ISL Season Preview: Better late than never? Indian football resets for a truncated season

New Delhi: “Why don’t you write something positive?” said an irate Indian football official to this reporter. It was the plea of a frustrated representative who had done plenty at the grassroots level but was trying to please multiple stakeholders in the administrative chaos that is Indian football.

Picture this. Only two days before the Indian Super League, the country’s top football division, was set to get underway on February 14, members of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Executive Committee were voting on whether to keep it a 14-team league or expand it to 15 by including Churchill Brothers.



That plea from Churchill Brothers was unanimously rejected, keeping Inter Kashi in the top division after a legal quagmire that remains unresolved. The league will therefore remain a 14-team competition with a single round-robin format, featuring 91 matches across the 2025–26 season.

Yes, the 2025–26 season is finally getting underway in February 2026, five months later than originally planned. The February 14 start date was reached only after the intervention of the Sports Ministry, which wanted the delay to not affect the country’s ambitious bid to host the 2036 Olympics.

All this transpired because Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the Reliance-backed company that launched and ran the ISL since 2014, saw its Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with the AIFF end in December 2025.

The AIFF, stalled by court visits and constitutional updates, neither contemplated its options leading up to this deadline nor moved to renew the association.

In the interim, uncertainty prevailed over if, or when, the season would get underway. While administrators twiddled their thumbs, foreign players departed to keep their careers going. Clubs were forced to let them go to recover some costs and to respect the players’ wishes.

When the season finally received a start date, organisers struggled to get stadiums in playable condition. Odisha FC will only begin training for the new season on February 17 and, with no home venue confirmed, their opening fixture against Punjab FC on February 16 has been postponed. Kerala Blasters, who at one point considered shutting shop, had no clarity on which city they could feasibly play in.

After extensive back-and-forth, the AIFF readied an interim fixture list, which was officially announced just a week before the league’s start. With FanCode on board as the digital broadcaster, the linear television announcement with Sony Sports Network will only take place on the day the season begins.

Not just doom and gloom

Now for the positives amid the gloom. All stakeholders, including clubs, players, fans, sponsors and even the AIFF, deserve credit for ensuring the season was not lost. They showed maturity for the greater good.

Most players have agreed to take pay cuts to keep the ball rolling, quite literally. The same applies to club owners and CEOs who have agreed to invest in a truncated season, aware that revenues will not match previous years, but have returned for the greater good.

Even the AIFF, which has faced heavy criticism and could serve as a case study in administrative mismanagement, can argue that its hands were tied by legal disputes and warring factions. The fact that it eventually managed, through multiple mediators, to get everyone moving in the same direction is commendable.

More drama in store?

Unsurprisingly, the drama and court visits may not be over. As the AIFF circulated the League Rules on the eve of the season’s start, it made clear that relegation will be implemented as per the latest Constitution.

This comes barely two weeks after clubs wrote to the Sports Ministry seeking Force Majeure for the season, effectively requesting a pause on relegation.

Subsequently, the club that goes down could take the legal route later if the issue is not addressed for now.

QUICK REFRESHER

Clubs: FC Goa, Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Odisha FC, East Bengal, Jamshedpur FC, SC Delhi, Punjab FC, Mumbai City FC, Bengaluru FC, Kerala Blasters, Inter Kashi, Mohammedan SC, NorthEast United, Chennaiyin FC

1st match: Mohun Bagan Super Giant vs Kerala Blasters on February 14 at 5 pm

2nd match: FC Goa vs Inter Kashi on February 14 at 7:30 pm

Prize money for winner: Rs 1.25 crore

Prize money for runner-up: Rs 75 lakh

Prize pool for 2025–26 season: Rs 2 crore

Live streaming: FanCode

Live on TV: Sony Sports Network


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