New delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Indian Super League (ISL) sides on Wednesday reached a landmark agreement, allowing the clubs to run a full-fledged top-tier competition of the country for at least two years.
The AIFF handed over the commercial rights of the ISL to the clubs for four years. But there is an option for the clubs to exit it unilaterally after two years.
The development brought an end to the uncertainty over the fate of the ISL. The 2025-26 edition of the ISL was delayed and curtailed to just 13 matches per club played in a single leg for just over three months after the Master Rights Agreement between the AIFF and its then commercial partners FSDL ended December last. "We have agreed on certain things with the clubs. We are giving them the commercial rights of the ISL and as usual the AIFF will hold on to the administrative and all the important aspects of running the league," AIFF Deputy Secretary-General M Satyanarayan said at a press conference here.
However, there was no formal signing of a written agreement.
Nonetheless, the AIFF has accepted the club-led model of running the ISL while the administrative and regulatory functions remain with the national federation. The CEOs of FC Goa, Northeastern United and Sporting Club Delhi -- Ravi Puskur, Mandar Tamhane and Dhruv Sood -- were present as representatives of the ISL clubs.