No ISL in Indian football's 2025-26 calendar — AIFF excludes Indian Super League from next season's schedule
The All Indian Football Federation's (AIFF's) competitions calendar 2025-26 had a major change this season, with no mention of the Indian Super League (ISL), the premier division of men's football in the country.
The ISL, run by Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), started as a franchise league in 2014 and became India's top-flight in 2019.
However, the future of the league remains uncertain at the momentwith its Master Rights Agreement (MRA) — it ends in December this year — yet to be renewed.
In April, the Executive Committee of the AIFF formed an eight-member task force to discuss the future of the MRA with FSDL, but there has been no final decision on the issue, keeping the clubs in the dark, too, regarding the upcoming season.
It has jeopardised transfer plans for multiple clubs as they have not been able to commit to a date or window for the league.
In the 2025-26 season, the men's (senior) season would begin with the Durand Cup, while the Super Cup will be played after that, instead of taking place after the ISL as the final tournament of the season.
The move largely comes as a consequence of the poor turnout of fans at the tournament and the clubs sending reserve or youth teams to the Cup, treating it as a second-tier competition.
AIFF COMPETITIONS CALENDAR 2025-26
Event Start Date End Date Junior Boys Tier 1 and Tier 2 10-07-2025 31-07-2025 Junior Girls Tier 1 and Tier 2 10-07-2025 31-07-2025 Durand Cup 15-07-2025 23-08-2025 Super Cup/Federation Cup 01-09-2025 20-09-2025 Sub-Junior Girls Tier 1 and Tier 2 10-08-2025 31-08-2025 Senior Women's Group Stage 01-09-2025 20-09-2025 AIFF Elite Youth League (U14/U16/U18) 01-09-2025 31-05-2026 Senior Women's Final Round 01-10-2025 15-10-2025 I-League 3 01-10-2025 30-11-2025 I-League 19-10-2025 30-04-2026 Indian Women's League 25-10-2025 30-04-2026 Santosh Trophy Group Stage 05-12-2025 20-12-2025 Santosh Trophy Final Round 01-01-2026 20-01-2026 Indian Women's League 2 25-01-2026 30-04-2026 Beach Soccer Championship 01-02-2026 15-02-2026 Futsal Club Championship 01-05-2026 20-05-2026 Swami Vivekananda U-20 Championship 01-04-2026 31-05-2026
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