ISL 2025-26 will be played at centralized venues; clubs seek answers from AIFF on funding, ACL 2 spots

The 2025-26 Indian Super League (ISL) season will take place at two or three centralized venues instead of a home-and-away format, the clubs agreed with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Sunday.

Though Caetano Fernandes, one of the members of the AIFF-appointed committee, had earlier said that this season’s ISL would begin on February 5, the final dates could not be finalized during the last meeting.

An ISL season, which normally started in September, has been postponed this season as the business model is uncertain, following the expiry of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited.

The Federation issued a tender for a commercial partner, but this did not yield any bidders.

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The discussions on Sunday mainly focused on the short-term financial and qualification models, as the clubs had already been presented with a long-term project from the 2026-2027 season.

Question 1: Who is financing the ISL this season?

At a time when the league had no commercial partners, the clubs asked for counter policies and whether the federation would finance the league if there were no commercial partners.

In the latter case, the clubs sought assurance that the federation was able to finance the competition entirely on its own.

Question 2: What about spots in Asian leagues?

India have two places in the AFC Champions League Two: one directly (for the ISL Shield winner) and another indirectly (for the AIFF Super Cup winner). Although the latter is established (FC Goa), clubs from the country can be completely excluded from participation because they do not meet the participation criteria.

The following mandatory participation rules apply to the AFC Club competitions:

• Each club in the national top division plays a minimum of twenty-four (24) matches per season (including the national top division and national cup(s)).

• A domestic top division has a minimum duration of eight (8) months (including the domestic top division competition, domestic cup and any grand finals, if applicable)

• An existing domestic top division (including the national top division, domestic cup and any grand finals, if applicable)

• A home-and-away competition format for the national top division

Three of the above four will not be possible in the 2025-2026 season as the competition must end on May 31 (as per AFC rules).

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As per AIFF’s ISL model of conference-based competition across centralized venues, the total number of matches played by a team would be 15, while the minimum requirement is 24.

Breakdown of ISL fixtures for AFC leagues (2-conference model for 14 teams):

• Competition phase = 84

• Knockouts = 4 (single-leg eliminators)

• Semi-finals = 2 (single-leg eliminators)

• Final = 1

• Matches played by the ISL Shield winner: 12+1+1+1=15

Apart from the teams playing in the IFA Shield or Durand Cup – the two are also invitation-only tournaments – other ISL teams would be at a disadvantage by default.

The clubs have asked whether India’s places in the AFC competitions will continue despite ISL clubs playing fewer matches.

The AIFF plans to request the AFC to consider retaining the two slots, citing extraordinary circumstances.

According to the regulations, the federation may submit its proposed methodology (competition format) for nominating its representative clubs in writing to the AFC by March 31.

Once submitted, Member Associations are only required to re-submit their proposed methodology for subsequent AFC Club Competition Sports Seasons if changes have been made to the methodology (in which case the above deadline will apply).”

What’s next for the league?

The AIFF will brief the clubs on the issues raised at Sunday’s meeting and the possible venues for this season will also be discussed.

Moreover, a physical meeting has been convened between the AIFF and the ISL clubs to discuss the previously proposed long-term vision of the league.

Operating costs, salary cap and long-term protection of investments in the league are all on the agenda.

Published on December 28, 2025