A day before the Supreme Court’s hearing on the All India Football Federation (AIFF’s) constitution, 11 of the 13 Indian Super League (ISL) clubs wrote to the Amici Curiae requesting an urgent and quick decision on the issue.
The matter is listed for a hearing on Friday, before the division bench of Justice Pamidighantam Narasimha and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. Its verdict will have significant consequences in Indian football, with organising the ISL being one of the major ones affected indirectly.
The league’s new season — India’s premier division of men’s football — has remained ‘on hold’ since July 11 after AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) could not agree on a future Master Rights Agreement, with the current deal running down on December 8, 2025.
The impasse reached a standstill when the apex court asked the Federation to refrain from negotiations in April 2025 until it decided on the constitution.
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“Given the matter is already listed before the Hon’ble Court on 22nd August 2025, we most humbly request that our concerns be orally apprised to the Hon’ble Bench on that date itself, so that the immediacy and gravity of the crisis is not overlooked,” the clubs wrote in the letter sent to Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Samar Bansal, which Sportstar has seen.
Who are the clubs?
Jamshedpur FC, Kerala Blasters FC, Odisha FC, Chennaiyin FC, Hyderabad FC, FC Goa, NorthEast United FC, Punjab FC, Mumbai City FC, Mohammedan SC, and Bengaluru FC have their signatures on the letter, while East Bengal and Mohun Bagan Super Giant are the two sides missing from the list.
Several of these 11 sides have temporarily suspended operations and have even threatened the federation with shutting down entirely.
How have they been affected?
The clubs have listed five consequences of the impasse, which include ‘National Team Preparedness’, impact on livelihoods, revenues and club licensing regulations of the Asian Football Confederation.
“Since football, as opposed to cricket, is a sport where the bulk of regular training and games are carried out at the club level, the absence of the ISL would deprive India’s best players of competitive football at a crucial time, gravely impairing the national team’s readiness for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA tournaments,” the clubs wrote.
The clubs wrote that the league sustains the majority of professional football players in India, providing more than 400 full-time player contracts annually, and any further delays may cause irreparable harm to the ecosystem.
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“… We submit that the loss of even a single ISL season would have catastrophic and irreversible consequences for Indian football as a whole — including the well-being of the players and staff associated with the sport, the professional league structure, including the I-League and lower divisions, grassroots academies, and other football competitions — all of which depend on the stability of the top-tier competition,” the clubs added.
What solution do the clubs want?
The clubs put forth three requests to the Amici Curiae to be placed before the Supreme Court bench on Friday:
- “The urgency of pronouncing judgment at the earliest, given the football calendar is at a standstill across the pyramid
- That any consequential directions flowing from the judgment be directed to be completed in a time-bound (15–30 days) manner, to restore certainty at the earliest to the ecosystem
- In the event that the present proceedings are to go on beyond August 22, 2025, the processes related to conducting the leagues and any ancillary operations may be allowed and expedited so that a long-term constructive solution for all parties may be obtained at the earliest.”
Moreover, the clubs have also requested a long-term solution, should the two parties — AIFF and FSDL — reach an agreement.
“Clubs have multi-year sponsorships and contractual commitments, and several sponsors have already withdrawn due to the prevailing uncertainty. No commercial partner can be expected to invest or commit resources under an interim arrangement or for the short term, given the sheer scale and complexity of organising a tournament like the ISL and securing long-term broadcast and sponsorship partnerships,” the 11 clubs wrote.
“Therefore, it is imperative that the current proceedings be expedited to provide the necessary certainty for the league and the wider football pyramid to function.”
Published on Aug 21, 2025
