SC to announce interim arrangement for ISL on Monday
New Delhi, Aug. 29 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it will go an "extra mile" to ensure the best for Indian football as it agreed to pronounce next week an interim arrangement for conduct of ISL and finalise the constitution for the AIFF.
The top court had in April reserved orders on the constitution of the AIFF awaiting the notification of the National Sports Governance Act, 2025 and its impact on the directions that the court proposed to give.
On Thursday, the court was informed about a letter from FIFA to AIFF indicating that the latter may face suspension if its constitution is not finalised by Oct 30. The bench of justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi said, "It is irrelevant what they (FIFA) say. We don't need to take it into account because after we reserved the judgment, the law has come into place and it is yet to be notified." However, the bench said it will take up the matter on Monday (Sept 1) to finalise an arrangement for conduct of ISL.
"We will put up on Monday for passing interim orders," the bench said, while seeking assistance of senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan and advocate Samar Bansal - the amici curiae in this case - on finalising the judgment by comparing the 2025 Act with the draft constitution prepared by former SC judge L Nageswara Rao.
The bench said, "This is an extraordinary moment. India has excellent talent. Once the Act is in place, everybody should work together and ensure things move on. We will go an extra mile and ensure things are put in place. Looking at the talent at the youngest level that is available in India, some coaches have said it is at par with anywhere in the world."
Last week, the court was confronted with the issue of ISL's uncertainty this season as the 15-year contract of FSDL, AIFF's commercial partners, was coming to an end in December this year. The court directed both entities to come to a consensus on conducting ISL this year.
Presenting a joint statement to the court, FSDL's counsel senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul told the court that both parties have agreed that a fresh tender will be floated for selection of a commercial partner to conduct ISL.
"The FSDL will waive its contractual Right of First Negotiation and Right to Match under the MRA."
The process of identifying the new partner will be managed by an independent professional firm of repute and will be concluded by Oct 15. Once this process is over, the joint statement suggested that the new league season could commence by Dec 2025.
Prior to ISL, the FSDL said it was agreeable to conduct the Super Cup, being a domestic tournament open to clubs across multiple tiers, to ensure the players and clubs remain engaged pending the commencement of the ISL.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar appearing for AIFF said that no sponsor will come forward if the broadcasting rights are for a short-term period.
Kaul said that 95% of the revenue comes from broadcast rights and players will not come in if the engagement is not for a long period. Sankaranarayanan told the court that broadly the suggestion seems to be fair. However, the court asked him to reflect on the joint proposal and respond by Monday.
On the earlier date, Sankaraarayanan had told the court that 11 out of the 13 ISL clubs had written to him seeking an early resolution of the problem. The clubs in their letter to the amici curiae said, "It is imperative that the current proceedings be expedited to provide the necessary certainty for the league and the wider football pyramid to function." Since clubs have multi-year sponsorships and contractual commitments, several sponsors had already withdrawn due to the prevailing uncertainty....
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