Indian Football Crisis: ISL, I-League Clubs Seek Sports Minister Meet As AIFF Fail To Break Deadlock

New Delhi: The crisis in Indian football on Wednesday reached the doorsteps of Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya after a meeting between the national federation and CEOs of the Indian Super League (ISL) clubs failed to end the deadlock that has brought the domestic circuit to a halt.

I-League clubs were also invited for the meeting, held in hybrid mode, but they skipped it, citing the short notice at which it was called. The clubs' representatives will meet Mandaviya on Thursday morning to try and figure a way out.

"The Sports minister is meeting representatives of both I-League and ISL tomorrow to discuss the ongoing deadlock," a ministry source told PTI.

However, it is not clear whether Chaubey, also a BJP leader from West Bengal, will be present in the meeting.

I-League club representatives sent a letter to All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary M Satyanarayan demanding a "common league partner" for all the divisions including ISL, I-League (Tier 1 and 2).

After the departure of Football & Sports Development Limited, the AIFF had invited bids seeking a new commercial partner to run the top football league of the country but it didn't elicit a single response. As a result, the start of the ISL has ut on hold yet again.

"I can't say anything on the meeting as it will be unethical," is all Chaubey told PTI when asked about the outcome of his deliberations with the CEOs of the ISL clubs.

The representatives of I-League clubs held a separate meeting in Delhi and suggested a couple of measures in their letter to Satyanarayan.

"We suggest all the three leagues, ISL, I-League and I-League-2 should be managed by one common league partner. This shall ensure long term holistic growth," the letter stated.

The letter signed by the owners of all eight I-League club also requested the "immediate announcement of the I-League this season within next 10 days through interim measures." "The league should ideally commence by December 15, 2025 and no later than January 5, 2026. Needless to say the league should be telecast by top two broadcasters (Star Sports and Jio-Hotstar, Sony Sports and Sonly Liv)." Top India players like Sandesh Jhingan and Sunil Chhetri have urged the AIFF to end the deadlock as livelihood of hundreds of footballers, and support staff is hanging in balance.

The players, in a joint statement on Monday, said that their anger and frustration with the situation has turned into desperation.

"The commencement of the current committee headed by Kalyan Chaubey came with a lot of hope and optimism that Indian football developmental ecosystem will see better days than the past," the I-League club owners wrote in the joint statement.

The hunt for a new commercial partner by the AIFF is being monitored by the Supreme Court, which approved a new constitution for the body in October.

The agreement between AIFF and FSDL was set to end in December this year but after the two failed to reach an agreement, the 2025-26 ISL season was put on hold.

Clubs like defending champions Mohun Bagan have halted their training.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)