New Delhi, July 14 -- The Indian Super League (ISL) is teetering on the brink of collapse, as a tussle between its operator and regulator upends the grand experiment to professionalize Indian footfall.

After a 10-year run that cheered fans, brands and broadcasters, a dispute over revising the sport's governing agreement and an intervention by the Supreme Court has effectively stalled ISL. At the heart of the crisis: The expiring master rights agreement between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the commercial operator Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL).

An FSDL spokesperson said it cannot continue without legal clarity, ownership structure, and operational rights.

"We can't organize a league for which we don't have the ri...