Bengaluru FC players paid, Odisha FC sit out of Super Cup 2025 amid Indian football crisis

The Bengaluru FC team has confirmed that it has resumed the salaries of players and staff of the main side amid the ongoing crisis in Indian football. The club said all pending payments have been completed in full and pre-season training for the 2025-26 season is set to begin on September 16 at Bengaluru FC’s new facilities.

“Bengaluru Football Club is pleased to confirm that salaries of players and staff belonging to the First Team have been reinstated, with all pending payments completed in full,” the club said in a statement on Saturday, September 13.

“The Club looks forward with optimism as we prepare for the upcoming 2025-26 season. Pre-season training for the First Team is set to resume on the 16th of September at our new state-of-the-art facilities, where the squad and staff will begin work together in anticipation of the campaign ahead,” the statement read.

Why did Bengaluru FC suspend salaries?

Bengaluru FC and some other ISL clubs had stopped paying salaries to players and staff and stopped all football-related activities because they were not sure when the Indian Super League (ISL), India’s top football tournament, would start.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF)’s commercial partner, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), put the ISL 2025-26 season on hold because the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) was not renewed. This agreement is supposed to end in December 2025, which would have been in the middle of the season.

The Supreme Court had stopped the AIFF from making any long-term decisions until a final ruling on its constitution. But after 11 ISL clubs went to the Court, the SC asked AIFF and FSDL to come to an agreement so that the new ISL season could start. Both parties sat down and agreed to a plan, which will begin the 2025-26 football season with the Super Cup, followed by the ISL in December.

The SC-approved proposal also includes selecting a new commercial partner for the ISL through an open tender process.

Odisha FC pull out of Super Cup

On the other hand, Odisha FC team has decided not to participate in the upcoming Super Cup 2025, citing uncertainty around the ISL 2025-26 season. The Super Cup is scheduled to start in the last week of October in a phased manner. While most ISL clubs have confirmed their participation, Odisha FC have refused to take part.

Odisha FC are one of the few clubs that had paused players’ salaries and stopped football activities over the uncertainty surrounding the new ISL season.