When Will ISL 2025–26 Start? All You Need to Know About ISL Controversy

The Indian Super League (ISL) has been the premier footballing league in Indian football for over a decade since kicking off on October 12, 2014. It has been recognized as the top domestic league in Indian football since 2019, with the league champions representing the country in Asian competitions. However, a dark cloud has now come over the future of the ISL as Indian football gears up to move into the 2025/26 season. The future of the competition is up in the air because of some behind-the-scenes issues. The ISL news story is currently a hot topic of discussion.

FSDL Unable To Agree on MRA With AIFF For ISL

The Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) have been organizing the ISL because of a Master Rights Agreement (MRA) that was agreed with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 2010. As per the agreement, the FSDL paid the AIFF an annual fee of 50 crore or 20% of the total ISL campaign's revenue, but that agreement is set to end in December 2025. That has caused uncertainty to creep up about the future of the competition. The ISL controversy has been in the spotlight for quite a long time.

The Master Rights Agreement has not been renewed between the two parties yet. This is because the AIFF is not being allowed to push forward for its renewal. After all, the Indian Supreme Court is currently finalizing a new constitution for how the AIFF should operate.

This new constitution will bring in reforms like the tenure limits and age restrictions for those holding positions within the federation, while the draft for the constitution also aims to bring in rules for removing officials from their positions in the AIFF. The final order of this new constitution is yet to be delivered by the Supreme Court, which will resume hearing this case from July 14.

When will the ISL 2025-26 season begin?

Some questions started to creep up around the future of the ISL after the AIFF released the official competitions calendar for the Indian football domestic competitions for the 2025/26 season. In the calendar, the AIFF has included tournaments like the Durand Cup as well as the Super Cup. The dates for the I-League, I-League Two, and I-League 3 have also been announced. However, some rumors swirled that the AIFF had snubbed the ISL's name from their competition calendar.

Well, that confusion has now been laid to rest. It has been confirmed that the AIFF calendar mentions the ISL 2025-26 season will start on 14 September 2025. The competition will need to end before 30 April 2026, which includes the end of the ISL playoffs too.

The 2024-25 ISL campaign began on 13 September, but it seems that the upcoming campaign will be starting just one day later this time around. The ISL sides will first be participating in the Durand Cup, which happens from 22 July to 24 August. The Super Cup will also be happening before the ISL kicks off, being primed to be played in September 2025 this time around. The entire ISL schedule for the 2025/26 ISL campaign is going to be released before the start of the campaign, when teams will get more clarity on their fixtures list.

Mohun Bagan are the defending champions of both the ISL League Shield and the ISL championship. They won the ISL league shield dominantly in the 2024/25 season, retaining the league championship, before also going on to win the ISL Cup by defeating Bengaluru FC in the final to win the ISL double.