AIFF, FSDL submit joint proposal to Supreme Court on MRA deadlock; next hearing on September 1

The AIFF-FSDL joint proposal has suggested that the new ISL season will start in December 2025.

On Thursday, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner FSDL submitted a joint proposal to the Supreme Court, which has suggested measures to end the impasse over the Master Rights Agreement(MRA) and the new Indian Super League season (ISL).

The joint proposal has mentioned substantial measures regarding the commencement of a new ISL season, commercial rights of FSDL, the process of a new tender to find a commercial partner, and the possibility of the Super Cup to precede the 2025/26 ISL season.

The Supreme Court has also made it clear that the next hearing will be on Monday. It is possible that the judgment on the new AIFF constitution could be pronounced on Monday only.

FSDL to give up rights! 😮 Super Cup to kick off the season, ISL in December! #IndianFootball #IndianSuperLeague pic.twitter.com/QoWUlySGeS

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) August 28, 2025

Earlier on Tuesday, FIFA and AFC had written a letter to AIFF demanding a swift resolution of the chaos by finalising the new AIFF constitution. The deadline for AIFF to meet this condition is October 30, 2025. In case of non-compliance with the directions issued by FIFA before the deadline, India might be banned once again.

Also Read: FIFA–AFC warn AIFF to end crisis and adopt new constitution by 30 October or face ban

FSDL to waive exclusive rights

In the joint proposal submitted by AIFF and FSDL, the commercial partner (FSDL) has agreed to waive its contractual ‘Right of First Negotiation’ and ‘Right to Match’ under the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) if a new interested party submits a bid to take up the commercial rights. This is an important development as the existing commercial partner had the upper hand in the process of finding a new commercial partner.

In pursuance of this decision by the FSDL, it will issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to AIFF for the conduct of an open, competitive, and transparent tender (or equivalent process). The existing commercial partner has assured that they will not object to the exercise of the right in relation to ISL by a new rights holder (if any) during the subsistence of the MRA. FSDL also agreed to advance the final tranche of the rights fee of INR 12.5 crores (October–December 2025), if required by AIFF.

“Our commitment to Indian football against our own commercial interest, FSDL is enabling AIFF to do this in the larger good of the sport and footballers by giving an NOC and relinquishing its Right of First Negotiation and Matching Right,” an official close to the development has revealed to Khel Now.

Now, with FSDL renouncing its contractual ‘Right of First Negotiation’ and ‘Right to Match’ under the Master Rights Agreement, it has reduced its position to just being one of the interested parties and not a prominent contender to acquire the commercial rights once again.

AIFF to conduct a fresh process to grant commercial rights

In a massive development, the joint proposal submitted to the Supreme Court has stated that the All India Football Federation will conduct an open, competitive, and transparent tender (or equivalent process) for the selection of a commercial partner to conduct the ISL, starting from the 2025/26 season.

The new process will be conducted in conformity with the National Sports Development Code 2011, the National Sports Governance Act 2025, the AIFF Constitution, and applicable FIFA/Asian Football Confederation (“AFC”) regulations. To ensure the transparency of this exercise, AIFF may rely on the ‘Big 4’ independent firms, i.e., Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Time is of the essence in this process since the danger of another FIFA ban is looming. To complete this new tender process promptly, the joint proposal has also finalised a date, i.e., October 15, 2025, by which the commercial partner will be zeroed in on.

ISL to start in December

All the stakeholders, including FIFA and AFC, have expressed their concerns about the chaos that has ensued due to the delay in the commencement of the new ISL season. To address that, the joint proposal has indicated that the new ISL season, after the completion of the tender process, will start in December 2025. This concrete timeline to resume the ISL comes as a relief to the ISL clubs and players who had nothing but uncertainty to stare at.

The AFC General Secretary, in his recent letter to the AIFF General Secretary, had sought clarity over the timeline to resume the ISL. The mention of a timeline, in the proposal, to start the new season would clear the air, instilling confidence not just in the AFC but also in players and staff.

Also Read: AFC ‘deeply concerned’ over ISL suspension, seek clarity from AIFF

Super Cup to precede ISL

The joint proposal has mentioned that both AIFF and FSDL have agreed to commence the season with the Super Cup.

“To ensure the timely commencement of the football calendar and to maintain competitive continuity, it has been agreed that the 2025–26 season may begin with the Super Cup or another domestic competition directly under AIFF’s control, after an adequate pre-season period. The Super Cup, being a domestic tournament open to clubs across multiple tiers, ensures that the players and clubs remain competitively engaged pending the commencement of the league season,” the proposal stated.

However, the joint submission has not mentioned the month in which the Super Cup will be played. But it has provided for an adequate pre-season period before the commencement of the Super Cup.

A written submission by AIFF & FSDL clarified that the Super Cup will only take place after an adequate pre-season period, but the month is not mentioned.

— Ashish Negi (@7negiashish) August 28, 2025

Now that a timeline has been fixed to start the new ISL season, AIFF will expect the ISL clubs to field their teams in the Super Cup. Earlier, the clubs had expressed their inability to participate in a short tournament like the Super Cup without the assurance of a new ISL season.

The logistics and revenue were the big flashpoints between the federation and the clubs. The clubs feared that a tournament at a neutral venue with a minimum of just three matches would only add to their inflated bills without significant returns.

Interim/Final judgement likely on Monday

Monday could mark the conclusion of all this chaos. The bench of Justices Sri Narasimha & Joymalya Bagchi announced that they will again hear all parties in the AIFF constitution case on Monday.

🚨 Honourable Supreme Court bench of Justice Sri Narasimha & Justice Joymalya Bagchi will once again hear all parties in the AIFF constitution case on Monday, to see if the interim or final judgment can finally be pronounced. @KhelNow @IndianFootball

— Ashish Negi (@7negiashish) August 28, 2025

Since the judges have earlier mentioned that the final judgment is likely ready, they could pronounce an order related to the finalisation of the draft AIFF constitution on Monday itself.

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