ISL clubs present new two-year pilot plan for Indian Super League to AIFF: Reports

The fresh model by ISL clubs top the Genius Sports bid

The Indian Super League (ISL) clubs have recently proposed a fresh two-year club-led program to the All- India Football Federation (AIFF). The implementation of this new proposal would mean that the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) would receive Rs 15 crores annually for the commercial rights of the Indian Super League (ISL).

According to a report in The Times of India, this new proposal by the ISL clubs was emailed to the AIFF Deputy Secretary General M. Satyanarayan this week and is more than what Genius Sports assured to pay (Rs 12.4 crores) as the administrative fees for the coming season.

A brief look at the new model

This new pilot project proposed by the ISL clubs, mainly aims to stabilize the league, improve commercial performance and increase stakeholders’ alignment. It also focuses on maximizing the long-term value of Indian football before any long-term future transaction takes place.

Also, the decision to send this new proposal has been taken after a series of meetings between a few ISL club owners, which took place in Mumbai. The clubs stated that they had been assured that the federation would call a meeting on Thursday; however, as of late Tuesday, no official confirmation had been received.

CEO of FC Goa, Mr Ravi Puskur, wrote an email on behalf of the club highlighting the matter.

“The clubs believe that the current market conditions do not accurately reflect the intrinsic value and future growth potential of ISL. Entering into a long-term equity or rights transaction at today’s valuations risks permanently undervaluing one of Indian sport’s most important assets”, the letter stated as quoted by TOI.

Clubs opposed AIFF’s proposed participation fee

Now, there is another concern regarding the participation fee that AIFF is reportedly asking the clubs to pay. So, initially (2010-2025) when Reliance owned FSDL were with AIFF, they received Rs 50 crores annually from FSDL (commercial partners).

However, now the proposal by Genius Sports will allocate 20% of the amount they bid, that is approximately Rs 12.4 crores in the first year which is much less than what FSDL was paying. So, to recover the deficit the AIFF plans to charge top tier clubs an entry fee of Rs 1 crore. However, this proposal has not found any favour with the ISL clubs.

“To the best of our knowledge, this fee was proposed unilaterally by AIFF and has not been accepted by any of the clubs. As it stands, no club has agreed to this term, and we would therefore respectfully request that it not be characterized as an established or agreed element of any model under discussion”, said the ISL clubs in a separate email.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.