Al Nassr vs FC Goa: India’s only club in Asia this season struggles to find shirt sponsor amid ISL uncertainty

FC Goa will carry Indian football in Asia on its shoulders when they face Saudi Pro League giants Al Nassr in Riyadh on Wednesday.

With India ruled out of the 2027 Asian Cup race and Mohun Bagan Super Giant disqualified from the AFC Champions League Two (ACL 2), the Gaurs stand as a beacon of hope in the waning light of the men’s game in the country.

«To go and play there, the players will experience first-class facilities, atmosphere and opponents. I am not saying we are going there to play a game as an academic gesture. We do want to be competitive; the idea is to show that we can do it even in alien conditions,» says Ravi Puskur, the CEO of FC Goa. Sports stars.

«It’s up to us to go and test ourselves there and try to put in a good performance that people can be proud of and say they are happy that FC Goa is representing our country at the continental level,» he added.

But the uncertainty for the side – a defending Super Cup champions – will be the absence of a shirt sponsor in such an important match.

“Since the Super Cup ended last season, we have approached almost 700 brands, and most of them have looked the other way in the sense that they do not see the long-term aspects of the competition as clearly,” laments Puskur.

Goa has played six home matches this season, with each match costing around INR 45 lakh, taking the cost to INR 2.7 Cr. In such a case, a shirt sponsor, which Goa would typically collect around INR 1.6 Cr. per season in the past could have helped save some revenue.

«Every sponsor looks at you and says, ‘Great, we like the fact that FC Goa is playing in the Champions League, was competitive in the Super Cup and built a good team, but what after the Super Cup?’

«I think this is generally the case for most teams. Unfortunately, we are not able to set a clear platform for them because we do not have that clarity ourselves, as we do not have a league match after December 24 (against FC Istiklol),» Puskur added.

The 2025-26 season of Indian men’s football has been mired in uncertainty, with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) failing to agree on a new Master Rights Agreement (MRA) to host the Indian Super League (ISL).

Following the Supreme Court’s order on the matter, along with the Articles of Association of AIFF, the Federation has invited bids for the league’s commercial partner before November 5. That deadline has now been extended to November 7.

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But it has not yet been answered when the competition could start.

«For the players to train, there has to be something to look forward to. Many players go to the league (ACL 2) because they have played the best part of, well, three matches in the Super Cup last week. But then they have played four competitive matches in the four months,» says Puskur.

«I think playing an average of one match (per month) is extremely difficult. Essentially we’ve done three pre-seasons waiting for things to kick off and so on. So up to a point even that creates a breaking point,» he adds.

The uncertainty of the ISL and unsustainable finances of Indian football have disrupted the sporting ecosystem over the past five years.

Clubs like Odisha – the 2023 Super Cup champions – suspended operations, while some sides became journeymen like Hyderabad FC – the 2022 ISL champions – which was previously based in Pune and has now been reborn as Sporting Club Delhi.

«We’re hoping for a resolution in the next few weeks, actually, I’d rather say the next few days, something like that. Because otherwise we’re all staring into the future about what to do next,» Puskur says.

Goa have three matches remaining in ACL 2, including the Al Nassr clash, with an away match in Baghdad (against Al Zawraa) followed by a home match against FC Istiklol. The semi-final of the AIFF Super Cup is scheduled before the trip to Iraq.

Published on November 4, 2025