Indian Super League given February start date after months of dispute

January 8 – After months of uncertainty and delays, the top-flight of Indian football is back, with season 12 of the Indian Super League now scheduled to kick off on February 14.

The league has been plagued by financial disagreement and legal dispute over rights representation. The loss earlier this month of City Football Group (owner of Manchester City) who exited Mumbai City FC, was not an endorsement of the league’s financial governance.

The league’s fate had hung in the balance after the expiration of its main commercial partnership, which led to a legal battle and an indefinite delay. On January 6, Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya finally confirmed the league’s return during an announcement in New Delhi.

“The government, the football federation and all 14 clubs, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal included, had a meeting and we have decided that the ISL will start on February 14. All clubs will participate,” Mandaviya said.

Fourteen clubs will make up the ISL, playing 91 matches in a single-leg, round-robin format. The All-India Football Federation will contribute ₹10 crore ($10 million) towards running the league, with the overall budget set at ₹25 crore ($25 million). The remaining costs will be covered by the clubs, meaning each team will spend around ₹2 crore ($4 million), including a ₹1 crore ($2 million) participation fee.

Those numbers underline the challenge facing Indian football. Sustainability remains fragile, and clubs such as Odisha FC have already raised concerns around costs and the broader structure, including promotion and relegation. Still, the ISL remains the country’s most important platform for elite men’s football.

AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey thanked “all the stakeholders” for helping Indian football navigate the crisis and reiterated that the federation remained committed to keeping the league running.

With a national men’s team ranked only 142^nd  globally, and failure to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, the world’s most populous nation needs a stronger professional league to develop talent if it ever wants to be competitive internationally.

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