ISL clubs urge amendment to AIFF constitution before holding talks on jointly organizing the competition

All Indian Super League (ISL) clubs, except East Bengal, have replied to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), explaining that talks on hosting the league would be futile if the constitutional restrictions are not resolved at the earliest.

The letter, sent on Thursday, comes a day after AIFF Deputy General Secretary M. Satyanarayan wrote to the clubs seeking a call to explore the possibility of jointly organizing the competition. The answer is: ‘shifts responsibility to the clubs, while at the same time citing constitutional restrictions as justification for the federation’s inaction’.

The sections for which the clubs are seeking amendments are Articles 1.21, 1.54 and 63 of the AIFF Constitution, as stated in their December 5 letter.

Article 1.21 describes the financial year between April 1 and March 31, but since the ISL has not yet been scheduled, a commercial partner will have to be free to enter into a contract that deviates from the window proposed by the AIFF.

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The other two articles concern the power to authorize the ownership of the league and its entities, both of which belong entirely to the AIFF.

«The clubs remain open and committed to working with the AIFF on a club-led model, in line with global best practices. However, to make such a model financially and operationally viable, the clubs must have commercial flexibility – including the ability to attract sponsors, investors and long-term partners,» said the letter, written by Mohun Bagan Super Giant Managing Director Vinay Chopra, on behalf of all clubs.

«This will not be possible until the commercially restrictive clauses in the AIFF Constitution are amended or removed. Without this change, a sustainable competition structure cannot be built, regardless of good intentions.»

The clubs have given the federation two options:

The AIFF should either expressly support the removal of commercially restrictive clauses in the Constitution or implement these changes itself at the upcoming General Assembly on December 20, 2025. After that, the federation, together with the support of the government and the clubs, will transparently identify a suitable commercial partner.

If the AIFF institutionally prefers it and the above process fails, the AIFF may (after removing the constitutional barriers) transfer the long-term rights of the competition to the clubs, which will be fully prepared – in accordance with best practices worldwide – to operate, commercialize and develop the competition alone or jointly, including by attracting sponsors, broadcasters, commercial partners and strategic investors.

“We are ready to attend a meeting at the earliest, but such a meeting must have a clear, pre-distributed agenda, focused on making constructive, time-bound decisions – and not on repeating restrictions that have been known for months,” the clubs wrote.

It is understood that the Federation has forwarded the clubs’ earlier letter (sent on December 5) to the Ministry of Sports.

Published on December 11, 2025