The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Sunday floated a tender for the commercial partner of the 2025-26 season of the Indian Super League (ISL).
The Request for Proposal (RFP), a 39-page document, outlines the criteria for potential bidders and the dates on which their bids will be reviewed.
The tender comes barely a month before the start of the competition, which will be played in a truncated single-leg home-and-away format from February 14. The Federation has scheduled a pre-bid meeting for potential bidders on January 23, while written explanations can be sent to the AIFF until January 27.
The last date for submitting bids is February 1 (5:00 PM IST), and interested partners will have to submit a deposit of Rs. 5 lakh with their offer.
Selection process and criteria
Bidders must be a broadcaster or internet operator with at least three years of experience and have a net worth of at least Rs. 10 crore in the last financial year (2024-25). In addition, they must have a minimum average annual turnover of Rs. 10 crore over the last three completed financial years (2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25).
If the bidder is a consortium, it can consist of up to three members and bid as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). One of the members will act as a nominated ‘Lead member’, who will have an equity share of at least 51 percent of the paid-up and issued assets of the SPV.
Potential bids consist of two parts: technical (70 percent weighting) and financial (30 percent weighting). Bidders are ranked by score as follows: (0.7 x technical score) + (0.3 x financial score).
The bidder with the highest score will be selected for the coming season.
Not the first time
This is the second tender in six months issued by the AIFF for ISL’s commercial partner.
AIFF’s Master Rights Agreement with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), where the league started in 2014, expired on December 8, 2025.
However, no further deal could be struck between the AIFF and FSDL after that, with the former issuing a new RFP in September – one that ultimately failed to attract any bids, despite broadcasters/OTT operators like FanCode And Viacom18 (Reliance) initially showing interest.
Consequently, the uncertainty surrounding ISL lasted for months until Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that the competition would take place next month.
Moreover, the AIFF has already proposed a 20-year plan for the future, starting with the 2026-2027 season, under which the clubs will have a 60 percent share of the revenue, the Federation 10 percent and the commercial partner 30 percent.
Of these thirty, four percent is reserved by the federation and transferred to the partner for Rs. 12 crore per season or four percent of the previous season’s net league revenue, whichever is higher.
Published on January 18, 2026
