ISL clubs unlikely to confirm before AIFF’s 24-hr deadline | Goa News
Panaji: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has given clubs 24 hours to confirm their participation and the preferred format for this season’s Indian Super League (ISL).The AIFF’s three-member ISL coordination committee has had five meetings with clubs since last week but there is no confirmation on either the format or whether all 14 of them will take part when the league kicks off next month. At least officially, Jamshedpur FC is the only club who have maintained they will take part in any league announced by the federation “in the interest of Indian football,” while Odisha FC remain doubtful due to additional cost.“AIFF is required to submit the outcome of these meetings to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports before Jan 2. Further, the Supreme Court is scheduled to resume after vacation on Jan 5, and all stakeholders may be required to file relevant documents in accordance with legal advice,” AIFF’s deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan wrote in a letter to club CEOs on Wednesday.The federation has given clubs time till Jan 1 to “confirm participation and the proposed competition format, enabling AIFF to formally communicate with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), including the actual number of matches to be played in the tournament for the 2025-26 season.”According to sources, the clubs will respond to AIFF before Thursday’s deadline but at least eight of them will seek additional details pertaining to finances, before a decision is made. Without a commercial partner, the top-tier clubs are not yet ready to share added financial burden of organisation, production and broadcast.“Why should the clubs pay for everything,” asked one official. “The AIFF owns the league but has not yet committed to any financial contribution. The clubs should not solely shoulder the responsibility, particularly at a time when we will not have central revenue share and even sponsorships.”For India to earn a continental spot, all clubs must play a minimum of 24 league matches in a season. There’s no time now for a full-fledged league since player contracts, and the season, officially ends May 31.The clubs had two extensive meetings on Wednesday. There was some unanimity that the most cost-effective format would be single leg at a centralised venue, possibly Goa, where each team will play 12 matches for a total of 78, the least since India transitioned from a tournament to league in 1996-97.“Home and away (format) has been ruled out because most clubs don’t have their home venues ready and will have to spend big sums to get it in shape, and spectator friendly,” said another official.According to estimates prepared by the clubs, if the league is played in a centralised single-leg format, each of them will have to pay approx. Rs 4.5 crore towards organisational expenses, besides boarding, lodging and transport for 90 days.
