Odisha FC suspend player, staff contracts as ISL future remains uncertain

The Odisha FC team has taken a big decision to suspend the contracts of all its players and staff starting Tuesday (August 5), as confusion continues over when or if the next Indian Super League (ISL) season will happen.

This comes just days after the club, along with seven other ISL teams, requested a meeting with AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey to discuss the ongoing uncertainty regarding India’s premier football league.

Odisha FC owner gives some clarity

The club, which finished runners-up in the 2023–24 Super Cup and skipped this year’s Durand Cup, is the first ISL team to take this step. Odisha FC owner Rohan Sharma clarified on social media that the club is not shutting down completely. He confirmed that some key staff are still there, and the women’s team will continue to operate.

However, he also said it’s getting harder to convince his investors to spend more money when there’s no clarity on the league’s future. Sharma posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he hopes this step will push others to work faster towards a solution.

We haven't shut down the club despite the headlines.

Key staff members are retained, our women's team will be operational.

However, it becomes harder to justify to my stakeholders to sink Crs upon Crs with nothing to show for it, and no end in sight.

— Rohan (@RohanSharma915) August 1, 2025

More from Football

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes hits back at criticism over on-field demeanour: 'What you see on the pitch is...' Sunil Chhetri returns as Indian football team coach Khalid Jamil names probables for AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers

We have
-No Clarity when the League will Start
- Nowhere to practice/play/work in Odisha
- No way to get sponsorship since there's no season
- No way to engage investors with an expiring participation agreement

We hoped something would give, but sadly it hasn't

— Rohan (@RohanSharma915) August 1, 2025

We didn't go into this offseason planning to take this step. In fact we had made 5 signings until it became clear things are delayed

We desperately hope the above issues get resolved; maybe doing this will prompt people to fast-track solutions so we can get back to work

— Rohan (@RohanSharma915) August 1, 2025

Odisha FC missed the ISL playoffs last season, finishing seventh in the table. Their women’s team, who were champions in 2023, were relegated this year after finishing second-last. This was the first time in the history of Indian football that the defending champions have been relegated in a league.