The Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) has presented a potential plan for organizing the Premier Division of India – the Indian Super League (ISL) – to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), even if their Master Rights Agreement (MRA) comes to an end this year.
The MRA, signed in 2010 between the AIFF and the FSDL (the body that runs the ISL), obliged that the latter would provide the Federation annually to the Federation in exchange for temporary employment and management rights for Indian football, including the national teams.
With the agreement that ends in December 2025 and no renewal confirmed, the future of ISL and the commercialization of the coverage of the national teams remains uncertain.
With the Supreme Court of India, which decided on the AIFF Constitution on July 18, the negotiations about the future of the League would be the following way of acting. This is where the FSDL has devised a potential plan for the League in the future.
Sent in a concept to the Aiff, which Sports star has seen, it has suggested that a new holding company is being set up, called ‘Isl Newco JV’, where the clubs will be the majority shareholders. This company will ‘rule, exploit, commercialize and finance’.
What will the new company do?
‘ILL Newco JV’ will finance and manage all central costs of the competition and, moreover, all central assets and income flows for the competition and the national teams.
The equity of the company will be as follows: AIFF (14 percent), ISL participating clubs (60 percent, equal to all clubs) and FSDL (26 percent). The FSDL will retain veto rights with regard to ‘certain important matters’.
However, one of the most important mandates in the proposal is a 10-year moratorium about promotion/relegation from ISL to lower levels.
Promotion/relegation policies in the design
At least a 10-year moratorium on promotion/degradation from ISL to lower levels, and not to complete coordination of lower levels according to the new route map, prior to the parties.
No club to be promoted to ISL, unless it (i) meets strict financial and license criteria and (ii) has been in existence for at least five years under the same property that meets the fitness test.
«ILL is limited to the current number of teams for at least five years,» mentions the design further, and adds: «No expansion through promotion of lower levels, unless explicitly voted by all stakeholders.»
The design places the AIFF in a tight place. Although promotion and relegation are not mandatory conditions for a top class in Asia, the Asian football confederation strongly recommends the implementation.
The executive committee of the Federation had agreed to implement the promotion agency model from the 2024-25 season, according to recommendations from the AFC. Accordingly, Punjab FC and Mohammedan Sporting became the first two teams that were promoted to the ISL.
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However, accepting the design would force the AIFF to leave this path, against his earlier commitment to the AFC.
Moreover, the current I-League champion, who could be Churchill Brothers or Inter Kashi, would also miss a promotional place, depending on the court of arbitration of the judgment of the sport.
What happens to the current agreement?
The design suggests that the current MRA, who runs in December, will be defined. Instead, the AIFF, who received Inr 50 Crore annually, according to the previous deal, will finance losses or collect dividends in relation to their equity, which also earn income from the future expansion of the competition.
The AIFF will retain full income of non-ISL competitions and non-national team competitions.
Moreover, the Federation will have to acknowledge that the new company – ISL Newco JV – is the rights holder for the best National League and National League and national team competitions.
The design also suggests that the structure will meet the new draft constitution of the AIFF, which requires the body to play a direct role in the administration of the best national competitions. ‘
The design has cited examples of top competitions in Asia and all over the world, such as the Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain) and J-League (Japan), to show how independent private organizations have led successful domestic competitions.
