E-Paper
SC to announce interim arrangement for ISL on Monday
Last week, the court was confronted with the issue of ISL’s uncertainty as the contract of the private company engaged by AIFF was coming to an end in December
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it will go an “extra mile” to ensure the best for Indian football as it agreed to pronounce next week an interim arrangement for conduct of the Indian Super League (ISL) and finalise the constitution for the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
The top court had in April reserved orders on the constitution of the AIFF but had not pronounced the order awaiting the notification of the National Sports Governance Act, 2025 and its impact on the directions that the court proposed to give.
On Thursday, the court was informed about a letter from international soccer federation FIFA to the AIFF indicating that the latter may face suspension if its constitution is not finalised by October 30.
The bench of justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi said, “It is irrelevant what they (FIFA) say. We don’t need to take it into account because after we reserved the judgment, the law has come into place and it is yet to be notified.”
However, the bench said it will take up the matter on Monday (September 1) to finalise an arrangement for conduct of ISL. “We will put up on Monday for passing interim orders,” the bench said, while seeking assistance of senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan and advocate Samar Bansal - the amici curiae in this case - on finalising the judgment by comparing the 2025 Act with the draft constitution prepared by former Supreme Court judge L Nageswara Rao.
The bench said, “This is an extraordinary moment. India has excellent talent. Once the Act is in place, everybody should work together and ensure things move on. We will go an extra mile and ensure things are put in place. Looking at the talent at the youngest level that is available in India, some coaches have said it is at par with anywhere in the world.”
Last week, the court was confronted with the issue of ISL’s uncertainty this season as the 15-year contract of the private company engaged by AIFF was coming to an end in December this year under a Master Rights Agreement (MRA) signed between AIFF and the firm - Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL) on December 8, 2010. The court directed both entities to come to a consensus on conducting ISL this year.
Presenting a joint statement to the court, FSDL’s counsel senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul told the court that both parties have agreed that a fresh tender will be floated for selection of a commercial partner to conduct the ISL in line with global best practices. The FSDL will waive its contractual Right of First Negotiation and Right to Match under the MRA.” The process of identifying the new partner will be managed by an independent professional firm of repute and will be concluded by October 15. Once this process is over, the joint statement suggested that the new league season could commence by December 2025.
Prior to ISL, the FSDL said it was agreeable to conduct the Super Cup, being a domestic tournament open to clubs across multiple tiers, to ensure the players and clubs remain competitively engaged pending the commencement of the league season.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar appearing for AIFF said that no sponsor will come forward if the broadcasting rights are for a short-term period. Kaul said that 95% of the revenue comes from broadcast rights and players will not come in if the engagement is not for a long period.
Sankaranarayanan told the court that broadly the suggestion seems to be fair. However, the court asked him to reflect on the joint proposal and respond by Monday. ,
On the earlier date, Sankaraarayanan had told the court that 11 out of the 13 ISL clubs had written to him seeking an early resolution of the problem as players have remained without any payouts for past months. Footballer Baichung Bhutia represented by senior advocate Raghenth Basant also informed the court that the interest of players needs to be secured.
The clubs in their letter to the amici curiae said, “It is imperative that the current proceedings be expedited to provide the necessary certainty for the league and the wider football pyramid to function.” Since clubs have multi-year sponsorships and contractual commitments, several sponsors had already withdrawn due to the prevailing uncertainty.
