Indian Super League officially put on hold as MRA negotiations stall
The current MRA is set to expire on December 8, 2025, but with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) - the league's organising body - and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) unable to finalise terms for the next agreement, the ISL has been put on hold indefinitely.
A formal notice announcing the decision was sent to the AIFF and all ISL clubs on July 11.
'While discussions between FSDL and AIFF on the potential renewal of the MRA were initiated several months ago, they remain inconclusive at this time. In the absence of a confirmed contractual framework beyond December, we find ourselves unable to effectively plan, organise, or commercialise the 2025–26 ISL season,' the notice said.
'Given this situation, we regret to inform you that we are currently not in a position to proceed with the 2025–26 ISL season and are placing it on hold until further clarity emerges on the contractual structure beyond end of current MRA term. We assure you that this decision has not been taken lightly,' it added.
A source familiar with the developments told Sportstar, 'Given the circumstances, the league cannot realistically proceed by December. FSDL cannot finalise schedules, engage with media partners, sponsors, or even allow clubs to negotiate with their own sponsors.'
'This communication was sent to acknowledge the reality and ensure transparency—the ISL is on hold until a new contractual framework is agreed upon by all parties,' the source added.
🚨 NEW SPORTSTAR EDITION: FOCUS #IndianFootball 🚨
In the upcoming magazine edition, Sportstar presents a 23-page deep dive on the sorry state of affairs in the Indian football ecosystem.
☠️ How the ISL went from promise to peril
⚽️ I-League's irrelevance - exploring why it's… pic.twitter.com/6HRNA7U5H0 — Sportstar (@sportstarweb) July 3, 2025
Proposal and Counterproposal
In March, FSDL submitted a draft proposal to the AIFF, suggesting the formation of a new holding company, ISL NewCo JV, where:
13 ISL clubs would hold 60% of the stakes
FSDL would retain 26%
The AIFF would hold the remaining 14%.
The proposal also mandated the 'AIFF to recognise in Perpetuity, 'ISL NewCo JV' as the rights holder for India's top national league and NT matches,' the draft states.
ALSO READ | AIFF prepones IWL season to help India team prepare for AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026
However, the AIFF, which receives ₹50 crore annually from the current deal, proposed extending the MRA with a 5% yearly increase—a suggestion rejected by FSDL.
'Until the future contractual structure is finalised, the league will be put on hold because obviously, FSDL cannot start a league which it cannot end,' another source added.
The decision comes as a catch-22 situation for both the AIFF and FSDL, as the Supreme Court has mandated the Federation not to negotiate a deal until the apex judicial body decides on the AIFF constitution, which is expected on July 18.
The communique has had mixed reactions from the clubs, with most reserving their judgement while some focusing on the task at hand at the moment, the Durand Cup, which starts on July 22.
Only six of the 13 clubs from the ISL will compete in the tournament.
'It's considerate of FSDL to keep the clubs informed. What they've communicated isn't entirely new to us. There's a difference between the league being put on hold and the season being cancelled,' Mandar Tamhane, the Chief Executive Officer of NorthEast United, said.
'At NorthEast United FC, we are fully focused on preparing to defend our Durand Cup title and remain hopeful that there will be clarity soon,' he added.
Meanwhile, the AIFF was not available for comment when Sportstar reached out to them.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Will ‘substantially' increase India tariffs, Trump warns
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to raise tariffs on India 'very substantially' within the next 24 hours, to penalise it for Russian oil purchases that he claimed were fuelling the 'Russian war machine'. Trump's threat comes just a day after the American leader criticised India for making large profits from refining and selling Russian oil on global markets. (REUTERS) 'With India, what people don't like to say about it, is that they are the highest tariffed nation. They have the highest tariff of anybody. We do very, very little business with India because their tariffs are so high,' Trump said during a television interview. 'So India has not been a good trading partner because they do a lot of business with us but we don't do business with them... we settled on 25% but I think I'm going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours because they're buying Russian oil. They're fuelling the war machine. If they do that, then I'm not going to be very happy,' he added. The president's latest threat, in brief remarks to American TV channel CNBC, came hours after India mounted its strongest defence yet of Russian energy ties, with external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Monday calling American tariff threats 'unjustified and unreasonable.' 'Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,' Jaiswal said on Monday, defending India's Russian energy imports as essential for affordable energy costs. Russia on Tuesday backed India's right to choose its trading partners, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying sovereign countries have the right to select partners in trade and economic cooperation based on their interests. 'We believe that sovereign countries must have and do have the right to choose their trade partners, the partners in trade and economic cooperation, on their own and independently determine those modes of trade and economic cooperation that suit the interests of a country in question,' Peskov told journalists, commenting on the US threats regarding India. Trump's threat comes just a day after the American leader criticised India for making large profits from refining and selling Russian oil on global markets. On July 30, Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods, while citing New Delhi's purchases of Russian energy and military equipment as irritants in the bilateral relationship. Later on July 31, Trump termed India and Russia 'dead economies' in a post on Truth Social. Following the president's statements, key administration officials, such as secretary of state Marco Rubio and treasury secretary Scott Bessent have also made statements criticising Indian energy purchases from Russia. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, India bought 38% of all Russian crude oil exports in June, behind only China. CREA also estimated that India purchased 49 billion euros—roughly $56 billion—worth of Russian fossil fuels in 2024. The 24-hour ultimatum threatens to derail trade negotiations scheduled to begin August 25 in New Delhi, with both countries having described the talks as making substantial progress toward a breakthrough agreement. 'To India's surprise, President Trump's position on Russia has moved considerably since his 2024 election campaign. What he is expressing, however, is consistent with views amongst both Democrats and Republicans across the political spectrum, which hold that India could be doing more to economically constrain Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine,' said Sameer Lalwani, non resident senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment. 'India has made reasonable defences of its oil and arms imports, but this will certainly make a trade deal harder and further complicate US-India strategic partnership. That said, there is a plausible path out of this since oil imports from Russia are not as politically salient for the Modi government as agriculture protections, and India has previously cooperated with the last Trump administration on oil imports, specifically from Iran,' Lalwani added. The president's new tariff threat creates immediate uncertainty for Indian exporters already grappling with the 25% tariff that is set to take effect on August 7, while potentially forcing New Delhi to choose between energy security and trade relations with its largest export market. India exported $86.5 billion worth of goods to the US in fiscal 2025, creating a $41 billion trade surplus that has become a persistent irritant in bilateral relations. However, industry experts estimate that 45-50% of Indian goods may avoid additional tariffs due to existing exemptions for electronics, pharmaceuticals, and energy products. Trump's escalating threats prompted rare political unity in India, with both the ruling BJP and opposition Congress condemning the American president's approach in unusually strong terms. Congress leader Manish Tewari said Trump's 'disparaging remarks hurt the dignity and self-respect of Indians,' adding: 'The time has come to call out this constant bullying and hectoring.' BJP leader Baijayant Jay Panda quoted former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger in a post on X: 'To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.' Indian stock markets ended slightly lower on Tuesday as fresh tariff warnings dampened investor sentiment. The BSE Sensex fell 308.47 points or 0.38% to close at 80,710.25, whilst the NSE Nifty dropped 73.20 points or 0.30% to 24,649.55. During intraday trading, the Sensex hit a low of 80,554.40, declining as much as 464.32 points, before recovering somewhat by the close. Oil & Gas stocks led the decline, falling 0.96%, followed by Energy (-0.74%) and FMCG (-0.61%) sectors.
Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Never said a percentage': Trump on tariffs on countries buying from Russia after India's response to ‘penalty' threat
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he never specified the exact rate of tariffs he would impose on countries doing business with Russia. US President Donald Trump responded to a question on tariffs for countries buying Russian energy(Bloomberg) "I never said a percentage, but we'll be doing quite a bit of that. We'll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time. But we will see what happens...", Trump said during a press conference. This comes just days after he targeted India for buying oil and arms from Russia, and for being the country's "largest buyer of energy". He has imposed 25% tariffs on India and threatened more. On Tuesday, though, he said that there's a meeting scheduled with Russian officials on Wednesday, following which a decision on secondary sanctions would be made. The Republican leader was responding specifically to a question on whether he would come through on his threat to impose "100% tariffs" on countries buying Russian energy. These countries include India and China. US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Russia for meetings this week with officials there. Last month, Trump had threatened 100 per cent tariffs on Russia, and "secondary tariffs" on countries buying oil from the country if Moscow did not agree to a peace agreement with Ukraine in 50 days. 'We're very, very unhappy with them. And we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days. Tariffs at about 100 per cent, you'd call them secondary tariffs,' Trump had said. Weeks later and just days before his August 1 reciprocal tariffs deadline, Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on Indian imports, threatening penalties for doing business with Russia. However, there was no clarification on what the penalties would be. On India citing US trade with Russia New Delhi has cited the United States' trade with Moscow — significant imports like uranium hexafluoride, fertilisers and chemicals — and said the US and EU were unfair in targeting India over its oil imports from Russia. When asked about India's argument during the same press conference, Trump said, "I don't know anything about it, I'd have to check, but we'll get back to you on that." Even as Trump's tariff threats loom, India and Russia have reaffirmed their commitment to boost bilateral defence cooperation. The development came during a meeting between Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar and Russia's Deputy Defence Minister Colonel-General Alexander Fomin, reported news agency PTI. 'During the conversation, the two sides discussed in detail the pertinent issues of bilateral interaction in the sphere of defence and confirmed their intent toward the further strengthening of relevant cooperation in the spirit of particularly privileged strategic partnership,' a statement by the Russian Ministry of Defence read. After Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on India, New Delhi released a statement backing its energy trade with Russia. India argued that it began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the Russia-Ukraine conflict began. 'The United States at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets stability,' the foreign ministry said. India is a key energy partner for Russia, becoming the buyer of oil worth $50.2 billion in 2024-25, according to Reuters report.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
29 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Inaugural India-New Zealand defence strategic dialogue held in Delhi
The inaugural edition of India-New Zealand Defence Strategic Dialogue was held here on Tuesday with an aim to discuss security perspectives and further bolster bilateral cooperation, officials said. The meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary (International Cooperation), defence ministry, Amitabh Prasad and Head of International Branch, Ministry of Defence, New Zealand, Kathleen Pearce. "Both nations expressed satisfaction at the ongoing defence cooperation and identified means to enhance the existing areas of collaboration, especially in the fields of training, capability building, defence industry, maritime security and multinational cooperation," the Indian defence ministry said. The co-chairs also articulated steps in the direction of emerging areas of cooperation and issues pertaining to global commons, officials said. "The Indian side complimented New Zealand for its successful command of CTF-150 in which five Indian Navy personnel were also deputed as staff. Both sides also discussed ways to build up ongoing White Shipping Information Exchange towards enhancement of information sharing," the defence ministry said in a statement. India-New Zealand Defence Strategic Dialogue was constituted under an MoU signed between the two countries in March 2025, a significant milestone in intensifying defence relations. India and New Zealand engagements span a wide spectrum of cooperation political, defence and security collaboration, capacity building and education. These developments reflect mutual trust, shared democratic values, the deep-rooted people-to-people ties and a mutual love for cricket that binds both nations. As part of the official visit to India, Pearce also called on Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh in New Delhi on August 4. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
