Running a football club
Running a football club in India is still described as a risky, long‑term business rather than a quick-return project, with founders and operators facing weak commercial certainty. (indiatoday.in). Clubs are often sustained by belief, patience and tight operating discipline, and early staff commonly handle matchday planning, vendor management, academy coordination and sponsor servicing. (indiatoday.in)
Running a football club in India still looks less like a fast-growth startup and more like a long cash burn with no fixed date for returns. (indiatoday.in) India Today reported on April 11, 2026 that Sporting Club Delhi chief executive Dhruv Sood and Inter Kashi chief executive Prithijit Das both described club-building as a patient, long-term project built around youth development and operating discipline. (indiatoday.in) That caution sits inside a wider business squeeze. Sportstar reported in July 2025 that a mid-table Indian Super League club spent about ₹60 crore in a season, lost nearly half of that on its books, and received only about ₹13 crore to ₹16 crore a year from the league’s central revenue pool. (sportstar.thehindu.com) The same report said average Indian Super League attendance fell from 25,408 in the league’s first 2014 season to 11,084 in 2024-25, while combined television and digital viewership dropped from 429 million in 2014 to about 130 million in 2024-25. (sportstar.thehindu.com) The uncertainty got sharper when the commercial structure above the clubs started wobbling. The Economic Times reported in August 2025 that Football Sports Development Limited, the company that runs the Indian Super League, said it could not plan or commercialise the 2025-26 season because its Master Rights Agreement with the All India Football Federation was due to expire on December 8, 2025. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The league eventually returned only after a delay. Firstpost reported on January 7, 2026 that Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the 2025-26 Indian Super League season would start on February 14, 2026 after months of talks involving the government, the federation and all 14 clubs. (firstpost.com) For club owners, that means the daily work is not just signing players or hiring coaches. India Today said early-stage football staff in India often handle matchday planning, vendor payments, academy logistics and sponsor servicing at the same time because headcount and revenue are both limited. (indiatoday.in) The federation has tried to formalise that environment with stricter rules. The All India Football Federation’s documents page lists Indian Club Licensing Regulations 2024 and Academy Accreditation Regulations 2025-26, adding compliance requirements on top of the basic job of running a team. (the-aiff.com) The long-term pitch from the federation is much bigger than the current balance sheet. In its Vision 2047 roadmap, the All India Football Federation said it wants to “reset, reform, restructure, revolutionize” Indian football and build a larger elite talent pool across the country. (the-aiff.com) That leaves club operators stuck between a 25-year roadmap and next month’s payroll. In India right now, running a football club still depends on owners who can absorb uncertainty long enough to keep the project alive. (indiatoday.in)
