ISL crisis: AIFF and FSDL to start discussions on Master Rights Agreement - Former issues statement

New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday said that it will "endeavour to arrive at mutually agreeable measures" with the Indian Super League (ISL) organisers to enable timely commencement of the event, having got the go-ahead from the Supreme Court to have discussions on the matter. A SC bench of two judges allowed the AIFF and ISL organisers FSDL to start discussions on the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) and try to find a solution so that the upcoming ISL season goes ahead. The next hearing is scheduled for August 28. "Pursuant to the proceedings in the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India this afternoon, the AIFF will enter into good faith negotiations with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) in respect of the Master Rights Agreement that is set to expire on December 8, 2025," AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey said in a statement. "The parties will endeavour to arrive at mutually agreeable measures to enable timely commencement of the 2025-26 football calendar so that the same may be presented for the consideration of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India at the next hearing, i.e., August 28, 2025," he added. The current crisis cropped up after FSDL, the ISL organisers as well as AIFF's commercial partner, put the 2025-26 season "on hold" on July 11 due to uncertainty over the renewal of Master Rights Agreement (MRA), prompting at least three clubs to either pause first-team operations or suspend player and staff salaries. The current MRA, signed in 2010 between FSDL and AIFF, expires on December 8, by which time the ISL would be into its third month in a normal season which runs from September to April. AIFF gets Rs 50 crore annually from FSDL under the MRA. Following an earlier directive from the Supreme Court, the AIFF has been asked not to negotiate new terms of the MRA with FSDL until a final judgment is delivered in the AIFF draft constitution case. On Thursday, 11 ISL clubs urged the two senior lawyers assisting the Supreme Court -- Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Samar Bansal -- to bring to its notice the existential crisis they are facing due to uncertainty over the ISL's future and the "urgency of pronouncing judgment at the earliest". "Given that football clubs (across entire pyramid), their players, employees, and stakeholders are the most directly and immediately affected by the current standstill in Indian football, we have no option but to approach your good selves, as officers of the Hon'ble Court, to humbly request that our concerns be placed before the Ld. Bench," the letter stated. "The urgency of pronouncing judgment at the earliest, given football calendar is at a standstill across pyramid; any consequential directions flowing from the judgment be directed to be completed in a time-bound (15-30 days), to restore certainty at the earliest," the clubs wrote. "In the event the present proceedings are to go on beyond August 22, 2025, the processes related to conducting the leagues and any ancillary operations may be allowed and expedited so that a long-term constructive solution for all parties may be obtained at the earliest," the clubs wrote, while mentioning that they are not parties to the case. The eleven ISL clubs which signed the letter are Bengaluru FC, Hyderabad FC, Odisha FC, Chennaiyin FC, Jamshedpur FC, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters FC, Punjab FC, NorthEast United FC, Mumbai City FC and Mohammedan Sporting. The same 11 clubs had earlier warned the AIFF that they face the possibility of shutting down entirely due to uncertainty over the ISL's future.