ISL stares at uncertain future as AIFF-FSDL agreement ends

A timeline of the AIFF-FSDL saga that has left Indian Super League's future in the doldrums

- Dhiman Sarkar

The agreement between All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner ended at midnight on Monday. The absence of a new deal has made the 2025-26 Indian Super League (ISL) season uncertain and is a huge blow to AIFF's finances, which in turn will affect how it conducts competitions. A timeline on the crisis:

How did it begin?

On December 9, 2010, AIFF signed IMG Reliance as its commercial partner for 15 years in a deal approximately worth ₹700 crore. “It's time football generated this kind of money,” Kushal Das, then AIFF general secretary, had told HT. The deal included all AIFF properties. The agreement, IMG had said in its website, promised to “radically restructure, overhaul, improve, popularize and promote the game of football throughout India...” Included in the deal was the right to start a league.

Was AIFF paid the entire amount at one go?

No. For the first two years, AIFF got approximately ₹31 crore per year. From 2012 to 2015, the amount was increased to nearly ₹38 crore. From 2016 to 2025, it was ₹50 crore annually. In 2010, IMG Reliance also paid ₹70 crore to buy out AIFF's agreement with its previous commercial partner.

Why was the end of the agreement not timed with the end of the football season?

It is a question that has returned to haunt AIFF. The office-bearers have changed but it needs to be highlighted that at no point since the start of the National Football League in 1996-97 has the season ended by December 8. Had the agreement been till the end of 2025-26, ISL would not have been paused like it is now.

How did the two-month tournament become India's main league?