Panaji: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has presented a short-term proposal to the clubs for organisation of the top tier Indian Super League (ISL) this season and asked them to provide feedback within 48 hours.In a meeting on Wednesday between the AIFF’s three-member committee and five ISL clubs, which included Mohun Bagan SG and NorthEast United on a virtual call, the first proposal for 2025-26 includes dividing the 14 teams into East and West conferences of seven teams each with double leg matches to be played between the teams at two centralised venues.The top four teams from each conference will then play single leg matches to decide the champions, while the bottom three will jostle to save relegation.The second is for all teams to play each other in a single leg format with each team, randomly selected, playing either six or seven home/away matches. The team with the maximum points will be declared champion.Club representatives present at the meeting said they need to consult other members.“The format is secondary, what matters more is to tell us about the budget and broadcast details,” said a club official. “Do we have to pay a fee to take part, and if yes, how much? Who spends on the production (for broadcast)? Unless we have clarity on commercial operations, there’s little we can say.”Another official said a model with double leg matches within the conferences would be acceptable but not at a centralised venue since it would involve additional cost for the clubs. “It would make sense to play home and away, in a Conference model since the travel distances won’t be much. In a centralised venue, why pay a high cost for accommodation when you play once in four days,” asked the official.The AIFF will respond to the clubs’ query on Dec 26 at the second meeting between the three-member panel and club representatives. It is here that the long-term proposal, still being fine tuned, will be shared with the clubs and a final meeting with all stakeholders has been scheduled for Dec 29 in the Capital.According to sources, AIFF’s long-term plan proposes that the top league be owned and operated by the federation in a hybrid model with clubs so that the constitutional requirements are met. According to the new constitution, “seniormost top division league shall mean the league competition owned, operated and recognised by the AIFF.”“The plan is for the clubs to sign a participation agreement with the AIFF (instead of FSDL) and they will have the freedom to decide on the commercial partner, commercial regulations, secure sponsorships, and broadcaster. Here the clubs will have a major say in the running of the league,” said the source.AIFF will be in-charge of regulations, match operations, appointment of match referees, integrity matters and disciplinary issues.
