(MENAFN- Live Mint)

Offering a glimmer of hope for football fans, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Friday that it will take steps to conduct the Indian Super League (ISL) 2025-26 season, as the over ₹450 crore tournament failed to attract a single bidder amid administrative and fiscal uncertainty within the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the bench of Justices P. S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi that the government will intervene to ensure that the ISL is conducted and that players are not placed at any disadvantage.“I have spoken to the minister concerned. He is fully aware of the situation and has assured me that the league must be held. How it is to be financed, who the sponsors are, and other modalities can be left to the government."

The assurance comes as 12 ISL clubs moved the court following the AIFF's announcement that it had not received any bids for the 15-year contract for the league's commercial and media rights, leaving the new season in limbo.

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Although the current 15-year Master Rights Agreement between the AIFF and Reliance Industries ' Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL) expires on 8 December, FSDL has agreed to relinquish its rights due to differences with the governing body.

To be sure, the fresh tender, issued on 16 October under a Supreme Court-appointed committee led by former Justice L. Nageswara Rao, drew interest from four parties: FSDL, Dream Sports Group's sports streaming platform FanCode, real estate player Conscient Group, and a foreign consortium. But none submitted bids.

In their plea, reviewed by Mint, the clubs argued the tender failed because the new AIFF Constitution gives the federation sweeping control over all competitions and“primacy" over key decisions. This leaves any commercial partner with almost no say in how its money is used, making the league commercially unviable.

People familiar with the process told Mint that bidders were unhappy about being asked to pay more than ₹37 crore annually in fixed fees to be reinvested in the league, in addition to other payments.

At a standstill

The clubs warned that the crisis has pushed the entire football pyramid-including the ISL, I-League, youth leagues, and women's football-to the brink of a shutdown.

The clubs told the court that Indian football is at a near standstill. Player registrations and transfers under FIFA windows cannot proceed. Pre-season camps have been derailed. Travel and logistics have stalled. Sponsorship and broadcast discussions have stopped. Several clubs have already suspended operations because their revenues have dried up.

Justice Rao's report, also reviewed by Mint, said even after extensive discussions, none of the four interested parties placed bids. After the 7 November deadline passed, the committee sought feedback to understand why the process failed.

Rahul Mehra, the lead petitioner in the long-running case on football governance, welcomed the Centre's response but warned against government control over the tender framework.

“In my understanding, the government should only look into conducting this year's ISL through its own good offices, such as sponsors and broadcasters, and nothing more," he said.“A fresh tender should be floated later by the Justice Rao-led committee."

He added that rushing the next tender“at a depressed value under the garb of urgency" would be damaging for both Indian football and the players.

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He said the AIFF must first obtain an independent and scientific valuation of Indian football before floating a new tender, and must guard against cartelization.

Mehra also warned that excessive government involvement in finalizing commercial arrangements could invite sanctions from FIFA for third-party interference. India was suspended in 2022 for a similar issue.

The AIFF did not respond to Mint's emailed query until publication.

Deepening crisis

Since its inception, the ISL has run from September or October to March or April under the 2010 rights agreement, which granted FSDL exclusive commercial control for 15 years and guaranteed the AIFF an annual fee of $5.1 million. The framework helped the league grow from eight clubs in 2013 to 14 today.

On 8 August, FSDL informed the Supreme Court that it was prepared to relinquish its commercial control, including its Right of First Refusal and Right to Match.

This opened the door for new bidders, but none came forward because of the administrative structure created under the AIFF Constitution.

While the future of the league remains uncertain, Indian football itself is facing a crisis, as the national team has failed to qualify for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

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