A day after some of the country’s top football stars made an appeal to FIFA, the governing body of the sport, players and fans for some good news, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced that the dates for the next season of the Indian Super League (ISL) will be disclosed next week.
AIFF Emergency Meeting
The AIFF office bearers held an emergency meeting on Saturday to consider and acknowledge the report submitted by the AIFF-ISL Coordination Committee. This committee was constituted on December 20, 2025, following the AIFF Executive Committee meeting and the subsequent AIFF Annual General Meeting.
“The Coordination Committee was requested to submit its report to the AIFF Secretariat by January 2, 2026, which was duly complied with. The report was formally acknowledged by the AIFF office bearers, and they recommended that the league be conducted by the All India Football Federation,” the AIFF stated.
Commencement Date Announcement
“Accordingly, the AIFF will conduct the league, and the date of commencement will be announced next week,” the statement read. The league has been in limbo since talks between Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) and the AIFF broke down, preventing a decision on the renewal of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with AIFF to operate the Indian Super League. FSDL had declined to start the 2025-26 edition at the usual time because the MRA was set to expire on December 8, 2025, midway through the league, leaving the renewal uncertain.
Member Participation Letters
On Thursday, the AIFF received letters from nearly all members of the Indian Super League (ISL) confirming their potential willingness to participate in the upcoming 2025-26 season. However, participation will depend on satisfactory financial and governance assurances from the AIFF.
“It’s January, and we should be on your screens as a part of a competitive football game in the Indian Super League,” Gurpreet said in a video featuring other players. “Instead, here we are driven by fear and desperation to say aloud something which we all know,” Jhingan added. “Players, staff, owners, and the fans deserve clarity, protection, and more importantly, a future,” former India captain Sunil Chhetri said during the players’ appeal to FIFA.
A Plea to FIFA
“But more importantly, we are here to make a plea. The Indian football government is no longer able to fulfil its responsibilities. We are now staring at permanent paralysis. This is the last-ditch effort to save what we can. So we are calling on FIFA to step in and do what it takes to save Indian football. We hope this message gets to the powers that are in Zurich. This call is not political; it is not driven by confrontation but by necessity. It might sound like a big word, but the truth is that we are facing a humanitarian, sporting, and economic crisis. And of course, we need rescuing at the earliest. We just want to play football, please help us do it,” other players stated in the appeal.