'Plan for closure by mid June': ISL clubs threaten shutdown amid growing deadlock with AIFF, claims report

Several Indian Super League (ISL) clubs are reportedly considering shutting down operations if the ongoing deadlock with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is not resolved soon. This comes ahead of AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey's meeting with clubs and other stakeholders on May 22, a day after the end of the ISL 2026 season.

According to a report by the Times of India, ISL clubs are frustrated due to the lack of clarity regarding the league’s future, commercial structure, and financial model. The uncertainty has already started affecting player contracts, budgets, and planning for next season.

FC Goa CEO Ravi Puskur admitted that clubs are struggling to make decisions because of the uncertainty surrounding the league. "Some of our players are out of contract by the end of the month, and we cannot offer them an extension, plan for next season or even make a budget considering there is no clarity for the future," he told TOI.

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Another unnamed club CEO claimed some clubs may shut down by mid-June if the situation continues. They further added that there is not enough clarity for anyone to keep investing, including for sponsors and owners.

"In the current scenario no matter how lean a ship you run costs wise, there is no potential future upside or clarity for any person to keep investing. Furthermore there is no certain/stable environment to plan any investment, and the prudent decision is to hopelessly wait and hope things fall in place, which given last year's experience is unlikely, or plan for closure by mid June," the unnamed CEO was quoted as saying.

What do the ISL clubs want?

The main disagreement between the clubs and the AIFF is reportedly over the future commercial rights of the ISL. Two companies - Genius Sports and FanCode - have submitted bids for the league’s commercial rights for the next 15+5 years. The clubs want AIFF to go ahead with the FanCode proposal because the other one lacks clarity. They also suggested a club-led model for future seasons.

"The presentation did not outline a detailed framework for how the ISL would be structured and operated under the proposed partnership. There was also no clear articulation of the strategy for commercialisation of league rights, nor were any financial projections, business models, or supporting quantitative analyses provided," Bengaluru FC Director of Football Darren Caldeira said in an email to the AIFF.

The report further stated that clubs like Odisha FC, Chennaiyin FC, Kerala Blasters FC, and Mohammedan Sporting Club are among those facing financial uncertainty. Club officials also claimed sponsorship revenues have dropped sharply due to lower reach on OTT and television platforms, while the central revenue pool has almost disappeared.

"The owner is asking me 'where do I get the money from? I don't have the money to put into this. Earlier I was spending 10 rupees, now you are asking me to spend 25 since there is a gap of revenue. Where do I get it from? I cannot. And nobody will even buy it, right? You can't even sell it because people will be like, 'which league are you playing in? Is the league happening this year? So, you are in a Catch- 22 situation," another club CEO was quoted as saying.

"The central (revenue) pool has gone to zero, sponsorships have dropped due to lack of penetration over OTT and linear TV, and the original eight clubs who paid a franchise fee are now stranded with zero. With all of this, you see how precarious it is, even worse than the last time (December- January) where at least we were talking about a transitional season. But this is 15+5 seasons. And if this deadlock is not resolved, I can assure you multiple clubs will now shut down," he continued.