ISL 2025-26 season formally on hold; FSDL informs clubs and AIFF
Uncertainty already loomed large over the staging of Indian Super League 2025-26. It happened formally on Friday as Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the owner ISL and commercial partner of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sent an email to the ISL clubs stating that due to uncertainty over the renewal of MRA the ISL is being kept on hold. Following a directive from the Supreme Court of India, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) have been asked not to negotiate new terms of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with FSDL until a final judgment is delivered in the AIFF draft constitution case. Seven ISL clubs — FC Goa, Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, Odisha FC, Kerala Blasters, Mumbai City, and Hyderabad FC/FC Delhi — have postponed their pre-season preparations and withdrawn from the forthcoming Durand Cup. Their decision stems from concerns over potential financial losses if the ISL 2025–26 season fails to begin on schedule. The MRA, signed in 2010 for a 15-year term, is due to expire on 8th December 2025. The agreement includes a ₹50 crore annual guarantee from FSDL to the AIFF, a critical sum supporting the federation’s daily operations and football development initiatives. The Supreme Court’s directive has stalled any forward movement on renewing or restructuring this agreement until after the court’s summer recess, which ends on 14 July 2025. It is however believed that many clubs wanted to use force majeure to suspend or terminate contracts with the players and staff, which they could not do without official communication from AIFF or FSDL. The FSDL email to the clubs has stated, ‘As you are aware, the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between FSDL and AIFF is scheduled to expire on 8th December 2025 – approximately one-third of the way through a typical ISL season, which runs from September to April. Renewable discussion remains inconclusive at this time. 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 the end of the current MRA term,” the email further added.
First One-Million Pound transfer in women’s football! Arsenal’s move for Liverpool’s Olivia Smith set to create history
According to The Guardian, Arsenal have agreed to the first-ever £1 million transfer in women’s football after Liverpool approved a record-breaking offer for Canada forward Olivia Smith. The 20-year-old will thus become the first female player in history to touch the £1 million mark. The same feat was attained in men’s football in 1979 when Trevor Francis moved from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest. Sources claim that the amount agreed upon by Arsenal and the Reds is more than the 1.1 million US dollars Chelsea paid in January to recruit American centre-back Naomi Girma, who at the time established a new women’s world record. In her first season in the English game, Smith scored seven goals in 20 Women’s Super League games for the Reds, who placed seventh in the WSL last season. She was responsible for just under one-third of the team’s league goals during the season. The youthful forward, who is capable of playing both as a winger and central striker, joined the Reds from Portuguese club Sporting CP in July 2024 for a club-record fee estimated to be slightly over 200,000 Pounds. She is believed to have several years left on her contract, but the Gunners are willing to pay a substantial amount to acquire her services. According to reports, Liverpool first turned down many offers from other teams for Smith because they were judged unsatisfactory. However, thanks to the deal with the north London club, the Merseyside team will now get five times the amount they paid for Smith just a year ago.
Football-wealthy Italy on the verge of qualifying for the T-20 World Cup!
Italy, a country famous for producing legendary footballers, may have failed to qualify for the last two editions of the Fifa World Cup, but the Azzurri are now on the cusp of making cricket history. The Italian minnows are just one win away from punching their ticket to the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka following their 12-run win over Scotland on Wednesday in the European qualifying tournament. All they need now is a win over the Netherlands on Friday in their final qualifying game to earn a historic berth at a cricket World Cup. Even a narrow defeat to the Dutch could be enough for them to qualify for the global T20 showpiece, thanks to their superior net run rate in the qualifying tournament. Outside of the full-member ICC nations from Europe, only the Netherlands and Scotland have qualified for the cricket World Cups in the past. If the Italian team manage to hold their nerve in the final qualifying game on Friday, it will be a historic moment for the International Cricket Council (ICC), which made considerable investments in developing the sport at the grassroots level across the world. Leading the Italian bid for a World Cup berth is Joe Burns, a former Australian batsman who scored four hundreds in 23 Test matches. Last year, Burns, whose grandparents were Italian, decided to move to Italy. After becoming eligible to play for Italy, the elegant opening batsman was named the captain of the team. His experience and leadership skills have now kept the great Italian cricket dream alive. The 35-year-old believes earning a spot in the T20 World Cup will be a groundbreaking moment for a country that still doesn’t have proper turf wickets. “It’s not lost on us the magnitude of the impact we can have on Italian cricket. We talk a lot as a team about creating a legacy for the generations to come after us,” Burns told the BBC. “To wear the Italian cap at the World Cup would make us a groundbreaking team. And we think we’ve got the team to get there.” Burns’ maternal grandparents left Italy for Australia following the First World War. But Italy always remained close to his heart, even as he made rapid strides as a cricketer in Australia. “I often reflect on the bravery and commitment it must have taken my grandparents when they left Italy to start a new life in Australia,” he said. “They found a way to make it work through adversity, and this has always given me solace through life’s lessons. “Now I’m so proud to represent Italy on our path to the 2026 World Cup.” On Friday, Burns will hope to lead from the front and pay the perfect tribute to his late brother, an amateur cricketer who died in 2023, by taking Italy to the World Cup.
Wiaan Mulder reveals Brian Lara’s conversation after declaring on an unbeaten 367
Despite a blockbuster debut as South Africa Test captain, Wiaan Mulder completed a thumping victory against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo with perhaps as many questions and plaudits after declaring the innings while batting on a mammoth 367 not out in the first innings. Anticipation was building towards a potential world record-breaking moment post Lunch on Day 2 as Mulder stood only 34 runs away from surpassing Brian Lara’s unbeaten 400, still the only quadruple Test century, against England in 2004. Several former cricketers and experts lamented Mulder’s decision to declare the innings before the resumption of play, as South Africa eventually went on to complete a comfortable innings and 236-run victory within three days. The 27-year-old Mulder later revealed that Lara had told him he should have taken the chance to shoot for the summit. “Now that things have settled a little bit, I have chatted a little bit to Brian Lara…He said to me I’m creating my legacy, and I should have gone for it. He said records are there to be broken and he wishes that if I’m ever in that position again, I actually go and score more than what he had,” Mulder told SuperSport. Talking about his decision to declare on 367, Mulder had said that he had committed to it out of respect for Lara’s stature in the game. “Firstly, I thought we had enough and we needed to bowl. Secondly, Brian Lara is a legend. For someone of that stature to keep that record is deserved. If I get the chance to do it again, I’d do it exactly the same way,” Mulder had said in a post-match interaction.
