Even after the delayed 2025-26 season came to a proper ending with East Bengal ending their long 22-year agony to seal a top-flight title and their first ISL Shield in possibly the most dramatic title races ISL has experienced, the future of the league remains the topic of discussion. This campaign was arguably the worst ever in Indian football history, despite the sporting brilliance, due to the administrative troubles, stakeholders' disagreements, reputational damage and financial uncertainty. The worst part is it won’t be shaken away as it will linger into the new campaign, if it happens, with agreement of a long-term still not made and there is no clear picture of this standoff ending. Increased financial strain on clubs and disagreement on the choice of investors seems to spill over into more dark days for Indian football. ISL now stands at a crossroads, one where the decisions taken in the coming months could determine whether the league regains stability or slips into a deeper crisis.
We look back at a chaotic 2025-26 ISL season and what follows next:
ISL Suspension
The issue began with the disagreement over the renewal of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) that was signed with the ISL’s previous owners, FSDL, a 15-year contract signed in 2010 for the league to come into existence in 2014. It ran until midnight on 9 December 2025. However, discussions about its extension only occurred in the very late stages of the 2024-25 season, but FSDL and AIFF failed to come to the same table. The former was unwilling to carry on with the existing terms which was making huge losses, pushing for a club-owned model like the Premier League, with the highest 60% shares distributed equally between clubs, 26% retained by FSDL, while AIFF receives the remaining 14% of the profit without requiring to pay the flat fee of ₹50 crore every year to the federation as per the old deal. They also insisted on a 10-year immunity from relegation and if any I-League club is promoted to ISL, they had to meet certain standards.
However, AIFF was not happy with this profit-sharing model, as if the league did not make a profit, the federation would not have received a penny, and argued that FSDL should keep paying the amount to develop the sport in the country. The disagreement was also about relegation, as the AIFF had already signed a roadmap with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) stating that demotion would be part of the country's top-flight league and that the federation's new constitution, then pending Supreme Court approval, explicitly stated so. The result was that FSDL halted league operations in July last year, throwing uncertainty over its future and disrupting teams’ plans for the new season. Further chaos ensued when no one came forward when a new commercial rights tender was floated by the AIFF. Upon expiration of the MRA limit in December last year, with no renewal taking place, the partnership with FSDL also ended.
Further Standoff and Sports Ministry Involvement
Meanwhile, the new AIFF constitution was approved by the Supreme Court, giving the federation complete ownership of the league and relegation to begin in the ISL. However, it did not sit well with the clubs as they were now devoid of the central revenue they enjoyed in the previous model and did not want demotion in a disrupted season, which already incurred a lot of losses and would have doubled it if one side had to go down to the second division. Instead, the clubs, except East Bengal FC, proposed a separate committee or consortium to the federation and also the Sports Ministry of India that would allow them to run the league as majority owners alongside commercial investors while AIFF take charge of the governance, like assigning referees, etc., as it is used to do.
However, AIFF rejected the proposal too, as it didn’t adhere to the AIFF's new constitution, approved by the Supreme Court of India. That led to the Sports Ministry getting involved and providing assurance with a date of 14 February 2026, when the league would restart, ending months of delay and uncertainty. AIFF President Kalyan Choubey said that if the federation faces difficulty in finding a new commercial partner in the short term, the Sports Ministry will come forward to help with the expenses and management of the league. It was only because of this government intervention that the 2025-26 mini-season could somehow be played. Alongside the ISL, the I-League, IWL and all the rest of the divisions will also return to action. Clubs were forced to come to terms and end their earlier disagreement over paying AIFF a fee to participate in the contest.
Truncated Season and Veto Power
While all clubs agreed that some of their participation was not confirmed until the last moment, like Odisha FC. AIFF also floated a new tender and this time, there was someone who answered the call as Fancode won the broadcasting rights, for a significantly lower bid, but the investor was not confirmed. The club’s earlier demand for long-term clarity on the future of the league was also met, as the federation also called on a separate 20-year tender as the next rights agreement for the top-flight. The 2025-26 season, which was to be played in a single year, was decided to take place in a truncated format instead of a full-fledged league because of the lack of preparation and the time to complete it. Each club were to play a total of 13 games, facing different opponents home and away. There were no usual playoffs this time because of the same reason, with only the team finishing first getting the ISL Shield.
The winners will also play in the AFC Champions League 2 qualifiers after the AFC granted an exemption for the season. However, there were still issues to be sorted. Clubs were particularly unhappy with the full authority veto power AIFF claimed, despite having representation from clubs in the newly formed committee, be it the Governing Council or the Management Committee for the league. It meant that no decisions could be made without the federation’s approval, even if they held a majority, leaving the clubs no real say in decision-making. They had no problem with the federation taking outright control over administrative issues, but needed a softer stance on commercial aspects of things. After a back-and-forth letter writing and several meetings, they were finally granted the veto power on commercial rights. However, this caused a massive delay in drafting of the fixtures for the season.
Squads Depleted
The long delay caused a lot of disruption to the clubs, with many shutting down their operations temporarily until the future of the league is resolved. The City Football Group, under whom Mumbai City FC turned into a force in the ISL, also away moved away causing a lot of integration and reputation damage for the entire Indian football ecosystem. Their squad building also suffered because of this, as many star players, fan favourites of the team and even icons of the league, especially the foreigners, decided to seek football elsewhere, either terminating their contracts or joining on loan to continue in their career when the uncertainty carried on. It also happened to the signings that were made only last summer for the season. It caused a severe depletion of their squad, with many players calling out the federation for the situation they are in. The other reason was also the clubs wanting a pay cut from their players for the season, which already brought so many losses for the club. A serious issue lingered that the club will be forced to field teams with fewer or no foreigners and rely on young and inexperienced players to get over this season, with no particular objective or ambition for the campaign.
However, with the season finally getting the green light to proceed, clubs were able to resume operations and make last minute signings to assemble a squad at the last minute. Not everyone was a beneficiary of it as Odisha FC still had to contend with an all Indian squad, while teams like FC Goa and SC Delhi played with fewer foreigners than they would have wanted. There were also problems in selecting venues for the season as the club could not guarantee paying rent, with most teams not having their own stadium, and no longer support from the central pool they enjoyed. It is after requesting the Sports Ministry to look into the matter that the home grounds were confirmed. The most notable chaos in this issue was the use of Kochi Stadium by Kerala Blasters, with the club disagreeing over a rent price hike by the stadium authorities, which also stopped a press conference on the eve of their first home game, citing the lack of signing of the contract.
Churchill Chaos
When everything in the season was finally sorted with the fixture list finally out and the preparation going for the football to roll on the pitch after months of waiting, there was one late drama that threatened to throw everything to a spanner again. Churchill Brothers, whose I-League winners declaration by AIFF was overturned by CAS to award Inter Kashi the title and subsequent promotion to the ISL after they took the case to the world court of sporting issues, tried to make a late entry to the Indian Super League in the 2025-26 season with intense lobbying and just days before the campaign kicks off. The clubs made a joint statement to the ISL that they will not be entertaining any backdoor entry of an additional club to the league and will not go forward with the season if it happens.
The AIFF Ex-Co, in the meeting held just two days before the campaign, also unanimously rejected Churchill’s attempt to get their name in the ISL this way, as it would have gone against the CAS decision to allow Inter Kashi to compete in the ISL as the rightful I-League winners and that such a late approach was not doable for sporting integrity. However, the Goanese giants did not end there as they kept on knocking on the door even after the season began. AIFF accused their own executive committee member, Valanka Alemao, also the daughter of the Churchill Brothers owner, of pressuring top officials and bringing political influence to get the club into the league and also forcing the club owners of FC Goa and SC Delhi to soften their previous stance, leading them to resign from the newly made committee. However, all chances of it were squashed when all the clubs reiterated their stance, with AIFF not allowing the situation to escalate further.
Football at Last and Historic Title Win
After periods of uncertainty and chaos with the fear that Indian football might not move forward at least for an entire campaign, the 2025-26 season finally kicked off with its shortened format on the approved date of 14 February 2026, even with no perfect mood behind the scenes for all. Mohun Bagan taking on Kerala Blasters at Salt Lake Stadium became the curtain raiser, but neither club paid their participation fee until some games later, following an ultimatum. The latter also had a turbulent start, having already shown the losses they suffered because of the delay, boycott from their fan base, sacked their coach and then scripted a remarkable story of reversal under former I-League winners Ashley Westwood. But Mohammedan SC weren’t that lucky as their severe mismanagement culminated in a transfer ban and a disjointed Indian squad, regardless of the ISL tussle, leading them to the inevitable.
They became the first side in ISL history to go down after suffering relegation, which began this season, even after clubs wanted a layoff. The team only registered three points in the entire season without managing a single victory, scoring just seven and conceding just 32. New sides like SC Delhi and promoted team Inter Kashi showed good account of themselves with their solid defence and explosive counter-attack, troubling a lot of sides, above their weight. However, the real attraction of the truncated season was the title fight involving as many as seven teams, which ended with East Bengal winning the ISL Shield after years of disarray on a dramatic final day of the season on 23 May 2026, where games kicked off simultaneously for the first time in ISL history, ending their rival’s two-year title defence but that too on goal difference.
Uncertainty lies
However, the joy of success in a shortened season was just the last rays of sunlight before the next storm hits. This is what Indian football fans will think now as the long-term future of the ISL remains in darkness. After AIFF floated their tender for the 20-year plan, two interested parties stepped up, Fancode, which held the broadcasting rights for the last season and Genius Sports. The federation pushed for the latter because they were the highest bidder, with a ₹2,129-crore bid, after the previous commercial partner, FSDL, exited the picture. However, clubs argue that locking the league into a 15-to-20-year contract undervalues Indian football's long-term growth potential. Several clubs feel FanCode's lower offer, 1,190 crores in bid, is more realistic and are worried that they are being treated as ‘cost centres’ rather than equal partners. Clubs demand 90% economic control, leaving AIFF with 10% and urge Genius Sports to strictly be limited to data and technology.
The teams are frustrated because they have carried the financial burden of professional football in India for over a decade while suffering heavy losses. They want to manage the league themselves using a central management structure. Under their plan, governance would belong only to the 14 competing clubs and the AIFF, keeping commercial partners out of sporting decisions. Clubs have raised questions about how sustainable the Genius Sports framework is. They point out that a large portion of the global firm's revenue traditionally comes from betting data. Because sports betting is largely illegal in India, clubs are highly sceptical about how the commercial model will successfully function locally. On the other hand, AIFF is in the view that the commercial bidder should hold significant decision-making power as a master rights holder like FSDL and wants a ₹1 crore annual participation fee per club.
The dispute recently reached a boiling point when nine out of the 14 ISL clubs issued a joint statement threatening to withdraw from the league or shut down operations by mid-June if their concerns are not met, just a day after East Bengal were newly crowned champions. In response to this public revolt, the AIFF blinked during its Special General Body Meeting (SGM) on May 23, 2026, deferring the approval of the Genius Sports deal and sending it back to its Executive Committee for review. The federation also set a deadline of June 15, 2026, for all ISL clubs to confirm their participation for the 2026-27 season. Along with confirming their entry by June 15, the AIFF has ordered each club to pay the pre-decided participation fee. Club officials have reportedly stated that if they are forced into the Genius Sports deal, they will walk away and shut down operations rather than continuing to lose money. So that date looks likely to be make or break for Indian football and fans can only pray that this deadlock gets broken once and for all.
