Sunil Chhetri and other ISL captains seek help of Supreme Court over season delay

The crisis in Indian football continues as twelve Indian Super League (ISL) captains, including big names like Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan and Lallianzuala Chhangte, have signed a petition that will reportedly be submitted to the Supreme Court soon. The petition is about the delay of the ISL 2025-26 season, which has been on hold for months now.

According to PTI, all the captains discussed the petition during an online meeting earlier this week. "They have signed the petition and it's likely to be submitted next week," the news agency quoted a source as saying. The players are extremely worried and frustrated over the long delay that has lasted a several months now. The IPL season usually starts in September.

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Earlier this month, several top footballers including Chhetri issued a joint statement asking the administrators to start the new ISL season, saying their anger has now turned into desperation.

"Our anger, frustration and distress has now been replaced by desperation. Desperation to play the game we love, in front of people who mean everything to us - our families, our fans. This is a plea to all those involved in running our sport in the country, to do whatever it takes to get the football season underway. India needs its competitive football now more than ever," Chhetri said in his statement.

Why is the ISL season being delayed?

This comes after the All India Football Federation (AIFF) recently announced that it had not received any bids for the commercial rights of the ISL. The federation had opened a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a 15-year deal to handle the league’s media and commercial rights in October after the Supreme Court gave a nod. But no company showed interest and the deadline passed without any bidders.

It all started when AIFF’s 15-year partnership with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) came up for renewal. Because there was an ongoing Supreme Court case about the AIFF’s constitution, the federation was unable to take a decision on the new agreement. As a result, FSDL put the new ISL season on hold until things became clear. Later, the Supreme Court allowed the AIFF to start a bidding process to find a new commercial partner.

As a result of this delay, several top teams have halted their operations, pausing the salaries of players and staff.