The future of Indian football hangs in the balance as uncertainty surrounds the Indian Super League (ISL) following the expiration of its 15-year commercial agreement. With no confirmed sponsor and no clear restart date, the country’s premier domestic competition faces an unprecedented standstill.
Concerned by the worsening situation, Indian football icon Sunil Chhetri, along with senior national team players Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sandesh Jhingan, have made a direct appeal to FIFA, urging the world governing body to step in and rescue the sport from collapse.
Players Issue Emotional Plea to FIFA
On Friday, the three senior footballers released a joint video message on social media, strongly backing the continuation of the ISL while openly criticizing the failure of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to manage the crisis effectively.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒚,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐.
They warned that without FIFA’s immediate involvement, Indian football could suffer irreversible damage.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒅. 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Humanitarian, Sporting, and Economic Emergency
The appeal emphasized that the crisis extends far beyond the pitch. According to the players, footballers, coaches, club staff, owners, and fans are all suffering due to the ongoing instability.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏, 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚. 𝑾𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒘𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.
The players expressed hope that their message would reach FIFA headquarters in Zurich and prompt swift action.
Why the ISL Is at a Standstill
The uncertainty began after ISL organizers, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), informed clubs that the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with AIFF would expire on December 8. Although discussions over a renewed deal began months earlier, no agreement was reached.
As a result, FSDL has been unable to plan, market, or organize the 2025–26 ISL season, leaving the league—and Indian football—in limbo.
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