Defending champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant will kick off the long-delayed 2025-26 Indian Super League (ISL) season when it hosts three-time runners-up Kerala Blasters at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday hgtgdfgdtr12.
The new edition – delayed by almost four months – finally starts in a shortened format with 14 teams.
With little time left in the football calendar, the organizer, the All India Football Federation (AIFF), has opted for a single round-robin format, dropping the second leg and the traditional play-off phase. The team that finishes at the top of the rankings after one round of play (over a three-month competition) will be crowned champion.
MBSG goes into the match as favorites as it has the core of last year’s winning squad intact, while KBFC will be missing Koldo Obieta, Dusan Lagator, Juan Rodríguez, Adrian Luna (on loan) and Noah Sadaoui (on loan) from the squad that featured in the previous edition.
Ahead of the match, KBFC head coach David Catala admitted that his side will face the “best team in the league” in the opener. «They have so many good players and we are very excited to come here and play the opening match. It is true that they are the defending champions and the best team in the country, but in football anything is possible and you never know what will happen. We are focused on tomorrow’s match and we will try to get all three points,» he said.
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Meanwhile, his counterpart, Sergio Lobera, expressed his enthusiasm to play in front of the home support. «We are excited to start the season because we have been waiting for this moment for a long time. It will be a difficult season for everyone, but ultimately this is the time to find solutions and not make excuses,» he said.
The Mariners’ foreign defense duo of Scot Tom Aldred and Spaniard Alberto Rodríguez, and forwards such as Australian Dimitri Petratos and Jason Cummings, have a much more settled look than the Blasters’ new signings such as Guinean defender Oumar Bah or German midfielder Marlon Roos-Trujillo or even French striker Kevin Yoke, all of whom will be playing their first competitive match in the country.
Meanwhile, newly promoted Inter Kashi FC will travel to Goa to play FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda later today.
FCG, who have had some match practice this season and played in the AFC Champions League Two, will look to start the season with a win against Antonio Habas-led Inter Kashi, who were promoted after being crowned 2024-2025 I-League champions.
During the pre-match press conference, Inter Kashi head coach Antonio Habas said: «It is very important to create your first impression. We have to do very well in our first ISL season. We have to take many steps in the right direction, but the first step is to create an impression for everyone.»
On the other hand, FCG coach Manolo Marquez stressed the importance of not taking the opposition lightly. «Inter Kashi is a very good team with a very experienced coach, someone who, I think, has won everything in India. If we want to win, we will have to be focused and we will need not only the eleven players, but also the whole squad,» he said.
Published on February 13, 2026
