After Sunil Chhetri-Led Public Campaign, Mandaviya Takes Big Call On ISL; Tournament To Resume On Feb 14

The Indian Super League 2025-26 season faced months of uncertainty due to multiple issues. From financial restructuring to the AIFF-FSDL spat and Star Sports exiting as the broadcaster, trouble clouded India's top-flight football league from all over.

As uncertainty surrounded the ISL, the footballers rallied for the resumption of the league, with the campaign led by stalwarts like Sunil Chhetri and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, among others. The Indian Super League finally has a date, with the kickoff all set to happen in the next month.

Let's take a deeper look at what had transpired, which led to the entire turmoil.

A Timeline Of Events Of How the ISL Landed In Turmoil

The initial chaos started in mid-2025 when changes were announced to the ISL 2026 season. The proposal involved scrapping the franchise fee model and implementing a participation fee of INR 1 crore, which would be reimbursed from the central revenue pool. The restructure raised alarm over sustainability and fairness among clubs.

The problem evolved in June 2025 when FSDL informed the AIFF and all the ISL clubs that the 2025-26 season was on hold due to contractual issues, right before the expiration of the Master Rights Agreement in December.

A dispute also arose over the promotion/relegation rules, with clubs expressing doubts over readiness. It was crucial to mandate the system to remain in accordance with the AFC's roadmap.

The drama escalated after Star Sports confirmed its exit as ISL's official broadcaster. Delays in finalising commercial partners also added problems due to the uncertainty.

The Supreme Court intervened in the matter and called for both parties to resolve the issues at hand and commence the 2025-26 season as soon as possible. While both parties promised to start the new season in December, the kickoff was further delayed after no bids were registered for a tender for commercial rights released by the AIFF.

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In late December, the AIFF-ISL coordination committee submitted a report to the AIFF Emergency Committee to review the feasibility and broadcaster arrangements. The committee had determined that the 2025-26 season will proceed despite uncertainty around commercial partners.

Participants of the Indian Super League (ISL) were heavily tested throughout the chaos, with clubs closing first-class operations and players exiting the team amid growing uncertainty. The City Football Group also exited India.

The Indian football players started a campaign, with Sunil Chhetri and other senior players appealing to FIFA to step up and resolve the crisis at hand and save Indian Football.

ISL Kickoff Date Officially Announced By Union Sports Minister

The All India Football Federation finally announced some good news on January 3, saying that the dates for the Indian Super League (ISL) will be announced next week.

"The AIFF Emergency Committee met today (January 3, 2026) to consider and acknowledge the report submitted by the AIFF-ISL Coordination Committee. The Coordination Committee was constituted on December 20, 2025, following the AIFF Executive Committee meeting and the subsequent AIFF Annual General Meeting," the AIFF wrote on 'X'.

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Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has officially announced the start of the ISL 2025-26, and all 14 clubs have committed to the upcoming season. The ISL will return on February 14, 2026, and 91 matches will be played between the 14 teams. For the I-League, 55 matches will be played between 11 teams.