 "Crisis in Indian football worsens after AIFF fails to attract single bid for ISL")
In a massive blow for the All India Football Federation and for Indian football in general, the Indian Super League (ISL) failed to attract a single bid for a new commercial partner in the tender process that had been launched last month.
The development also comes at a time when Indian football finds itself in a state of limbo with the 12th season of the country’s top-flight football competition yet to get underway nearly two months since its usual start date.
The Kalyan Chaubey-led AIFF had launched the tender process on 16 October in order to hunt for a new commercial partner to manage ISL’s broadcasting, sponsorship, digital, and merchandising rights, setting 7 November as the deadline.
“The deadline for submission of bids in response to the Request for Proposal (RFP) for awarding the right to monetise the Commercial Rights for the Indian Super League (ISL) concluded today,” the AIFF posted on social media on Friday.
🚨 AIFF Statement 🔊#IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/z0da2txWIo
— Indian Football (@IndianFootball) November 7, 2025
“No bids were received within the stipulated timeframe. The AIFF Bid Evaluation Committee will convene over the weekend to review the situation and deliberate on the future course of action,” the Delhi-based governing body added.
Financial demands to blame for complete absence of bids in AIFF’s ISL tender?
Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) had previously managed ISL’s commercial rights under the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with the AIFF since the inaugural ISL season in 2014.
The 15-year MRA had been signed in 2010 and is set to expire on 8 December. It was the topic of renewing the rights agreement that led to a pitched battle between the AIFF and the FSDL, with the Supreme Court eventually getting involved in their dispute.
FSDL was among four organisations that had initially expressed interest during a pre-bid meeting on 25 October, with FanCode, Conscient Heritage Group and a foreign consortium being the other potential bidders.
However, none of the four parties submitted a formal bid despite the initial interest. While one group was reportedly disqualified due to a conflict of interest, others had raised concerns over the tender’s financial structure and the revenue-sharing model as well as lack of clarity on the league’s operations.
The AIFF had also demanded a minimum of Rs 37.5 crore per year or 5 per cent of gross revenue for a 15-year period, whichever was higher. That in addition to a host of other costs and responsibilities including production costs and prize money payouts.
Given how the ISL, and Indian football in general, is yet to achieve financial stability, the financial demands included in the tender along with increased responsibilities would likely have been the key reason behind the league failing to attract a single bid.
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