The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Saturday decided to approach the Sports Ministry to change its name to Football Federation of Bharat (FFB) after a proposal to this effect was accepted at the special general meeting here.
AIFF chairman Kalyan Chaubey said this PTI that the name change will only take place after permission from the Ministry of Sports. He said the national federation will also seek approval from the world governing body, FIFA.
«This proposal (for amendment) will be sent to the Sports Ministry. It is a process and the process has started today,» Chaubey said.
«If the ministry doesn’t approve it, or they have a different opinion, then there’s no question. If the ministry approves it, then we’ll take it to the general body. Then we’ll send it to FIFA. That’s the second part of this process.»
«We need several approvals, the approval of FIFA, the approval of the ministry, but then you have to start somewhere. So it is a start.» He cited examples of football associations from countries such as Turkiye (new name of Turkey) and Czech Republic (Czech Republic) for the move to change the name of AIFF.
ISL 2026-27 starts on September 4
The general body has also given approval to start the Indian Super League (ISL) 2026-2027 from September 4. The annual calendar of the AIFF was also adopted and the schedule of the ISL will be decided by the management committee.
The 2026-27 ISL is expected to last a full seven-month season, with home and away matches for the 14 participating teams.
Meanwhile, the AIFF again made no final decision on the structure of the ISL, leaving the matter to the management committee, consisting of five representatives from the fourteen clubs, three officials from the national federation and three from the commercial partners.
«The proposal comes from the clubs. And it is a proposal that needs to be discussed across the table. The clubs will have to be party to the discussion. That is why the AIFF will engage with the clubs.»
«The executive committee has the right to take it up. Then it will go to the executive committee for ratification.» On May 23, the AIFF had approved the passage of the National Sports Governance Act, 2025 in an earlier SGM. The AIFF Constitution will now be aligned with the NSGA 2025.
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Earlier this month, the AIFF agreed “in principle” to the club-led model to run the ISL for two years after a meeting with Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
London-based Genius Sports had emerged as the highest bidder for the ISL’s commercial rights after the AIFF floated the tender earlier this year. It had promised Rs 2,129 crore for ISL and cup competition for the next 15+5 years, including an increase of 5% per annum. That amounted to about Rs 64 crore per year.
Under the revenue sharing model under Genius Sports’ bid, the AIFF would receive Rs 12.4 crore in the first year. The AIFF also wanted to charge an entry fee to the clubs, a proposal that was not liked by the ISL clubs.
The clubs had opposed Genius Sports becoming the commercial rights holders.
Published on June 20, 2026
