AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey speaks during a press conference in New Delhi on August 7, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AFP
A crucial meeting between the All India Football Federation top brass and representatives of ISL clubs here on Thursday was expected to provide clarity and assurances regarding the future of Indian football. The only tangible outcome was an insistence that the ISL and the Super Cup would be held.
The AIFF has proposed holding the Super Cup ahead of the Indian Super League, tentatively from the second or third week of September, but there is no confirmation on the dates or format of the competition.
With the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between league organisers Football Sports Development Limited and the AIFF yet to be renewed, there was no talk either on resolving financial issues with the clubs.
Two-time champion Chennaiyin FC on Wednesday announced a temporary suspension of operations for its first-team players and staff, becoming the third club after Bengaluru FC and Odisha FC to do so. The current MRA is set to expire on December 8 with no clarity for the time being on its extension or signing a new one.
“The AIFF and all the clubs collectively decided that, if required, we can modify the format of the tournament to save cost on logistics and other areas,” AIFF president Kalyan Choubey said, adding that the topic of suspension of operations by teams was not discussed.
“Some clubs are yet to start their pre-season, once that happens, normalcy will return. We will meet again in 7 to 10 days to further discuss the details, and hopefully we will have a confirmed kick-off date by then,” he added.
NorthEast United FC CEO Mandar Tamhane and his FC Goa counterpart Ravi Puskur were present but were unwilling to add much. “We have just finished the meeting and need some time to process everything,” was all they said.
Published – August 07, 2025 06:20 pm IST
