The Indian Super League (ISL), India’s premier football competition, is in serious trouble. A messy commercial dispute between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) has put the 2025-26 season on hold. The Master Rights Agreement (MRA), which governs the ISL’s operations, expires mid-season on December 8, 2025, and there’s no clear path to renewal. FSDL, the Reliance-backed company running the ISL, isn’t happy. “Without a confirmed contract beyond December, we can’t plan, organize, or sell the 2025-26 ISL season properly,” FSDL wrote to ISL clubs, sounding frustrated.
The AIFF, for its part, says it’s been trying to sort this out. It kicked off renewal talks back on November 21, 2024, and even held meetings with FSDL on February 5 and March 5, 2025. But things hit a wall when the Supreme Court stepped in on April 26, 2025, advising the AIFF to hold off on renewing the MRA until a final ruling on its draft constitution case. “Our legal team told us not to move forward with the MRA renewal until the court decides,” the AIFF explained.
The MRA, signed in 2010, is a big deal—it ensures the AIFF gets ₹50 crore a year from FSDL for broadcast, management, and commercialization rights. That’s a lifeline for Indian football. But not everyone’s thrilled with the deal. In a March 2025 court hearing, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan slammed the MRA as “one-sided,” raising eyebrows.
Clubs are feeling the heat too. Kerala Blasters’ CEO Abhik Chatterjee admitted, “We’re bracing for the worst—no ISL at all.” Meanwhile, the AIFF is trying to calm nerves, promising, “We’ll do everything we can to keep the ISL running.”
With the Supreme Court’s decision still pending, Indian football is holding its breath, hoping its flagship league doesn’t collapse.
