NEW DELHI: The Indian Super League (ISL) clubs were on Thursday asked to submit a proposal for forming a consortium to run the 2025-26 season of the league, which is yet to begin. Representatives of all ISL clubs were invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of the All India Football Federation on Saturday, on the sidelines of which the matter was discussed.“Regarding the consortium thing, the clubs have been told to submit to the ministry their proposal so that it can be discussed during the Dec 20 AGM. But there is no guarantee,” a club representative told news agency PTI.The request followed a virtual meeting on Thursday between AIFF officials, ISL club representatives and the sports ministry. The clubs were asked to submit their proposal by Friday evening.The AIFF also informed the clubs that, under its new constitution, any amendment to its provisions could be done only after the General Body of the national federation was formed according to the new constitution itself. “It could be hotchpotch also since the new National Sports Grievance Act is likely to be implemented shortly. So there can be changes under the Act also,” a source in the know of things said.Meanwhile, the Indian Women’s League, starting December 20, will be held without a sponsor after the AIFF and Capri Sports – the lone bidder in the national federation’s tender to monetise the commercial rights of the first and second divisions of the IWL for five years – could not reach an agreement. The clubs had earlier suggested forming a consortium to resolve the ongoing commercial impasse in Indian football. The AIFF said this would require deliberations and approval by its Executive Committee and the AGM. The Marketing Rights Agreement between the AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited, which organised the ISL for 12 seasons since its inception in 2014, ended on December 8, leaving the top-tier league without a commercial framework.
