After months of uncertainty, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) officially confirmed that the upcoming season of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2025–26 will begin from 14th February 2026. The confederation stated that the 14 ISL clubs will be participating in the one-leg format in a round-robin league schedule, with further details pending confirmation with the clubs.

The winning trophy of ISL
ISL winning trophy (Source)

Background of the Long-Awaited Announcement

The announcement of the ISL start date has put an end to the long wait where the top-tier football competition in India was on hold. In 2025, negotiations over the Master Rights Agreement between AIFF and FSDL (Football Sports Development Limited) took place, when AIFF acknowledged that FSDL couldn’t proceed without clarity on a renewed contractual framework, which led to involvement of legalities and wide public uncertainty about whether the league would run at all. Getting more and more uncertain, the Asian Football Confederation and the Supreme Court of India also got involved, which made things even more questionable for the fans and the players.

Statements of AIFF

Before the announcement of the official start date of ISL, the AIFF issued a few statements which sparked major debate across the country over the certainty of ISL being held.

·       On 12 July 2025, the AIFF statement stated the FSDL could not proceed further without clarity on its rights under a renewed contractual framework.

·       On 25 August 2025, as per the direction of the Supreme Court, both FSDL and AIFF representatives met to discuss the way forward for ISL season 2025-26.

·       On 20 December 2025, AIFF held their Executive Committee and Annual General Meeting, where they approved fast-track arrangements for ISL and I-League deadlocks.

·       On 3 January 2026, AIFF held an emergency meeting and publicly said that the dates would be announced next week.

A Video From The Indian Players That Shook The World

Players who strive to play in ISL, where they find a platform to perform at their best and express themselves, got frustrated with the statement games and the uncertainties of AIFF regarding the ISL, so the players decided to put out a video asking FIFA to “Come and save Indian Football”. This video made a huge impact around the globe, and the very same video virtually forced the AIFF to do an emergency meeting.

A Positive End to the Era of Controversies

Eventually, the AIFF has announced that the ISL season 2025-26 wilkick offff from 14 February 2026, which is great news for the football community and fans in India. Although all the row makes things questionable about the situation of sports in India, where players and other stakeholders have to wait for months just to participate in the only top-tier football tournament in India. Netizens raised questions about how India will be able to be a sporting superpower with this kind of management in the sports industry.

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