AIFF releases RFP for commercial rights of domestic competitions
Technical and commercial bids to be opened on March 20, 2026, by AIFF
The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) has issued a fresh Request for Proposal (RFP) for the commercial rights relating to its competitions and properties ahead of the upcoming season. In a move aimed at avoiding any uncertainty around the new campaign, the federation has taken a cautious approach to ensure operational clarity and continuity.
Notably, the RFP does not include National Team rights, focusing solely on domestic competitions and associated properties.
Additionally, there is no explicit clarity yet on the tenure or duration of the proposed commercial cycle, leaving key structural details to be defined as the process moves forward.
Important timelines
The All India Football Federation has laid out a detailed schedule for the RFP process:
The RFP was officially published online on March 2, 2026. A Pre-Bid Conference is scheduled for March 11, 2026, with the exact time to be notified by AIFF.
Interested bidders can submit written queries seeking clarification until March 12, 2026 (by 4:00 PM IST). The federation will issue its responses to all written queries on March 15, 2026.
The final date for bid submission (Bid Due Date) is March 19, 2026. The technical bids will be opened on March 20, 2026, followed by the opening of commercial bids later the same day.
| S.no | Information | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Publishing of RFP online | 02 March 2026 |
| 2. | Date of Pre-Bid Conference | 11 March 2026 (at a time tobe notified by AIFF) |
| 3. | Last date for submission of written queries forclarification. | 12 March 2026 by 1600 hrsIST |
| 4. | Issuance of response to written queries | 15 March 2026 |
| 5. | Last date for Bid submission (“Bid Due Date”) | 19 March 2026 |
| 6. | Opening of Technical Bids | 20 March 2026 |
| 7. | Opening of Commercial Bids | 20 March 2026 |
Eligibility criteria
The All-India Football Federation has invited proposals from reputed entities for the acquisition of rights and obligations relating to the monetization of commercial rights of specific men’s and women’s club competitions organized by AIFF (as detailed in Annexure–1 of the RFP).
The scope of rights on offer includes advertising rights, data rights, digital rights, event-related rights, film rights, media rights, merchandising rights, pourage rights, and sponsorship rights associated with the identified competitions and properties.
The RFP outlines the detailed terms and conditions governing the submission and evaluation of bids. Interested entities may obtain the RFP document upon payment of a non-refundable document fee of INR 2,50,000 (Indian Rupees Two Lakh Fifty Thousand only), exclusive of applicable direct and/or indirect taxes.
It is clarified that the RFP shall be shared by way of email only upon receiving the payment and the details asmentioned above. It is further clarified that the RFP must be purchased by the entity that is desiring to bid. Such right to bid may not be transferred to any affiliates of the entity making payment.
Further, any bid submitted in response to the RFP by an entity that has not made the payment described here in above, shall be summarily rejected and not considered for any evaluation under the RFP.
Any interested party wishing to submit a bid may purchase the RFP. However, only bids of entities satisfying the conditions of eligibility described in the RFP, may be considered by AIFF for further evaluation. It is clarified that merely purchasing the RFP does not mean AIFF has to evaluate a bid submitted such entity.
List of commercial rights packages
The commercial rights on offer have been divided into two distinct packages covering men’s and women’s club competitions organized by the All-India Football Federation.
Package A – Club Competitions (Men)
Commercial Rights relating to the following men’s club competitions owned, organized and/or sanctioned by the AIFF:
- Indian Super League (or the seniormost men’s professional football league competition, as it may be known).
- Federation Cup (or the senior most cup competitions for professional men’s football clubs).
Package B – Club Competitions (Women)
Commercial Rights relating to the following women’s club competitions owned, organized and/or sanctioned by the AIFF:
- Indian Women’s League (or the seniormost women’s professional football league competition, as it may be known).
- Indian Women’s League 2 (or the second division of women’s professional football league competition, as it may be known).
Key highlights
- Full tender document is behind a ₹2.5 lakh non-refundable paywall.
- Process to be wrapped up by 20 March, stakeholders feel the timeline is tight considering Holi holidays.
- Package A (Men): ISL + Federation Cup. Indian Football League not included.
- Package B (Women): IWL, IWL 2 & potential cup competition.
- No National Team rights included.
- No clarity on tenure/duration of the commercial cycle.
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Ayushman Sharma is a sports enthusiast with a deep love for football, following the game closely since 2018. A hardcore supporter of NorthEast United FC and FC Barcelona, he has also gained valuable on-ground experience by volunteering during FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Guwahati.