AIFF-FSDL row: India has excellent talent, will go extra mile for betterment of football, says SC

New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday said India has "excellent talent" and it would go the "extra mile" for the finalisation of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) draft constitution for the game's betterment.

"We want the things to move on. This is an extraordinary moment. All of us are cooperating. India has excellent talent. All of us will work together. We will go an extra mile and ensure that things are put in place. Some of the coaches were saying that talent in India at the youngest level is a par with anywhere in the world. We can't withhold anything," a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi said.

During the hearing, AIFF informed the bench about conducting an "open, competitive and transparent tender process" for selection of a commercial partner to conduct the Indian Super League (ISL) in line with the best global practices.

The apex court will hear submissions from different parties on the proposal by AIFF on September 1.

Amicus curiae and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan referred to a letter sent by FIFA to AIFF setting the October 30 deadline to set the house in order and “secure a definitive order from the Supreme Court of India approving the revised AIFF Constitution and ensure full alignment of the AIFF Constitution with the mandatory provisions of the FIFA and AFC Statutes and regulations".

Sankaranarayanan submitted that FIFA couldn't dictate terms to the country's apex court.

The bench said FIFA letter is irrelevant and declined to pay any heed to it.

The top court had earlier asked AIFF and the Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) to sort out the issue concerning renewal of master rights agreement which has affected the Indian Super League this season.

On August 18, the top court agreed to hear the matter involving the tiff between AIFF and FSDL over the fate of 11 ISL clubs due to the non-renewal of their contracts with the national federation and the tournament's organisers.

The 11 ISL clubs have warned the AIFF that they "face the real possibility of shutting down entirely" if the impasse regarding the future of the top-tier domestic competition was not resolved soon.

The bench had agreed to hear the plea after Sankaranarayanan submitted that during the tenure of the contract, FSDL ought to honour it by conducting the ISL.

The clubs wrote a letter to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey last week, saying the crisis arising out of the non-renewal of the master rights agreement (MRA) between the national federation and the ISL organisers, FSDL, has "paralysed professional football in India." "Over the past 11 years, through sustained investment and coordinated effort, clubs have built youth development systems, training infrastructure, community outreach programmes and professional teams that have elevated India's footballing credibility both domestically and internationally," the clubs wrote in the letter.

They added, "This progress is now in imminent danger of collapse. The current standstill has created immediate and severe consequences. With operations suspended and no certainty on league continuity, several clubs face the real possibility of shutting down entirely." The crisis surfaced after FSDL, the ISL organisers as well as the AIFF's commercial partner, put the 2025-26 season "on hold" on July 11 due to uncertainty over the renewal of the MRA, prompting at least three clubs to either pause first-team operations or suspend player and staff salaries.

The letter was signed by Bengaluru FC, Hyderabad FC, Odisha FC, Chennaiyin FC, Jamshedpur FC, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters FC, Punjab FC, NorthEast United FC, Mumbai City FC, and Mohammedan Sporting.

Kolkata heavyweights Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal did not sign the letter.

The clubs said the impasse will also impact India's readiness for international matches, adding that "without a functioning league, our national team will be severely disadvantaged in upcoming AFC and FIFA tournaments." They also said that without the ISL, they will not be able to play a minimum number of competitive matches for participating in continental competitions, thereby risking the suspension of Indian clubs from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) tournaments.

On April 30, the top court reserved its verdict on the issue of finalisation of the AIFF draft constitution prepared by former apex court judge L Nageswara Rao.

The draft constitution, prepared by Justice Rao on the top court's directions, proposed some radical changes, including a person holding the office for a maximum period of 12 years during his lifetime, subject to serving a maximum of two successive terms of four years each.

While it said a four-year cooling-off period had to be observed after eight years as an office-bearer of the AIFF, it also mentioned that a person cannot remain a member of the sports body after attaining 70 years of age. PTI PKS PKS AMK AMK