Facing criticism for its sudden U-turn, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) issued a defense of its handling of the Indian Super League (ISL) crisis on Monday. The governing body stated that its actions were based on legal advice, which suggested that the Supreme Court be addressed first on the National Sports Governance Bill before shifting attention to the ISL dispute.
Earlier, the AIFF declared it would press the ISL matter before the Supreme Court at 10:30 am on Monday. By evening, that assurance was retracted, leaving stakeholders baffled. Clarity only returned when Amicus Curiae Gopal Sankaranarayanan, supported by Samar Bansal, confirmed the ISL issue would indeed reach the court’s attention.
“Based on advice received that the National Sports Governance Bill 2025 had passed both the houses of Parliament, the AIFF’s Senior Counsel advised during a briefing meeting on Sunday late evening that this is the first aspect that needs to be brought to the attention of the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” the federation said in its statement.
That clarification was followed by another—AIFF claimed it was still weighing when to officially raise the ISL matter, but the Amicus Curiae had already moved ahead. By Monday, the case was mentioned before the bench.
In its statement, AIFF stressed the broader stakes of the dispute. “The AIFF intends to use this opportunity to represent to the Hon’ble Supreme Court the urgent need for commercial continuity and to determine the future structure of its top-tier league, in the interests of players, clubs and other parties, all of whose livelihoods are at stake due to the current impasse,” it read.
At the root of the chaos is the non-renewal of the Master’s Rights Agreement (MRA) between ISL organizers, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), and the federation. With the 2025-26 ISL season “put on hold” since July 11, there’s no calendar, no fixtures, and no guarantee of when—or if—the season kicks off.
The standoff has already hit home. Eleven clubs have jointly warned that without clarity, they “face the real possibility of shutting down entirely.” Some have halted first-team operations, others have frozen salaries, and hundreds of Indian and foreign players are staring at uncertain futures.
