SC-appointed Justice Rao recommends to strike balance between AIFF autonomy and bidders' interests

New Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) Justice (Retd.) L Nageswara Rao has recommended striking a balance between "preserving" the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) autonomy and keeping in mind prospective bidders' commercial interests, in his report to the Supreme Court after an unsuccessful tender process to monetise the ISL.

The apex court-appointed committee, led by Justice Rao, has submitted a report to the SC after its invitation for bids on the tender it floated for the ISL's commercial rights found no takers, which left the sport's national federation in a fix.

"The recommendations that follow seek to strike a balanced approach by preserving the AIFF's regulatory role while making the commercial framework more viable, and attractive to prospective bidders, thereby facilitating renewed interest and enabling the timely conduct of the ISL," Justice Rao noted in his report, a copy of which is with PTI.

Rao is also the chairman of the Bid Evaluation Committee.

Limited representation in the AIFF's governing council, minimum guaranteed payment, decision-making authority, management and sub-licensing of rights have emerged as the biggest bone of contention as all stakeholders seek a way forward for the 2025-26 season.

The AIFF had earlier said that it had not received any bid for the commercial rights of the already-delayed ISL, leaving the future of the country's domestic football in disarray.

"Insofar as the concerns relating to the minimum guaranteed payment have directly contributed to the non-receipt of bids, it may be appropriate to revisit and reconsider the financial obligations stipulated in the RFP (Request for Proposal)," Rao said in the report.

"Specifically, the annual guaranteed payment to the AIFF may be restructured or reasonably reduced to ensure commercial viability for prospective partners, while still safeguarding the financial interests of the AIFF.

"Such restructuring would address interested bidders' concerns regarding disproportionate financial exposure in the initial years and high operational overheads." The other two members of the Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC) are AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey and Kesvaran Murugasu of the Asian Football Confederation as an independent member.

The continued uncertainty over the much-delayed ISL led to a few clubs to suspend all their football activities indefinitely.

Regarding limited representation and constrained decision-making powers of the prospective commercial partners, he has called for a revision of the AIFF governing council framework to "ensure a more balanced and functional" governance arrangement.

"The interested bidders have consistently conveyed that meaningful participation in decision-making is essential if they are to assume substantial financial exposure, operational responsibilities, and commercial risk. Accordingly, the Governing Council may be reconstituted to provide the commercial partner with equal representation.

"Further,the interested bidders have expressed that the proposed veto power for the senior AIFF representative may significantly limit their ability to make timely commercial and operational decisions." The AIFF had floated the Request for Proposals on October 16 for a 15-year contract to monetise the league's commercial rights. The submission deadline was November 7.

"The proposed composition, providing only one representative out of six from the commercial partner, was viewed as affording insufficient participation in key governance and operational decisions relating to the league," the report stated.

As far as management and sub-licensing of rights was concerned, the report said the bidders "expressed concern over the restrictions imposed on the commercial partner's ability to manage and sub-licence rights particularly broadcasting and allied rights, which was considered integral to effective commercial management." For the last 15 years, Indian football was run by the Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, after the AIFF awarded them commercial rights for Rs 700 crore in 2010. The FSDL has operated the ISL since its inception in 2014. However, the 15-year agreement ends on December 8.

Justice Rao's report further stated, "In view of the close linkage between Essential Aspects and the framework under Article 63 of the AIFF Constitution, particularly Article 63.3 relating to delegation of powers, it may be considered appropriate to interpret the term in a manner that preserves the AIFF's primacy over Essential Aspects and regulatory functions, while not including the day-to-day administrative, commercial, or logistical management of ISL or any league or competition which would be the domain of the commercial partner." PTI AH SSC SSC