Supreme Court clears AIFF-FSDL roadmap for 2025-26 season

The Supreme Court on Monday (September 1, 2025) directed the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to take all needed measures to make sure the well timed graduation of the 2025–26 soccer season, together with the Super Cup and different competitions underneath its management, marking a significant breakthrough in Indian soccer’s governance impasse.

A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi additionally endorsed a joint proposal submitted by the AIFF and its industrial associate, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), describing it as “compelling and necessary to ensure timely commencement of the football calendar and to maintain competitive continuity”.

Also Read | AIFF faces ban risk as FIFA, AFC set October 30 deadline for ratification of structure

The court docket famous that the consensus between AIFF and FSDL marked “a significant step in the evolution of Indian football,” including that the collaborative effort would “go a long way in institutionalising domestic, national and international events”.

“Having gone through the proposal and after hearing all the stakeholders, we are of the view that the proposal takes into account the current situation and provisions for a plan of action,” the court docket mentioned.

As a part of the decision, the season will start with the Super Cup after a pre-season camp, adopted by the Indian Super League (ISL), which is predicted to kick off by December 2025.

Crucially, the AIFF has been directed to ask bids for “open, competitive and transparent” course of for collection of its industrial associate to conduct Indian Super League.

For this goal, the court docket requested Justice L. Nageswara Rao, former Judge of the Apex Court, to make sure that the choice course of ensures figuring out a reliable, reputed and an environment friendly agency as a industrial associate to conduct ISL, according to international greatest practices.

Also Read | SC retains AIFF structure judgment pending to sync with National Sports Bill, asks FSDL to interact with stakeholders

FSDL, which has managed the ISL underneath the Master Rights Agreement of December 2010, underneath the consensual decision with AIFF agreed to waive its contractual proper of first negotiation and proper to match underneath the Master Rights Agreement of December 8, 2010, and supply AIFF a no-objection certificates to proceed with the open tender.

Senior advocates Raghenth Basant, representing former India captain Baichung Bhutia, and Menaka Guruswamy raised issues concerning the “autonomy”, which the Court mentioned it will contemplate earlier than earlier than “finalising our decision on the draft constitution”.