The All India Football Federation (AIFF) members will discard the proposals of the ISL clubs, which included the club-owned league model, at Saturday’s annual general meeting in New Delhi. The clubs — barring Emami East Bengal — gave a joint proposal to the sports ministry and the AIFF on Friday.
Seeking perpetual operational and commercial rights for a club-owned league model while retaining the AIFF as the sport’s regulator, the clubs said that 2026-27 season onwards, they may collectively consider paying the AIFF an annual grant of Rs 10 crore.
The clubs also suggested that no league rights fee be paid to AIFF for the 2025-26 season, citing transitional circumstances and the need to ensure uninterrupted continuity of the competition.
Two executive committee members — Avijit Paul of the Football Association of Odisha and Goa’s Valanka Alemao — have written to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, urging him not to agree to the terms set by the clubs.
“How can a bunch of clubs, some of whom were not in existence even 10 years ago, choose to dictate terms to an 88-year-old organisation...?” Paul wrote in his letter. “No one should be left in any doubt that the league(s) during the ongoing season would certainly be held under the aegis of the All India Football Federation,” the letter added.
“The Clubs respectfully propose that AIFF grant the rights to operate, manage, and commercially exploit India’s top-tier professional football league to a dedicated league company (“League Company”) in perpetuity,” the letter sent by the clubs said.
“The League Company shall be structured such that: The participating Clubs shall collectively hold a permanent majority shareholding; AIFF shall hold one special share...”
“Owning a league in perpetuity! They are asking for the moon. We will not agree to this, in principle,” IFA secretary Anirban Dutta said. Dutta was supposed to attend Saturday’s AGM virtually, but after the letter was circulated amongst the member associations, he thought it would be prudent to travel to the capital.
The proposals have caught everyone by surprise, given that in Thursday’s meeting with the sports ministry officials, it was understood that the clubs would come up with a proposal that would be feasible.
“The clubs have not helped their cause,” a senior executive committee member of the AIFF said.
“Proposals will keep coming, but be assured, the league will happen. But in this entire fiasco, one must not ignore the fact that the Supreme Court has created a very awkward situation...” news agency PTI said, quoting a sports
ministry official.
