ISL likely to return to normal schedule, home-and-away format after AIFF accepts club-led model in landmark meeting

In a positive development for Indian football after a year of gloom, the next season of the Indian Super League is likely to return to its usual September slot with 14 teams back to playing on a home-and-away basis. The development comes after the All India Football Federation accepted a club-led model to run the top-flight competition for the next four years at a meeting convened by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in New Delhi on Monday.

As per the agreement, each club will be paying Rs 1.1 crore per season as a fixed fee to the AIFF, giving the governing body Rs 15.4 crore that it will then use to cover costs associated with refereeing and other regulatory functions. The amount exceeds the sum of Rs 12.4 crore that London-based data and technology firm Genius Sports were willing to pay in an offer that reportedly had the AIFF's backing.

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According to Hindustan Times, the clubs will also be investing a sum of Rs 40-45 crore in order to run the league, with tenders set to be issued for title sponsorship, broadcast rights and more in the near future. Genius Sports – which provides the official data feed for some of the biggest sports leagues in the world including the Premier League and the NFL – are likely to get first preference for data rights, the report added.

Ex-AIFF chief Praful Patel also present in meeting

Besides Sports Minister Mandaviya and AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, the meeting was attended by representatives of all clubs except Jamshedpur FC, according to The Times of India. Newly-promoted ISL club Diamond Harbour FC also present despite facing an investigation from the newly-formed West Bengal government for illegal practices and finances.

Also present was former AIFF chief Praful Patel, a member of the FIFA Council who had been invited by Mandaviya in order to offer his insights on getting the country's top football division back on track.

The most recent ISL season had been in a state of limbo for months after the AIFF failed to renew the Master Rights Agreement for the league that expired in December, forcing multiple clubs to shut football operations and leaving several players without a source of income.

The governing body, however, later conducted a curtailed three-month season following the Sports Ministry's intervention that got underway on 14 February and concluded on 21 May, with East Bengal winning their maiden ISL title and their fourth top-flight title.

Streaming service FanCode had secured the rights for the truncated season earlier this year and was also in the race for a long-term deal with the AIFF along with Genius Sports and the club-led model, but are now set to bow out of the race.