After months of limbo, Indian football finally has a pulse again. All India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed that the 2025–2026 season of the Indian Super League will go ahead, with the official schedule to be announced next week. While the green light has brought relief across the football ecosystem, one major question still hangs in the air: what will the ISL actually look like when it returns?
The delay stemmed more from uncertainty off the pitch than on it. After the main rights contract with the league’s former commercial partner expired in December 2024, the ISL was left without a clear financial plan.
After the crisis committee meeting, the AIFF reviewed the report of the AIFF-ISL Coordination Committee, submitted on January 2, and formally decided on the conduct of the season. What remains undecided is the format – and that’s where two distinct proposals come into play.
Option 1: Conference-based league structure
Teams: 14 clubs were divided into two groups
- Eastern Conference: 7 teams
- Western Conference: 7 teams
league stages:
- Teams play home and away matches only within their conference
- No inter-conference games during the league phase
- Each conference produces 42 games
Championship Stage:
- The top four teams from each conference qualify
- A one-leg championship round that will decide the winner of the ISL
descent phase:
- The bottom three teams from each conference enter the one-legged relegation round
Arrivals:
- All matches were played at two centralized venues
- Designed to reduce travel and operating costs
Key idea:
- Shorter season, lower costs, maintaining playoff tension
Option 2: Single league format
Teams: All 14 teams compete in one unified league table
league stages:
- Each team plays each team once
- A total of 91 games in the season
Home and away division:
- Each club gets 6 or 7 home games, rest away
- Luminaires assigned by random draw
No Playoffs:
- Only the league table decides the winner
- Rewards consistency for knockout performance
Arrivals:
- Can be a centralized or limited host format for cost management
Key idea:
- Cleaner sports logic, fewer games, no postseason drama
Come back first, criticize later
Both formats reflect the same reality: survival first, perfection later. With no commercial partner following the end of the Football Sports Development Limited era, cost-effectiveness overtook ambition. Centralized venues, reduced travel, fewer matches and leaner operations are seen as inevitable short-term trade-offs.
The return of ISL itself is the bigger victory. Debates about the format can wait, but the immediate priority is to get India’s top-flight football back on the pitch. For now, the league is alive again – and in the current climate, that in itself feels like a small win for Indian football.
– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
January 4, 2026
