The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Indian Super League (ISL) Managing Committee today announced a shift to a club-led commercial model for the league, with clubs taking over commercial rights while the AIFF retains administrative control and oversight of key operational aspects.
The announcement was made at a joint press conference in New Delhi attended by AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan, AIFF Head of Competitions Akshay Rohatgi, FC Goa CEO Ravi Puskur, NorthEast United FC CEO Mandar Tamhane and Sporting Club Delhi CEO Dhruv Sood.
Under the new structure, the clubs will manage the commercial rights of the ISL, aligning the competition with globally established league models, while the AIFF will continue to oversee governance and operations.
“From our side, we are very committed to making this league one of the best in Asia,” said Satyanarayan.
“We are also keeping in mind the recent Supreme Court’s order and the new National Sports Governance Act.”
Sporting Club Delhi CEO Dhruv Sood highlighted the support received during the club’s debut season.
“In SC Delhi’s first season, the Ministry did come forward and offered their full support to the league, with regard to the availability of stadiums. The AIFF also did their best to reduce the cost of the league,” he said.
NorthEast United FC CEO Mandar Tamhane said the upcoming season would adopt a broadcast-driven approach as part of the new commercial strategy.
“It will be a broadcast-driven model. We are moving towards a club-led model because both the clubs and the AIFF believe it is the right approach from the perspective of long-term commercial and financial sustainability,” Tamhane said.
As part of the next steps, the ISL Managing Committee will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to appoint a broadcast partner and begin work on sponsorship agreements. The AIFF will also write to all 14 participating clubs seeking confirmation of their participation in the 2026–27 season.
The upcoming season will be played in a full home-and-away format.
“We will have a full-fledged season where every team will play their respective home and away games in a full quota rather than having to play a truncated format. We look forward to working collectively with the AIFF to try and ensure that the league is as successful as it can be,” said Puskur.
The league calendar will be aligned with FIFA Men’s International Match Windows in September, October, November and March, as well as the AFC club competition schedule, to facilitate national team preparations and the continental campaigns of FC Goa and East Bengal FC.
On player availability for the national team, Satyanarayan said discussions with clubs were already underway.
“We have already had several rounds of discussions with the clubs and requested them to release players for a longer period for the ‘National Interest.’ The earlier we move forward with the process, the better we can plan the scheduling. We are hopeful this will happen with the cooperation from the clubs, particularly as the league is now being run jointly by the clubs and the AIFF.”
(Inputs from AIFF)
