As there is still no clarity on the Indian Super League (ISL), the Indian football season will start on Saturday with the AIFF (All India Football Federation) Super Cup in Goa.
Kerala Blasters, after skipping the Durand Cup, will start its Super Cup campaign against Rajasthan United, and its CEO, Abhik Chatterjee, believes that the team starting the tournament with a full squad of six foreigners reflects the intention to deliver an impressive performance.
“The (new season of the) ISL is yet to be announced and we don’t know when it will start, but we want to give ourselves the best possible chance (of winning) in the Super Cup,” Abhik said. Sports stars here Thursday.
«We have a lot of confidence in the AIFF roadmap, but the lack of clarity is a bit frustrating. From a sponsorship point of view, it is important to know the dates of the ISL. It is the biggest property they want to invest in. Not just us, many clubs do not know what to budget for this season.»
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Abhik – involved with ISL since its inception – has worked with Odisha FC and NorthEast United FC and welcomed the salary cap recommended in AIFF’s Request for Proposal (RFP).
“I really believe it’s a time for introspection,” he said. “Do you want to be in a situation where you blindly spend money every year? Or do you want to be in a situation where you create your own players, reducing your dependence on buying players from outside, making smart investments and refusing to overpay?”
However, he remains unsure about the promotion-relegation model in the ISL.
«From a football purist point of view, you should have promotion and relegation without a doubt. But what is happening in the ISL at the moment is that clubs have lost so much money and we have reached a point where we don’t know what the future is,» he said.
“So clubs are now asking for promotion and relegation, the majority of them, but only after they have had some time to stabilize in the new environment.”
Published on October 23, 2025