The proposal to start the Indian Super League (ISL) this season, put forward by Indian Football Association Secretary Anirban Dutta and Goa Football Association President Dr Caitano Fernandes, will be discussed in a meeting with ISL club representatives at the Football House in Delhi on Wednesday. The ISL clubs will be represented by Ravi Puskur, CEO of FC Goa, and Dhruv Sood, CEO of Sporting Club Delhi, while Mandar Tamhane, CEO of NorthEast United FC, will join the discussion virtually. The meeting will be chaired by AIFF Deputy Secretary General M. Satyanarayan.
In an effort to resolve the delay to the start of the Indian Super League (ISL), the All India Football Federation (AIFF), during its General Body meeting on December 20, constituted a three-member committee. The committee included the Presidents of the Goa Football Association (GFA) and the Kerala Football Association, along with the Secretary of the Indian Football Association (IFA). Draft proposals prepared by Anirban Dutta and Caitano Fernandes were earlier submitted to the AIFF Secretary General.
The proposal, which was submitted ahead of schedule to facilitate the start of the top-tier league, suggests staging the ISL in a hub-based format, with West Bengal and Goa identified as potential hosts. It also recommends waiving franchise fees for clubs this season, offering significant financial relief, while limiting club expenditure to basic operational costs. The plan aims to ensure that the league concludes on time and enables better logistical planning for participating clubs. A final decision from the AIFF is still awaited.
On Tuesday, the AIFF Secretary General, in a virtual meeting with the three committee members, reviewed the draft proposals submitted by Mr Dutta and Mr Fernandes to assess their merits and drawbacks and consolidate them into a single document. The final proposal will now be presented to ISL club representatives in a meeting scheduled in Delhi for discussions on organising the ISL this ongoing season.
One of the key recommendations in the draft proposal is to stage the ISL this season at two centralised venues – Kolkata and Goa – to minimise travel expenses and logistical challenges. Under this plan, clubs from the eastern region, including NorthEast United FC, Jamshedpur FC, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting, Inter Kashi and Odisha FC, would be based in Kolkata, while teams from western and southern India would play their matches in Goa. The top teams from each group would then advance to a championship round. The competition would follow a round-robin format with home-and-away fixtures. According to the draft proposal, the ISL is tentatively scheduled to begin in the third week of January and conclude in May.
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