What is the news?
There is relief news for Indian football players and fans. India’s prestigious football tournament Indian Super League (ISL) will now start from February 14. Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya himself has announced this. All 14 football clubs will participate in this tournament. With this, the uncertainty that had been going on for several months regarding organizing the country’s top level football competition has also come to an end.
What statement did Mandaviya give?
Sports Minister Mandaviya said, “There was a lot of speculation about ISL, but today a meeting of the government, All India Football Federation (AIFF) and all 14 clubs was held and we have decided that ISL will start from February 14. All the clubs will participate in it.” Along with this he also said that traditional rivals Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will also be a part of this season. This is happy news for football fans.
AIFF President gave information about organizing ISL
Regarding the structure and financing of the competitions, AIFF President Kalyan Choubey, who was present in the meeting, said that 91 matches will be played in ISL on domestic and foreign basis and the planning related to the arrangements is still going on. He said the I-League, which was similarly postponed, will be held around the same time as the ISL, with all 11 clubs participating. The I-League season will be slightly shorter than before and will consist of 55 matches.
No commercial partner found yet – Choubey
Choubey said, “A central fund of Rs 25 crore has been created to organize the ISL. 10 percent of this fund will come from AIFF. 30 percent was to come from a commercial partner, but right now we do not have any partner. So AIFF will contribute this amount.” “Overall the AIFF will contribute Rs 14 crore for the tournament and Rs 3.2 crore for the I-League until we find a commercial partner,” he said.
Governing Council Board will be formed
“A Governing Council board will be formed to oversee both tournaments in future, which will be empowered to take all business decisions. This move will provide greater administrative and financial stability to Indian football,” Choubey said. Let us tell you that Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mohammedan FC, Kerala Blasters, FC Goa, Mumbai City FC, Chennaiyin FC, FC Delhi, Bengaluru FC, NorthEast United FC, Jamshedpur FC, Odisha FC and Inter Kashi Club will participate in ISL.
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Football players had appealed to the government and FIFA
Earlier on January 2, Indian football players had appealed for help from the government and the International Association Football Federation (FIFA) to save football in the country. In a video shared by Indian football team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the ISL players had highlighted the magnitude of the crisis facing football in the country and the failure of the AIFF. After that, now the government has taken an important decision regarding organizing the tournament.
Why did the players have to release the video?
Actually, after the start of 2026, there was no concrete news whether the current season of ISL would take place or not. As per the previously scheduled schedule, the ISL was to start in September 2025, but the AIFF was unable to find a commercial partner for the league. The big thing is that even after AIFF floated the tender, no partner showed interest in it. Due to this, the future of Indian football players seemed to be in danger.
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