ISL clubs warn AIFF of pullback

Indian Super League clubs escalated their standoff with the All India Football Federation on May 22, warning they could reduce their commitment to the league beyond the current season. The warning came in a joint statement issued a day after the 2025-26 campaign ended, with clubs citing a lack of structural certainty, commercial clarity and long-term visibility. The dispute centers on how the top division will be run after the expiry of the Master Rights Agreement between the AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited. AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, speaking separately on May 22, said there would be a “full-fledged” ISL next season. ### What exactly did the clubs say? The clubs said on May 22 that they were “compelled to review the extent of our commitment to the league beyond the current season” because uncertainty around professional football in India had persisted. In the same statement, they said the absence of structural certainty, commercial clarity and long-term visibility had made it harder to justify the financial and operational commitments needed to compete sustainably. (khelnow.com) Sportstar reported that all ISL clubs issued the joint statement, while Khel Now said FC Goa, Bengaluru FC, Odisha FC, Kerala Blasters and SC Delhi were among the clubs that had posted it on social media at the time of writing. The statement also said the clubs remained committed to Indian football’s future, but wanted a framework they described as sustainable, inclusive and built with stakeholders in mind. (sportstar.thehindu.com) ### Why has this fight broken into the open now? The immediate trigger is the unresolved commercial structure of the league after the expiry of the Master Rights Agreement between the AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited, according to Khel Now. The latest warning also came just after a shortened 2025-26 season, which Sportstar said ended with East Bengal winning the title after a campaign in which all 14 clubs played 13 games each following a delayed start. (khelnow.com) May 23 was set to be a key date because the AIFF’s Special General Body Meeting was due to discuss proposals on the league’s future structure. Times of India reported earlier that the clubs’ model was scheduled to be taken up at that meeting. (khelnow.com) ### What is the club-led model the teams want considered? Thirteen of the 14 ISL clubs, with East Bengal the exception, proposed a structure under which clubs would keep commercialization responsibilities rather than hand them to a third party, according to Times of India. Under that proposal, the AIFF would hold 10% ownership in the entity running the ISL and the clubs would hold 90%. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The same report said the clubs proposed a split in governance: clubs would retain veto rights on commercial, structural and operational matters, while the AIFF would keep authority over integrity, disciplinary, regulatory and sporting governance. The proposal also envisaged UK-based Genius Sports as a data and technology partner, with the clubs agreeing to pay the AIFF 12.8 crore rupees under that economic model. Times of India said Genius Sports had earlier bid 64 crore rupees per year, or 2,129 crore rupees over 20 years with annual increments. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) ### What has the AIFF said in response? AIFF deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan told Times of India on May 14 that the federation was studying the clubs’ organizational and commercialization proposal and needed further details. He said the AIFF would move forward in line with the Supreme Court, the AIFF constitution, the request-for-proposal process, and its executive committee and general body instructions. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Kalyan Chaubey said on May 22 that the ISL would return in full next season, according to India Today. That assurance was issued separately from the clubs’ statement and did not resolve the questions the clubs raised about the league’s structure and commercial model. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) ### Why does the warning matter for next season’s planning? The clubs’ statement referred directly to financial and operational commitments, putting next season’s planning at the center of the dispute. Their language points to decisions on budgets, staffing and competition participation that clubs say are difficult to make without clarity on the league’s structure and revenue model. (indiatoday.in) The next formal checkpoint is the AIFF Special General Body Meeting on May 23, where the clubs’ proposal was due for discussion, according to Times of India. What the federation decides there will shape the next phase of talks between the AIFF and the clubs over how the ISL is run. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) (sportstar.thehindu.com)