The All India Football Federation (AIFF) said in a statement on Sunday said that Justice (retd.) Nageswara Rao, chairperson of its Bid Evaluation Committee, will submit his report to the Supreme Court after the federation didn’t receive a single bid for the troubled Indian Super League’s (ISL) commercial rights. The AIFF had said that it will meet over the course of the weekend to decide on a way forward after its invitation for bids on the tender it floated drew a blank.
“The Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC) of the All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) held a meeting on Sunday, November 9, 2025 to review and discuss the status of the ‘Request for Proposal’ for awarding the right to monetise the commercial rights belonging to the AIFF for a limited period,” the AIFF statement said.
“Following the deliberations of the committee, the chairperson of the BEC, Justice (Retd) Nageswara Rao, will submit his report to the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India as the next step in the process.”
The interested parties had till November 7, 5pm to submit the tenders. But on Friday, when the deadline expired, the AIFF, embarrassingly, did not have a single bid. And now, the future of the ISL — at a time when men’s football is going through one of its darkest phases — looks uncertain once again.
”The financials did not work out,” said one source. “What the AIFF demanded did not seem sustainable and so, after the initial interest, there were no formal bids.”
For the last 15 years, Indian football was run by the Football Sports Development Limited, a joint venture between Reliance Industries and JioStar, after the AIFF awarded them commercial rights for Rs 700 crore. The FSDL has run the ISL since its inception in 2014. However, the 15-year agreement ends on December 8.
To invite new bidders, the AIFF floated a Request for Proposal on October 16, seeking a partner to handle ISL’s commercial rights, which included broadcast deals, sponsorship, digital, and merchandising operations, among others.
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Four parties showed interest reportedly, which included Fancode, owned by Dream Sports, Conscient Heritage Group and a foreign consortium apart from FSDL. After multiple rounds of discussions and one deadline extension, none of the parties have come forward, primarily due to the financial model.
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