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Twelve Indian Super League (ISL) clubs on Thursday urged the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to resolve the crisis in the domestic game without any further delay, saying that the current situation risks rendering their "ongoing operations untenable". The Marketing Rights Agreement (MRA) between the AIFF and its commercial partner Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) -- which organises ISL -- ends on December 8, and after that the top-tier league will be left without a commercial framework or operational certainty going forward. "While majority of the clubs have continued to honour salaries and contractual dues to players and staff in good faith, the current position is not merely challenging it is approaching commercial impossibility and risks rendering ongoing operations untenable," the clubs said in a letter to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey. The 12 ISL clubs are FC Goa, Sporting Club Delhi, NorthEast United FC, Jamshedpur FC, Bengaluru FC, Mohun Bagan Super Giant, ...
Reigning Indian Super League champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant on Saturday suspended all their football activities indefinitely a day after the AIFF failed to receive a single bid for ISL's commercial rights, and said they will review contracts of players and support staff next month. Late on Friday, the AIFF announced that it had not received any bid for the commercial rights of the already delayed ISL, leaving the future of the country's domestic football into disarray. "Our players were to assemble on Monday for the camp from next day. But now our camp has been suspended indefinitely till there is clarity on the Indian Super League, a Mohun Bagan official told PTI. "Now that the season is delayed with uncertainty on ISL, we will review all contracts next month. But we have not stopped anybody's salary, everyone is paid, the official added. The AIFF had floated the Request for Proposals on October 16 for a 15-year contract to monetise the league's commercial rights. The submissio
The national capital will have a new top-flight club of the country as Sporting Club Delhi was launched on Saturday after the rebranding of Indian Super League side Hyderabad FC. Last year, Jindal Football Private Limited, a part of BC Jindal Group, acquired Hyderabad FC from the earlier owners, and decided to shift base to Delhi from 2025-26 season. This marks the return of an ISL club in the national capital after the Delhi Dynamos, which featured in the inaugural edition of the top-tier league in 2014, shifted base to Bhubaneswar in 2019 and rechristened Odisha FC. Sporting Club Delhi will take the place of Hyderabad FC in the Super Cup in Goa beginning October 25. The fixtures have already been announced and the All India Football Federation is expected to replace Hyderabad FC by the new name of Sporting Club Delhi. The unveiling of Sporting Club Delhi marks the beginning of a new chapter for football in the Delhi NCR region and India. The club will represent inclusivity, ...
Indian club football appeared to be in complete crisis as Chennaiyin FC on Wednesday suspended its operations in view of the uncertainty surrounding the Indian Super League, days after Bengaluru FC and Odisha FC decided to stop paying salaries to their first-team players and staff. Chennaiyin's decision came a day before a crucial meeting between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) top brass and eight ISL clubs on Thursday. Chennaiyin FC is, however, unlikely to have a representation in the meeting as the club is not among the signatories calling for such a move. "In the light of the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of the ISL, Chennaiyin FC has taken the extremely difficult decision to temporarily pause club operations," the Chennai-based club said on its social media handle. "These are never easy decisions to make, and ours has come after much thoughtful consideration and careful deliberation. The challenges of being a stakeholder in Indian football are well ...
After stepping down as Indian men's football team head coach earlier this month, Spaniard Manolo Marquez on Friday re-joined FC Goa to helm the club for the 2025-26 season. FC Goa announced that Marquez has signed to continue as the head coach for the upcoming season, his third at the club. "No one forgets the Don and the Don never forgets home. Welcome Back Boss," FC Goa posted on their social media handle. I was very happy during the previous two seasons, where the team showed consistent improvement each year. The level of organisation that the club operates with is not commonly observed in Indian club football, making FC Goa a very special club, Marquez said of his return in a club statement. It was clear for me that if I were to continue in India, it had to be with FC Goa, he added. The Indian Super League, the country's top-tier competition is, however, on "hold" due to the uncertainty over the issue of the renewal of the Master Rights Agreement -- to expire on December 8 --
Punjab FC on Friday announced the extension of the contract of Leon Augustine ahead of the upcoming Indian Super League season. The versatile player will remain at the club until 2027. Leon's extension is in line with the club's intent to retain its core and continue building a competitive squad for the season with Leon expected to feature in head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis's side. The 26-year old Leon signed for The Shers in the 2023-24 season and will continue his journey with the club after some impressive performances last season, where he played in multiple positions across the field for the club. After making only four total appearances in his first season at the club, Leon made 20 appearances in the ISL last season, playing 1020 minutes and scoring once against Odisha FC. Speaking on the contract extensions of the players, head coach Panagiotis Dilimperis said, "Leon is a hardworking and versatile player who brings great value to our squad, both in attack and in defence.
Former captain and top striker Sunil Chhetri on Wednesday said the current state of "uncertainty" in Indian football is very concerning and the sport's ecosystem is "worried, hurt, and scared" by the top-tier ISL being put on hold indefinitely. Chhetri, who turns up for Bengaluru FC in the league, said he has been inundated with phone calls and messages expressing apprehensions about the future of the sport in the country. "It began with worrying about how I am on borrowed time with what I have left in the tank. But speaking with players from across clubs, I've realised that my selfish problem isn't as important," the 40-year-old Chhetri posted on X. "The current situation that Indian football finds itself in, is very concerning. I've received a flurry of texts from players, staff members, physios, masseurs - not just from my club, but from other clubs as well. "Everybody in the Indian football ecosystem is worried, hurt, scared about the uncertainty we are faced with," he added.
The Indian Super League on Friday announced that it has put the 2025-26 season "on hold" due to uncertainty surrounding the renewal of Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the event organisers and the All India Football Federation. The country's top-tier league normally runs from September to April, and the current MRA between Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), which organises the event, and the AIFF is scheduled to expire on December 8, 2025, by which the ISL would be into its third month. "In the absence of a confirmed contractual framework beyond December, we find ourselves unable to effectively plan, organise, or commercialise the 2025-26 ISL season. "Given this situation, we regret to inform you that we are currently not in a position to proceed with the 2025-26 ISL season and are placing it on hold until further clarity emerges on the contractual structure beyond end of current MRA term. "We assure you that this decision has not been taken lightly," FSDL said in a .
Mohun Bagan Super Giant on Saturday secured a memorable Indian Super League double, lifting the ISL Cup after beating Bengaluru FC 2-1 in a tense final here to add to the League Winners' Shield it had won earlier in the season. After a goal-less first half, Mohun Bagan's Alberto Rodrguez scored an own goal in the 49th minute to give Bengaluru FC the lead. Mohun Bagan striker Jason Cummings then struck from the penalty spot to restore parity in the 72nd minute. The match went into the extra time and Jamie Maclaren scored the decisive goal after six minutes (96th) to the wild celebrations of the vociferous Mohun Bagan supporters at the Salt Lake Stadium. Mohun Bagan thus became only the second team in the ISL history to clinch the League Winners' Shield as well as the ISL Cup in the same season, after Mumbai City did the same in the 2020-21. The top team in the points table after home and away league matches among the 13 participating clubs wins the League Winners' Shield. Mohun Baga
League winners Mohun Bagan will fancy their chances of completing a double notwithstanding the challenge staring at them in the form of a formidable Bengaluru FC side in the final of the ISL Cup here on Saturday. The match will be played at MBSG's fortress Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) with a packed stadium rooting for them, but BFC remain unperturbed as they head into what is expected to be a blockbuster clash. Mohun Bagan Super Giant coach Jose Molina spoke about not caring about what happened in the past, while BFC gaffer Gerard Zaragoza and captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu called Kolkata a second home. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Molina stressed on the importance of looking forward and not worrying about the past. "I don't care about what happened in the past. I am trying to do my best for Mohun Bagan Super Giant. We did well to win the League Shield and we are motivated to win the ISL Cup too. "I don't need extra motivation from the fact that we lost
The Indian Super League (ISL) on Saturday announced the dates for the 2024-25 playoffs with two-legged semifinals scheduled between April 2-6 and the final to be played on April 12. The league stage concluded on March 12. The Knockouts will be played on March 29 and 30, and the semifinals will be held on April 2, 3, 6 and 7. Mohun Bagan SG created history by clinching the League Shield for the second season in a row, becoming the first team in the competition to do so. Along with Mohun Bagan SG, FC Goa (2nd), Bengaluru FC (3rd), NorthEast United FC (4th), Jamshedpur FC (5th) and Mumbai City FC (6th) all confirmed their spots in the playoffs. In the playoffs, the teams ranked third to sixth will battle it out in two single-legged knockout matches to determine the opponents for Mohun Bagan SG and FC Goa, who made it directly to the semi-finals. The semi-finals will be played in a home and away format with the winners over the two legs playing the final on April 12 at the home of th
Hyderabad FC held Kerala Blasters FC to a 1-1 draw in the Indian Super League here on Wednesday. This was the last league-stage encounter of the season, as Kerala Blasters FC wrapped the campaign in eighth spot with 29 points, whereas Hyderabad FC finished in the penultimate place with 18 points. Kerala Blasters FC began the game on the front-foot, with Korou Singh and Mohammed Aimen interlinking to cause movements inside the Hyderabad FC box within the opening five minutes. Korou's cross was shot by Aimen but thwarted for a corner, from which the latter supplied a teasing delivery for Duan Lagator, which was headed in from close range into the bottom right corner in the seventh minute to secure the advantage for the visitors. Aimen and Adrian Luna joined hands around the 20th minute mark, with the latter serving a pass from well around 35 yards out. Aimen backed his instincts to go for a long-range effort and did well to land the shot on target, but Arshdeep Singh held his compos
Bengaluru FC secured qualification to the play-offs and ended Chennaiyin FC's race for the top six after a 1-0 win in their Indian Super League match here on Tuesday. Chennaiyin FC, who now have 24 points from 22 games, will not make the playoffs, whereas the Blues see themselves at the third spot courtesy 37 points as a result of this triumph. The Gerard Zaragoza-coached side held 57.1 per cent of the possession and were constantly in the hunt for goals, though their only strike of the night came through Rahul Bheke's emphatic finish inside the box in the first half. Prior to that, though, Chennaiyin FC had nearly cracked the code to carve open the Bengaluru FC defence in the ninth minute, with Jiteshwor Singh leading the move down the centre of the park before distributing the ball to the flanks to try and spot openings inside the home team's defensive third. The Marina Machans moved the ball slickly on the up from the right flank before Connor Shields glided in and hurled a cros
Mohun Bagan Super Giant on Sunday became the first team in Indian Super League (ISL) history to defend the title with a 1-0 win over Odisha FC here. By virtue of clinching the ISL Shield, MBSG also booked a berth in the AFC Champions League 2, the continent's second tier club competition. After the win in their 22nd league game, Mohun Bagan Super Giant secured 52 points and emerged Shield Winners with two matches to spare. Their nearest rivals, FC Goa, have collected 42 points from 21 matches, and they cannot catch MBSG even if they win all their remaining three matches. MBSG had won the 2023-24 season League Shield with 50 points.