit its report to the Supreme Court and seek further guidance. A call was hastily arranged with ISL and I-League executives and club leaders with hours’ notice before AIFF president Kalyan Choubey gave assurances that the commercial partner would be dissolved by December and the ISL could start in January 2026.
But isn’t there some club football going on at the moment?
We’ve enjoyed some football this season – the Super Cup started with all 13 ISL clubs joining three I-League clubs to play the group stage… but the semi-finals of the tournament are on hold due to the international break and uncertainty over the ISL forcing the clubs to temporarily halt their operations.
Is there a risk of being banned by FIFA again?
FIFA itself gave the AIFF a deadline of October 31 to adopt a new constitution, which the AIFF adhered to. However, potential risks remain, as the Supreme Court is still subject to constitutional review, which could easily be interpreted as “third party interference” again. A ban imposed by FIFA at this stage would be truly disastrous, as even national teams (which have been indirectly affected so far) would likely be banned from competing.
Who is affected by the current impasse?
Almost everyone in the Indian football ecosystem.
You may have seen India’s top players like Sandesh Jhingan and Sunil Chhetri issuing statements explaining how the delay will affect the livelihood of the players. Clubs are unable to plan their operations, and cannot seek sponsorship, which results in them stopping paying salaries. For an ecosystem that provides thousands of jobs, the AIFF’s handling of matters, coupled with the icy judicial system, has caused a lot of hardship.
This game belongs to all of us. Let’s protect it together pic.twitter.com/InEjq8qrIw
– Sandesh Jhingan (@SandeshJhingan) November 11, 2025
Even the Indian Premier League is not directly affected, as the AIFF’s lack of a commercial partner means its coffers cannot manage the entire football pyramid. The I-League is also not scheduled, so clubs operating on limited budgets are also unable to plan the season or invite sponsorship. I-League clubs have met with the Sports Ministry in desperation, asking the new business partner to also run their league, and not the Football Federation of India.
Indian national teams are made up of players who rely on club football to keep them active, and while the men’s team has nothing to play for, the women’s team (along with the U-17 and U-20 national teams) have a pivotal Asian Cup (and possible World Cup qualification) to prepare for.
The I-League is scheduled to take place in late December, but with some of these clubs relying on their ISL/I-League parent clubs for revenue, there may be a temporary halt to these operations as well. The academies of ISL and I-League clubs have also been affected, with popular coaches on low salaries being let go.
The next generation of footballers in India do not have coaches to train under and pitches to play on, as the AIFF’s neglect extends to what matters – kicking the ball on the field.
