August 14 – The All India Football Association (AIFF) requested that the federation and the clubs of the Indian Super League (ISL) come together and hold discussions to resolve the impasse that is currently holding the league back.
Last week, eleven ISL clubs urged the AIFF to promptly draw the Supreme Court’s attention to the “current situation” in Indian football, stemming from uncertainty over the ISL’s future. At the same time, the AIFF’s constitution is under review before the court.
In a social media post, the AIFF wrote: “On August 13, the AIFF responded and requested that the legal counsels of the clubs and the federation meet to hold discussions on the matter and decide on further action.”
In July, a decision was taken to put the ISL, the country’s top league, “on hold” because negotiations between the AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) over the league’s master rights agreement stalled. The 15-year master rights agreement between the AIFF and FSDL will end on December 18.
FSDL is seeking a revision of the current agreement, suggesting the formation of a new jointly owned company to run the league. The AIFF, however, favours keeping the existing setup, in which it receives an annual payment of ₹50 crore (£4.2 million) from FSDL, with a built-in 5% yearly increase.
As a stopgap, the AIFF has moved the Super Cup forward to September to offer domestic players some game time. In India, the competition is traditionally staged at the end of the season but the federation is working on a new format to bolster the calendar.
Contact the writer of the story, Samindra Kunti, at [email protected]