No bids for ISL commercial rights; AIFF to review next steps

New Delhi, Nov 7 (PTI) The All India Football Federation on Friday said it has not received any bids for the commercial rights of the Indian Super League, marking another setback for Indian football's top tier as the submission deadline closed.

"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 concluded today. No bids were received within the stipulated timeframe," the AIFF said in a statement.

The federation added that its Bid Evaluation Committee would meet over the weekend "to review the situation and deliberate on the future course of action." The development comes three weeks after the AIFF floated the RFP on October 16, inviting bids for a 15-year contract to monetise the League's commercial and media rights.

The bid submission deadline was November 5, with the bids scheduled to be opened on November 11.

According to the RFP, only companies with a minimum net worth of Rs 250 crore were eligible to bid, with an annual minimum guarantee of Rs 37.5-crore payable to the AIFF.

Among the key features of the RFP were a waiver of franchisee fees for ISL clubs from the 2025-26 season, the introduction of a video support system (and subsequently VAR), and the implementation of promotion and relegation from 2025-26 as per the Supreme Court directive.

The new commercial partner would also have been responsible for match production with at least 11 cameras, marketing, media rights sales, and grassroots investment -- of which 70 per cent was to be distributed among ISL clubs and the rest to I-League teams.

The RFP further required the partner to fund grassroots development, ensure transparency in media rights allocation, and adhere to a salary cap of Rs 18-crore per club starting from the 2025-26 season.

For the first five years, the commercial partner would have had to provide the football video support system, to be upgraded to VAR from Year 6 onwards.

With the deadline lapsing without any bids, the AIFF now faces a fresh challenge in securing a commercial framework for the ISL -- the country's top flight that was launched in 2014 amid hopes of transforming Indian football's profile and revenue base.

The failure to attract bidders is likely to raise questions over the league's current commercial viability and the federation's ability to monetise the country’s flagship football competition after its decade-long partnership with Football Sports Development Limited ended.

Super Cup SF lineup ============ Meanwhile, the AIFF announced the semifinal lineup of Super Cup with East Bengal taking on Punjab FC and FC Goa pitted against Mumbai City FC in a double-header on December 4.

The summit clash is slated on December 7. PTI TAP AM TAP AM AM