File photo of the 2025-26 Indian Super League season. (Image credit: ISL) New Delhi: Indian Super League (ISL) clubs have had a tough shortened season and are once again facing trouble with the All India Football Federation (AIFF). This prompted them to propose a club-led operational and commercialization model. Without this Hail Mary attempt, the future looks bleak and no lessons seem to be learned.“Some of our players are out of contract by the end of the month and we cannot offer them an extension, plan for next season or even make a budget as the future is not clear,” FC Goa CEO Ravi Puskur told TimesofIndia.com.
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ISL commercial rights: AIFF gets two different offersThis sentiment was echoed by another club CEO who chose not to go public but was left feeling helpless and frustrated by the ongoing problem. “In the current scenario, no matter how lean the ship you are running standing wise, there is no potential future upside or clarity for anyone to continue investing. Moreover, there is no certain/stable environment to plan any investment and the prudent decision is to hopelessly wait and hope things work out, which is unlikely given last year’s experience, or plan to close by mid-June,” they said in a phone interview.Ever since two bidders, Genius Sports and FanCode, showed interest in the commercial rights to the ISL for 15+5 years, the clubs and the AIFF have been at loggerheads. While the AIFF is leaning towards Genius Sports’ offer of Rs 64.39 crore per year (Rs 2,129 crore over 20 years), the clubs preferred a softer offer of Rs 36 crore per season (Rs 1,190 crore over 20 years) from FanCode.ISL and AIFF club representatives chaired a presentation by Genius Sports on April 23. While several aspects were highlighted, the main omission was how the deal would address the financial structure.
Actions from the ongoing ISL season. (ISL)
“The presentation did not outline a detailed framework of how the ISL would be structured and operated under the proposed partnership. There was also no clear formulation of the strategy for commercializing the league rights, nor were any financial projections, business models or supporting quantitative analysis provided,” Bengaluru FC CEO Darren Caldeira wrote in an email to the AIFF hierarchy on behalf of the clubs on April 29.“Furthermore, it is unclear what impact this partnership will have on finances at club level. In the absence of visibility into revenue streams and cost breakdowns, it is difficult for clubs to assess the sustainability of the proposed structure or to have an informed view on their continued participation in the existing framework,” he continued.
The prudent decision is to hopelessly wait and hope things work out, which is unlikely given past experience, or plan to close by mid-June
A high-ranking ISL club official
Unfortunately for clubs who are already bleeding money, this is not the only financial aspect worth paying attention to.The AIFF has also proposed an “entry fee” of 3 million rupees per club, up from 1 billion rupees this year. Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), a former commercial partner, paid AIFF Rs 50 million annually. If Genius Sports comes in, it will contribute Rs 12.4 crore and the governing body intends to earn the rest through the clubs (Rs 37.6 crore).
Mohun Bagan Super Giant are joint top of the ISL standings. (AIFF)
“It is deeply concerning that instead of taking a common approach to rebuilding the league’s commercial framework, the current stance appears to treat ISL clubs as cost centers. The financial shortfall resulting from the absence of a commercial partner cannot be attributed to the clubs. While the clubs have absorbed significant losses and continued to operate in good faith, no corresponding effort has been made to rationalize or recalibrate costs in line with the actual management of Delhrv. in an email on May 1.He also made the basic reality of clubs quite clear.“Should the proposed model be implemented in its current form, a significant number of ISL clubs will be forced to reconsider their continued participation. Such an outcome would have serious implications for the ecosystem, affecting thousands of players, coaches, support staff and associated stakeholders, and halting the development of professional football in India,” he wrote, before asking the AIFF to work towards a more constructive solution and cooperation.The lack of clarity on the next ISL season and reported disagreements with ownership also forced manager Antonio Habas to leave Inter Kashi immediately. “His contract expires at the end of the month. We’re not clear about next season, so how do we say if we’re going to extend or not?” said a club official.
The ISL clubs are scheduled to meet AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey on May 22. (File photo)
Another club official said clubs are still spending money but are not getting anything back close to what they imagined at one point.“The owner is asking me ‘where do I get the money? I don’t have the money to put into it. I used to spend 10 rupees, now you are asking me to spend 25 because there is a gap in revenue. Where do I get it? I can’t’,” said the CEO of one of the original eight clubs.“And no one’s even going to buy it, are they? You can’t even sell it because people are going to say, ‘What league are you in? Is the league being played this year? So you’re in a Catch 22 situation.’“The central (revenue) fund has dropped to zero, sponsorship has dropped due to lack of penetration through OTT and linear TV and the original eight clubs that paid the franchise fee are now stuck at zero.”“With all this you can see how uncertain it is, even worse than the last time (December-January) when we at least talked about a transition season. But this is 15+5 seasons. And if this deadlock is not resolved, I can assure you that several clubs will now shut down,” he continued.
File photo of Kerala Blasters in action against Mohammedan Sporting. (OR)
TimesofIndia.com also found that several clubs are indeed headed for financial ruin, with promoters and sponsors looking to pull out unless a solution is found. Odisha FC, who agreed to play the ongoing season at the last minute, are in a difficult situation regarding their future. Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters are other clubs, it has been revealed, that could be considering closing down without a sound business model.Relegated Mohammedan Sporting also have their fate after TMC’s loss in West Bengal.Unless the AIFF agrees to the model of clubs running the league in partnership – with Genius Sports providing the data and technology support – Indian football is destined for a different spell of doom and gloom in the courts than on the football pitches.
