Would like to be involved with Indian football at any opportunity: Yannick Colaco, co-founder of FanCode

The 2025-26 Indian Super League (ISL) season will begin on February 14 with Mohun Bagan Super Giant taking on Kerala Blasters in Kolkata.

But the start of the competition has led to a change of ownership, a delay of several months and the temporary closure of several clubs, all of which will now play in the ISL.

The baton has also been passed on on the media side. JioStar And Viacom have moved on, with FanCode owns the rights to this season. In an exclusive conversation with Sports starsYannick Colaco, FanCode‘, the co-founder of his company explains why his company chose the deal and their expectations and plans for the coming season.

Question: The first RFP (Request for Proposal) for ISL’s commercial rights – over 15 years – had received no bidders. The second RFP, just for this season, received many bids, but FanCode succeeded in obtaining the media rights. What was the idea behind such a move?

A: Since we started FanCodeour focus has always been to build this platform for sports fans across the country. We are all sports fans first, and then we become sports businessmen.

I think one of the things we’ve seen is that football is clearly number two behind cricket in terms of fandom and passion from sports fans across the country. And there is no bigger football property in India in terms of quality than the ISL.

It is an important part of Indian football and not having the ISL (this season) would have been very detrimental to the sport in the country. So while the window wasn’t perfect, we felt it was one of the reasons we built this platform.

Tell us how FanCode started the process to acquire the rights.

I have been following the ISL since its inception, and when the league was postponed, we spoke to the AIFF (All India Football Federation) and various stakeholders to say, ‘Hey, is there anything we can do to help?’ ysdj9.

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We even participated in the meeting that the AIFF organized with the Minister of Sports to discuss the issue, and we gave our feedback and suggestions, as well as an offer to help.

So when the AIFF initiated this transparent media rights process, even if it was only for one year, we thought, ‘This was something that was right in line with what we were sacrificing our hands for.’

FanCode does not have a TV channel. When and where can fans watch the ISL on TV?

We are a digital company and we are very focused on that; that is our strength. I actually think that out of a hundred and fifty million ISL fans… a large number of them are also moving to digital, if they haven’t already. But I think the AIFF, the clubs and some sponsors said it was important for us to have a TV/broadcast partner.

That’s why we’ve started the right process, and we’re excited to work with it Sony Sports Network for the ISL broadcast. It’s part of our commitment to ensure the widest possible distribution for ISL.

You mentioned that the ISL had around 150 million viewers last season. Do FanCode plan to continue working on fan engagement programs, and how?

Our approach is very different from that of a traditional broadcaster. Obviously, we still have a small window of time before the ISL starts.

But in the first three days after we got the ISL rights, we decided to talk to each club and understand how they were activating their fan clubs and communities, because that is the most important part of fan engagement.

We met with each club individually to gain insights, and there were many differences. Fans of clubs like East Bengal were different from those of Mumbai City FC.

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Once we had all that information, we decided that we would be much more liberal in distributing content to clubs and social media, unlike in the past. We believe that using great content to build positive stories around Indian football ultimately benefits everyone, including us, because we are part of the stakeholders.

The other thing we also do is how you present content. Unlike the old traditional ways of sitting in a studio and talking about the content, we are actually working on how to tell the story of rabid fans. So we started this program called VoxUp, where each team will nominate one superfan, who will be the designated content creator for that team.

They go on the team bus, travel with the team for training and we help and train them. Again, a digital-first approach, and we will use that content. We will amplify it so that everyone can actually see the team they follow through the eyes of a fan.

The other thing we’ve created is the ability for consumers to choose the type of package they want to view and pay for. The problem is not affordability. The problem is choice.

What perspectives do you see as an entrepreneur, and as a sports fan, from this season?

Despite all the challenges, there are two major opportunities.

Firstly, an opportunity for all stakeholders to think that adversity often brings out the best in people. I hope they will put their best foot forward and bring a great product to market.

Secondly, many young Indian players will get an opportunity to play in the ISL and get a lot of game time – a platform to showcase their skills – and I am hopeful that they will become stars in this league.

We would like to be involved with Indian football at every opportunity. We strive for long-term partnerships; It is clear that the economics will have to make sense.

Published on February 14, 2026