Supreme Court to hear plea on row between AIFF and FSDL over non-renewal of contracts of ISL clubs

A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar agreed to hear the plea after amicus curiae and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan submitted that during the tenure of the contract, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) has to honour it by conducting the ISL.

“If it does not, the AIFF should be directed to terminate the contract and float a tender. Otherwise the players suffer and after repeated non-payment, we can be sanctioned by the FIFA,” Sankaranarayanan said.

The bench said it would hear the matter on Friday.

The clubs wrote a letter to AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey last week, saying the crisis arising out of the non-renewal of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the national federation and the ISL organisers, FSDL, has “paralysed professional football in India”.

“Over the past 11 years, through sustained investment and coordinated effort, clubs have built youth development systems, training infrastructure, community outreach programmes and professional teams that have elevated India’s footballing credibility both domestically and internationally,” the clubs wrote in the letter.

Crisis

“This progress is now in imminent danger of collapse. The current standstill has created immediate and severe consequences. With operations suspended and no certainty on league continuity, several clubs face the real possibility of shutting down entirely,” they said.

The crisis surfaced after FSDL, the ISL organisers as well as the AIFF’s commercial partner, put the 2025-26 season “on hold” on July 11 due to uncertainty over the renewal of the MRA, prompting at least three clubs to either pause first-team operations or suspend player and staff salaries.

“The 2025-26 ISL season is at risk of not taking place at all. This is not merely an administrative deadlock — it is an existential crisis for Indian football. We write to you in the gravest of circumstances,” the clubs wrote.

The letter was signed by Bengaluru FC, Hyderabad FC, Odisha FC, Chennaiyin FC, Jamshedpur FC, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters FC, Punjab FC, NorthEast United FC, Mumbai City FC and Mohammedan Sporting. Kolkata heavyweights Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal did not sign the letter.

The clubs said the impasse will also impact India’s readiness for international matches, adding that “without a functioning league, our national team will be severely disadvantaged in upcoming AFC and FIFA tournaments”.

They also said that without the ISL, they will not be able to play a minimum number of competitive matches for participating in continental competitions, thereby risking the suspension of Indian clubs from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) tournaments.

On April 30, the top court reserved its verdict on the issue of finalisation of the AIFF draft constitution prepared by former apex court judge L Nageswara Rao.

The draft constitution, prepared by Justice Rao on the top court’s directions, proposed some radical changes, including a person holding the office for a maximum period of 12 years during his lifetime, subject to serving a maximum of two successive terms of four years each.

While it said a four-year cooling-off period had to be observed after eight years as an office-bearer of the AIFF, it also mentioned that a person cannot remain a member of the sports body after attaining 70 years of age.

According to the draft constitution, the executive committee of the AIFF would have 14 members who would be under the age and tenure restrictions.

There will be one president, two vice-presidents (a man and a woman), one treasurer and 10 other members, the draft said.

Of the 10 other members, five would be eminent players, including two women.

The draft constitution also has provisions for the removal of the office-bearers, including the president, through a no-confidence motion, which the existing constitution of the AIFF does not have.