"Tremendous Sacrifice From All Clubs...": Bengaluru FC Owner Parth Jindal Breaks Silence, Urges Players To Safeguard ISL Clubs

After much delay, the Indian Super League is all set to kick off on February 14, Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya confirmed on Tuesday. After a prolonged delay, India's premier football league is all set to return with a truncated schedule.

Bengaluru FC Owner Parth Jindal Breaks Silence

With no commercial partner onboard, the All India Football Federation will conduct the ISL on its own, with the clubs also contributing in the process. All 14 clubs came on board and the detailed fixture for the single round robin format tournament is expected to be released in a few days. After a few months of inactivity, Indian football will see some kind of action, as uncertainty had forced the clubs to take some drastic action.

Speaking on this issue, Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal urged the players to make some sacrifice in order to safeguard the interest of the ISL clubs.

He posted on X, "Tremendous sacrifice from all clubs is being asked for to play the ISL in its current format. Repercussions if we don’t have a league are very worrying. Would like to take this opportunity to thank the honourable sports minister for his intervention and his proposal. Truly hope the players understand the additional financial burden on the clubs and agree to also sacrifice as we are all in this together. We are in this for the love of football and to see our country play the beautiful game and be good at it @bengalurufc
"Football has been a loss making proposition for all since i can remember - this years numbers without the players helping out will force many to shut shop for good."

ISL 2025-26 Will Be Conducted In Truncated Manner

The expiry of the Master Rights Agreement put all the clubs and AIFF in a spot of bother, and as things stand, AIFF will have to move forward without a commercial partner. The delay of the ISL has taken a toll on the clubs, and several clubs have willingly and unwillingly parted ways with overseas players. A franchise fee of INR 1 crore for the club has also been mooted, reportedly, while the AIFF will bear 40 per cent of the ISL expenditure as it stands, in the absence of a commercial partner.

Also Read: Union Sports Minister Confirms ISL Return On February 14, League To Feature All 14 Clubs

All the teams will play each other in a Swiss league format, and the AIFF is likely to appeal to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for exemption, as the ISL will not meet the 24-game criteria in order to participate in the continental competition.

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