New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Indian Super League (ISL) clubs came on the same platform on Wednesday to announce the agreement of a four-year club-led model at the top of Indian football. Under it, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be created to run the commercial aspects of the ISL. If all 14 clubs take part, the AIFF will take home Rs 15.4 crore (Rs 1.1 crore each) as administration fees and 10 per cent of the net profits.TimesofIndia.com understands that an agreement has been reached over the three sticking points between the ISL clubs and the AIFF: independent auditing of the SPV; 10% share in net profits and a termination clause.
The AIFF will be responsible for refereeing, legality, integrity and anti-doping efforts as the national governing body.Beyond the Rs 1.1 crore in the first year, the ISL clubs will contribute Rs 1.15 crore, Rs 1.20 crore and Rs 1.25 crore in the next three years. The clubs will have the option to suspend this deal after two years but will have to give AIFF due notice.“ISL will be a commercially club-led model. A letter will be sent to all 14 teams asking them to pay the participation fees. Based on their responses, a decision will be made on how the league will proceed,” said AIFF Deputy General Secretary M Satyanarayanan.“We are planning this as a four-year model. After two years, the clubs can decide whether they want to exit the model or continue. However, given the way things are progressing, it will probably not happen,” he continued.
New Delhi: All India Football Federation (AIFF) Deputy Secretary General M. Satyanarayan addresses a press conference on the roadmap for the 2026-27 Indian Super League (ISL) season, as FC Goa Vice President Ravi Puskur, left, looks on, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)(PTI07_08_2026_000159B)
The AIFF had not outrightly accepted the club-led model when it was proposed on May 14. But the position changed after a meeting with the Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on June 8.“(The) AIFF has never stated that we are averse to a club-led model. Earlier, there was an MRA (Master Rights Agreement) partner (FSDL), who were running the league. And then there was a Supreme Court decision which said that AIFF has to own and operate the league. So, based on that now, we are taking a little more ownership to do the league,” explained Satyanarayanan.
New Delhi: All India Football Federation (AIFF) Deputy Secretary General M. Satyanarayan, centre, FC Goa Vice President Ravi Puskur, left, and NorthEast United FC CEO Mandar Tamhane during a press conference on the roadmap for the 2026-27 Indian Super League (ISL) season, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)(PTI07_08_2026_000157A)
“Now, as far as whether it is a third party like Genius Sport who applied to run the league or when our clubs came forward, they said we have the expertise, we will run it. The right choice for us to make is to trust our clubs because they are one of our biggest stakeholders. And they know that if they don’t do it well, then they are in trouble. So, this is the model,” he elaborated.Under the new model, a new entity will be created, which will oversee the functioning of the ISL. Its role will include, but not be limited to, attracting sponsors and broadcasters while ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the clubs.“We will have a professional team that we will look to appoint. You will see advertisements for positions going out in the next couple of days, possibly weeks, where candidates will be interviewed very transparently amongst the people at the clubs and the AIFF choose to put on the panel to interview. And that professional team will make independent decisions of the league. Will not have any sort of direct influence on the clubs,” said FC Goa CEO Ravi Puskar.
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“Barring the fact, of course, that this professional team does report into the Governing Council which will have club representation either at the Director or ownership level. Which will obviously be there to ensure that the sustainability of the league is maintained.But otherwise, the professional team will run the day-to-day operations of the league,” he explained further.Genius Sports, who had bid Rs 2,130 crore for the commercial rights of the ISL and the Federation Cup over a 15+5-year cycle, are still in the fray. The clubs are waiting to hear from the London-headquartered company now that the scope has changed.
