It was a busy day at the Football House in New Delhi as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) convened back-to-back meetings with multiple stakeholders in order to address the current predicament facing Indian football.AIFF called for interactions on short notice with Executive Committee members, Indian Super League (ISL) captains, club CEOs and I-League owners on Wednesday (November 12). ISL clubs and captains – except that of Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal – explored the possibility of putting in all their resources to make the top-tier tournament happen.Eight I-League clubs, meanwhile, stayed away from the meeting and are due to meet Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday. “Keeping in mind the fundamental importance of a multi-tier league National structure for the development of the football in the country (Tier 1-2-3), we suggest that all the three leagues in this case ISL, I League and I League-2 should be managed by one common league partner. This shall ensure long term holistic growth and sustainability to the National league ecosystem of the country,” the I-League clubs secretary reportedly wrote to AIFF deputy general M Satyanarayan.I-League clubs gave AIFF the ultimatum of announcing the new season in the next 10 days with kick-off by December 15 and not later than January 5, 2026 with matches to be broadcast live on two of the biggest properties – Star Sports and JioHotstar; Sony Sports Network and SonyLiv.AIFF had asked for all the stakeholders to join in consecutive meetings on less than three-hour notice. The desperate move was necessitated by the impending Supreme Court hearing where Chairperson of the Bid Evaluation Committee, Justice (Retd.) L. Nageswara Rao, is due to brief the court on the current situation in Indian football. On November 7, AIFF’s attempt to attract bids for the commercial rights found no takers.
