ISL club owners seek role in AIFF’s commercial rights decision

Panaji: Indian Super League (ISL) club owners have for the first time proposed the formation of a club working committee involving the owners and decision makers, who would then engage with the federation in a “structured and transparent” manner to find the best taker for its long-term commercial rights.
In a letter signed by 13 of the 14 owners, except -- Inter Kashi, the clubs said the group wanted to provide an appropriate platform through which ideas can be exchanged, common ground can be identified, and a balanced, sustainable, and mutually beneficial framework can be developed together.
The clubs proposed three owners -- Bhavesh Jindal/Dhruv Sood (SC Delhi), Nikhil Nimmagadda (Kerala Blasters) and Rohan Sharma (Odisha FC) – in the committee, while other representatives include Ravi Puskur (CEO, FC Goa), Ekansh Gupta (VP, Chennaiyin), Darren Caldeira (CEO, Bengaluru) and Vinay Chopra (director, Mohun Bagan SG).
The club owners’ letter to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey comes two days after the federation formed the ISL Governing Council and asked remaining six clubs to submit the name of their representative latest by Friday. The AIFF’s response, interestingly, came after an online meeting of all club owners just a day earlier.
According to sources, the club owners had little choice but join hands since the AIFF appears keen to accept the bid from Genius Sports and hand the London-based company the commercial rights of the ISL for 15+5 years. Genius’ Rs 64.4 crore annual bid, or approx. Rs 2,130 crore over 20 years with a five percent increment per year, only needs an approval from the general body.
The clubs aren’t happy and believe it’s important to engage with all stakeholders, primarily those who fund, build, and sustain the competition.
“We feel it is important to express, respectfully and in a constructive spirit, that the clubs were not fully satisfied with the manner in which the recent process was conducted,” the clubs said in the letter on Friday. “Given the significance of the matter and its long-term implications, there is a shared view at ownership level that greater consultation and structured engagement would have added significant value. We express this not as criticism, but to underline the importance of alignment on decisions that carry long-term financial and strategic consequences.”
The owners said any long-term framework should only be developed with the clear alignment of club ownership, as they are the primary investors and long-term stakeholders in the league.
“The clubs believe there is now a clear opportunity to move forward constructively. Through our discussions, there is alignment at ownership level that a more structured and collaborative approach can help shape a framework that works effectively for the AIFF, for Indian football more broadly, and for the clubs who continue to invest significantly in the league,” said the owners.