New Delhi: Twelve Indian Super League (ISL) clubs Friday wrote to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), alleging that the federation stands to earn a surplus of over Rs 3.4 crore from the ongoing season despite assuring the Sports Ministry that it would not “make a rupee” from the league this year.
In a strongly-worded five-pages letter sent to the AIFF deputy secretary general, the clubs wrote the federation is retaining 40 per cent of central revenue even as participating teams are bearing the “entire” operational exposure and the bulk of the league’s economic risk.
“The annexed Financial Model records: AIFF Contributions: 0; AIFF Share on Ops: 0; Entire operational funding borne by clubs,” the letter stated while referring to the revised financial model circulated for the 2025-26 season.
In the letter signed by 12 of the 14 ISL participaing clubs, it is stated that the league is projected to generate Rs 8.62 crore from streaming partner FanCode, of which AIFF would retain 40 per cent, amounting to “approximately Rs 3.448 crore”.
“Despite this extraordinary context, the federation stands to earn a surplus in excess of Rs 3.4 crores — even after publicly stating before the Hon’ble Sports Minister that it would not ‘make a rupee’ out of the league this year,” the letter said.
“It is unacceptable that, in a force majeure like interim season not attributable to any fault of the Clubs, the Federation extracts profit while Clubs absorb unprecedented financial strain,” it added.
“If AIFF views the ISL as a purely AIFF league, then AIFF must bear the corresponding financial burden. If AIFF views it as a partnership, then partnership must exist in both economics and decision-making,” the clubs wrote.
The clubs also stated they would remit the first instalment of Rs 30 lakh mandated by the federation “within the stipulated timeline in the interest of ensuring the continuity of Indian football being fully aware of AIFF’s difficult financial situation”.
They clarified that the payment would be made “strictly without prejudice” to their rights and should not be construed as acceptance of unilateral governance by the federation.
The signatories included the three Kolkata heavyweights — defending champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant, East Bengal FC and Mohammedan Sporting — along with Kerala Blasters FC, Bengaluru FC, Mumbai City FC, FC Goa, Odisha FC, Punjab FC, Chennaiyin FC, Mohammedan SC and Inter Kashi as they also objected to what they termed as unilateral decision-making by the federation.
They further claimed that the publication of a long-term Request for Qualification document to determine the league’s future commercial structure had been carried out without prior consultation with clubs.
“No club was informed in advance of its publication, circulated a draft for review, or formally provided a copy of the final RFQ,” the letter said, adding that clubs learned of the development through the AIFF website.
The clubs argued that decisions on the league’s long-term commercial framework including revenue distribution, governance architecture and commercial rights allocation cannot be taken without involving the teams that are funding the competition.
They further raised concerns over the prospect of relegation in what they described as a highly irregular season.
According to the clubs, the truncated competition has been affected by unequal home-and-away distribution, operational uncertainty, financial asymmetry and player attrition, making it unsuitable to impose relegation.
“Relegation under such distorted conditions would not be a sporting outcome — it would be structural elimination,” the letter said, urging the federation to recognise the campaign as an interim season or pause relegation for this cycle.
The clubs also objected to the AIFF notice’s enforcement provisions, which include daily fines of Rs 1 lakh and the possibility of disqualification, describing the language as “coercive and inconsistent with a collaborative partnership model”.
The truncated ISL eventually kicked off February 14 after months of uncertainty following delays linked to commercial and administrative issues.
The league, which usually begins in September, had faced speculation over whether it would take place at all before a truncated edition was finally organised.
PTI
