Indian Super League To Kick-Off On Feb 14, Says Sports Minister
On Jan. 2, players like Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sandesh Jhingan released a video urging FIFA to intervene as the country's top-tier league remained suspended indefinitely.
The 12th season of the Indian Super League (ISL) will begin from Feb. 14, 2026, Union Minister of Sports Mansukh Mandaviya confirmed on Tuesday. The league failed to start at its regular scheduled date due to lack of a commercial partners.
"There was lot of speculation regarding ISL but today govt, football federation and 14 clubs, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal included had a meeting and we have decided that ISL will start February 14. All clubs will participate," Mandaviya said.
Present alongside Mandaviya was All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey. He has faced criticism over his handling of the federation’s affairs, particularly the prolonged delays in getting the domestic league season underway.
The upcoming season of the league will have 91 matches and the 14 participating teams will play on on home and away basis. The full scheduled of the league is still being worked out.
Meanwhile, the I-League, the second tier of men's professional football in India, has been truncated and will see only 55 matches in its upcoming season.
"A Rs 25 crore central pool has been made for only the conduct of the ISL. 10 percent of this fund will come from AIFF, 30 percent was to come from a commercial partner but since we don't have on right now the AIFF will pitch in with that contribution, In all, the AIFF will give Rs 14 crore for ISL and about 3.2 crore for I League till we find a commercial partner" Chaubey said.
Mohun Bagan will head into the new season of the ISL as the defending champions. They won the 2024-25 season of the ISL by defeating Bengaluru FC in the final played at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
On Jan. 2, a host of top ISL players including Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sandesh Jhingan released a video urging the world governing body FIFA to intervene as the country's top-tier league remained suspended indefinitely.
They had voiced concern over the prolonged uncertainty, warning that Indian football is slipping into a state of “permanent paralysis.”
