Mumbai, Jan. 26 -- The conference room in New Delhi was unremarkable. No television cameras, no press gallery, no fanfare. Just 14 Indian Super League (ISL) club representatives, summoned on 6 January to hear a message that would redefine the relationship between the Indian state and the country's sport.

Sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya was respectful but unambiguous. Each club would pay Rs.1 crore to participate in a truncated football season starting in February. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) would organize it. There would be no alternative structure, no renegotiation.

And, crucially-no option to decline or withdraw.







"The minister was courteous, but the message was firm," recalls one ISL club chief executive, speaki...