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ISL: Hope and despair in lockstep after leagues greenlit
Indian football faces financial turmoil as coaches go unpaid for months, players seek short contracts, and clubs cut costs ahead of the ISL season.
Kolkata: A coach working without salary for almost 10 months. Players taking up short contracts in state leagues. India internationals in office league matches. Careers interrupted. This was their story over the past few months. Making 2025-26 a season like no other is clubs shaving wages for the season. Hope and despair are in lockstep in the Indian league season greenlit for a February start.
One day after it was announced that Indian Super League (ISL) will start on February 14, Bengaluru FC spoke about the need for players to share the burden of losses. “Truly hope the players… agree to also sacrifice as we are all in this together,” Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal posted on X. The club did not confirm if talks have been initiated with players.
Super Cup champions FC Goa did and it has not begun well. “We engaged with our players transparently, and in good faith, to explain why discussions around pay rationalisation have become necessary,” club CEO Ravi Puskur told HT on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, we have not received the level of support that would allow us to move forward with confidence.”
Part of the original eight in ISL, FC Goa did not have to pay franchisee fee after the 10th season. An official at another ISL team said clubs received approximately ₹13 crore from the central revenue pool in 2024-25. “Add to that another ₹5-6 crore from sponsorship. That helped offset losses. In the absence of both, some clubs are looking at a deficit of ₹18-19 crore,” the club official said.
Over and above wages, travel and hosting matches, clubs will have to pay ₹2 crore more as operational cost of the league and participation fee. Yet, barring Odisha, all 13 ISL clubs have confirmed participation. Yes, they are also looking at pruning costs with some exploring whether sharing venues could be an option.
At least seven clubs stopped first-team operations to reduce expenses. One suspended salaries till December with the promise that full wages would be paid between January and May. Another has got players and staff to take a pay cut of one or two months, depending on the pay, which will be spread over six months.
None of this matters to the former India player who is an assistant coach at an ISL club. “I have not been paid for nearly 10 months and it has been a really difficult time for my family,” he said requesting anonymity. “Now that football will resume, I hope things will change.”
So does Pritam Kotal. The India defender has been at home since Chennayin FC’s Super Cup campaign ended in October. Kotal said he trains at an academy he has helped set up and with his personal trainer. He has also played for his central government employers in 70-minute games on pock-marked pitches “to stay in touch”.
Kotal used the break to get a coaching badge, Sunil Chhetri improved his pickleball skills and, in the absence of a start date to I-League, Real Kashmir head coach Ishfaq Ahmed is working with juniors. After leaving Gokulam Kerala, former India defender Salam Ranjan Singh did a stint in the Kerala league and for Real Kashmir in the Durand Cup. Some out-of-contract I-League players were also part of the Bangalore Football League, said Renedy Singh, interim head coach at Bengaluru FC.
