The ISL footballers and clubs will file petitions in the Supreme Court highlighting their plight and seeking a way forward, it has been learnt. The clubs also floated the idea of organising the league for the season 2025-26 with the help of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

These are some of Wednesday’s key developments after the AIFF reached out to the footballers and the clubs, seeking a ray of light in a cloud of uncertainty that has engulfed Indian football.

AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey and deputy secretary general M. Satyanaryan held three meetings during the day, with players, ISL clubs and I-League clubs.

Twelve footballers — including Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Rahul Bheke (all Bengaluru FC), Sandesh Jhingan (FC Goa), Hugo Boumous and Carlos Delgado (Odisha FC) — were present.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant, East Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting and Chennaiyin FC did not attend the players’ meeting. Mohammedan Sporting and Chennaiyin FC CEOs, however, were present when the clubs held talks with AIFF.

The players who have been voicing their concerns for the past two days wanted to know if the AIFF could ask Reliance-owned Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) to organise the league for this season. The AIFF informed the players that the Supreme Court-amended constitution does not allow it to do so.

“The AIFF’s views cleared the air on a lot of issues as the footballers were not expected to know the legal implications. They told the federation that the players would file a petition in the court separately and would support the parent body’s cause,” a source told The Telegraph late on Wednesday.

“It’s a great decision on their part to move the apex court,” he added.

Nobody from the AIFF, the ISL clubs and players agreed to come on record when this paper contacted them.

During the meeting between the AIFF and ISL clubs, Bengaluru FC proposed that the league be organised by the clubs.

This was after it was decided that the clubs too would follow the players’ path.

No timeline has been set on when the league can start, but if everything falls in place by November 30, then action could start from the first week of January itself.

“It, however, depends on what the honourable Super Court has to say,” a club official said.

Six I-League clubs, including city-based Diamond Harbour FC, did not attend the meeting since it was called at a short notice. Only Dempo SC and Aizawl FC were present. The six clubs will meet sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday.