The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Saturday decided to announce the date for the commencement of the league next week.

The league is likely to start in mid-February (14th or 15th) if everything goes according to plan.

“The AIFF office-bearers held an emergency meeting today (January 3, 2026) to consider and acknowledge the report submitted by the AIFF-ISL Coordination Committee. The report was formally acknowledged by the AIFF office bearers, and they recommended that the league be conducted by the AIFF. Accordingly, the AIFF will conduct the league, and the date of commencement will be announced next week,” a statement from the parent body said. Deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan was also present in the meeting.

Interestingly, the press release had earlier mentioned “AIFF emergency committee met today...” but was changed to “office bearers held an emergency meeting today” since the new constitution does not allow any emergency committee.

The federation will have its executive committee meeting early next week and then announce the league’s date.

“The office-bearers (president Kalyan Chaubey, vice-president NA Haris and treasurer Kipa Ajay) discussed the report submitted by the committee. We have decided to do the league. Next week, the executive committee will be meeting and then we will go ahead with the announcement.

“The league will be organised by the federation but the clubs will also have to cooperate. They used to pay participation fee to the FSDL till last season. What’s the problem if they now do the same with us,” Haris told The Telegraph.

“Also, in the interest of the players and all the other people involved, the AIFF has decided to announce the date,” he added.

The AIFF will ask for the Participating Team Agreement from the clubs after the executive committee meeting.

The likely proposals to be discussed in the meeting will be the amount the AIFF will be spending for this season’s league. Sources said the AIFF could bear the bulk of the amount.

The AIFF could also provide some leeway by giving an option to each club to defer the franchise fee (entry fee) of ₹1cr to be paid at the start of the 2025-26 season to June 2026.

“This will help the cash flow of the clubs, who opt for this moratorium, this season, in the event of revenue losses through sponsorship and
broadcast,” a source revealed.

The AIFF felt that the single-leg home and away or a single-leg centralised venue where each team plays approximately 13 matches (if
all 14 teams participate) would be the appropriate option this season.

“Once the format is agreed upon by the clubs and the AIFF, the latter will write to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to gain
exemption,” someone in the know of things said.

A joint letter or a meeting with the sports ministry for financial, infrastructural and logistical support can also be sought.