ISL on frugal budget at least saving the livelihood of players, AIFF says

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is relieved at the halfway mark of the Indian Super League 2026 (ISL) at being able to make ends meet on a ‘frugal budget’ – even as they try to finalise a commercial partner on a long term basis from the 2026-27 season. The entire domestic season, with the ISL and I-League as it’s showpiece products, had been staring at a bleak future at the end of last year after the Reliance-owned Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) did not renew their contract.

The difference between budgets of the double leg ISL till last year and the truncated league, now underway, is a study in contrast with the AIFF being forced to restrict the operating costs to a budget of Rs 25 crores this season. Genius Sports, the frontrunner to be AIFF commercial partner aspiring to step into the shoes of FSDL, has pitched in with an offer of Rs 63 crores per year – Fan Code lagging behind with a bid of Rs 36 cr.

Speaking to National Herald over phone, M. Satya Narayan, the AIFF Deputy Secretary General said the federation is relieved that they had been able to salvage the situation somewhat even that meant cutting corners.

‘’If there had been no leagues this year, thousands of footballers would have been unemployed along with the support staff, referees and those down the ecosystem. The only area where the quality could have been better is the broadcasting but we are confident of scaling up things by next season,’’ remarked the senior official, who had taken up a key role in firefighting for AIFF for the past year.

A London-based company which specialises on sports data, technology and are broadcast partners of a number of global products, including the English Premier League, Genius Sports gave a presentation to the 14 clubs on their long term vision of an association with the AIFF on Thursday. Out of their off of Rs 63 crores annually, Rs 50 cr has been earmarked as the operational cost for ISL while AIFF will receive the remaining Rs 13 cr.

A proposal which, according to some of the clubs involved in talks with AIFF and Genius, is ‘not satisfactory’ as they feel there is nothing in it for them. ‘’The AIFF is supposed to get the remaining Rs 13 cr but it has to be ploughed back on a number of heads like referees’ expenses, disciplinary committee and legal – which would entail a figure in the region of six crores. The clubs will certainly get a share of the pie over a period of time,’’ Satya Narayan said.

 An unheralded name in Indian sports fraternity, the AIFF describes Genius Sports as ‘’the official data, technology, and broadcast partner that powers the global sports and media ecosystem. Genius is the trusted partner to over 700 sports organisations, including many of the world’s largest leagues, teams, sportsbooks, brands and broadcasters, such as the NFL, English Premier League, NCAA, DraftKings, FanDuel, bet365, Coca-Cola, EA Sports, CBS, NBC and ESPN.’’

Even as the AIFF  is firefighting to zero in on a commercial partner, informed sources feel a number of former champion clubs want to see FSDL back at the helm. They feel that the FSDL has a much better understanding of the ‘ground realities’ of Indian football after being associated with it since 2010 – not to speak of the greater purse for the operations and clubs’ share. The Masters Rights Agreement (MRA) between them and AIFF expired last December and the FSDL have stayed away from fresh bids so far.

Asked about a possible return of AIFF, the AIFF Secretary General said: ‘’One can enter into a relationship with FSDL again if they are part of a bidding process. We all have seen how the first bid failed to attract a single bid and are now going ahead with what we have on the table.’’

Meanwhile, the ISL derby between reigning champions Mohun Bagan Super Giants and East Bengal is scheduled in Kolkata on 17 May.