AIFF invites 15-year bids for ISL and club competition rights
The AIFF has invited bids for commercial rights of men’s and women’s club competitions, including the Indian Super League, for a minimum of 15 years starting in 2026-27. The move aims to bring long-term stability to Indian football
New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Monday invited bids for the commercial rights of both men’s and women’s club competitions for a minimum period of 15 years starting with the 2026-27 season.
The AIFF has offered two packages for bidding pertaining to men’s and women’s club competitions.
Package A consists of the Indian Super League (seniormost men’s league) and the Federation Cup (seniormost cup competition). Package B comprises the Indian Women’s League (IWL) and IWL 2 and, at the bidder’s option, the Women’s Federation Cup, which is likely to be introduced later.
The bids for the commercial rights of the recently rechristened Indian Football League (earlier I-League) were not included in the latest Request for Proposal (RFP).
“We want the commercial rights for a minimum duration of 15 years. If the bidder agrees, it can be done for 20 years also. It is an option,” a top AIFF official told PTI.
However, unlike in the past, the RFP will not be made publicly available. Instead, interested parties will have to purchase the document for Rs 2.5 lakh from the AIFF.
“It is clarified that the RFP shall be shared by way of email only upon receiving the payment. The RFP must be purchased by the entity that is desiring to bid. Such right to bid may not be transferred to any affiliates of the entity making payment,” the AIFF said.
“Further, any bid submitted in response to the RFP by an entity that has not made the payment described hereinabove shall be summarily rejected and not considered for any evaluation under the RFP.”
A pre-bid conference has been scheduled for March 11, while the last date of bid submission is March 19. The bids will be opened on March 20.
The latest tender process comes against the backdrop of prolonged uncertainty surrounding the start of the ongoing ISL season, which began on February 14 in a truncated format.
The start of the 2025-26 ISL was delayed by around five months after a crisis hit Indian football following the failure of the national federation and its previous commercial partner to renew the Master Rights Agreement beyond December 8 last year.
A tender floated by the AIFF for selecting a new commercial partner under the supervision of the Supreme Court of India-appointed committee found no takers.
However, after the intervention of the sports minister and tough negotiations, all 14 clubs confirmed participation in the truncated ISL, with 91 matches set to be played on a home-and-away basis.
The ISL clubs will share 60 per cent of the financial cost (around Rs 1 crore per club) for the 2025-26 season, while the AIFF’s contribution will be around Rs 9 crore. The total cost for the season has been pegged at around Rs 24 crore.
On January 18, the AIFF issued the RFP document for broadcast rights relating to the truncated ISL.
On February 2, the AIFF awarded the exclusive global broadcast rights of the truncated ISL 2025-26 to FanCode for Rs 8.62 crore.
Kaleidoscope Production and Services (KPS Studios) was awarded the production rights of the league, both global and domestic.