The All India Football Federation and the Indian Super League Managing Committee announced a restructuring of the league's operational framework on Wednesday.
This shift aims to resolve a financial deadlock that threatened the future of Indian football and seeks to establish long-term financial sustainability for the league.
Under the new arrangement, the ISL will operate under a club-led model for four years [1]. The AIFF is transferring the commercial rights of the league directly to the clubs, while the federation retains control over the administrative aspects of organizing the competition.
An AIFF spokesperson said, "We are giving the clubs the commercial rights for this league. The AIFF shall hold on to the administrative aspects of organising the league."
The restructuring follows a crucial intervention by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on June 9 to end the financial instability affecting the sport. The transition is designed to empower individual clubs to manage their own revenue streams and commercial partnerships, a move intended to stabilize the league's economic foundation.
As part of the new framework, the 2026-27 season will be played on a home-and-away basis [2]. This format is expected to increase local engagement and provide clubs with more opportunities to generate match-day revenue.
Officials from the AIFF and the ISL Managing Committee said the decision represents a significant change in how the league functions. The move shifts the financial risk and reward from a centralized federation model to the individual entities that operate the teams.
“"We are giving the clubs the commercial rights for this league."”
The transition to a club-led model signals a departure from centralized control in Indian football. By decoupling commercial rights from administrative oversight, the AIFF is attempting to create a market-driven ecosystem where clubs are incentivized to grow their own brands. This shift, combined with the home-and-away format for the 2026-27 season, mimics the structure of successful global leagues to foster deeper community roots and more sustainable private investment.
