Kamal Ghorui
New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Thursday has granted Mohun Bagan Super Giant (MBSG) and Kerala Blasters a three-day extension, until April 5 (Sunday), to pay the first participation fee towards the Indian Super League (ISL) 2025-26 season. As per the revised financial model shared with the clubs, each club was due to pay Rs 30 lakh by March 5, another Rs 30 lakh between March 28 and April 4 and Rs 20 lakh by May 1.
The AIFF has reminded the clubs that failure to remit the entire amount, including the fine of Rs 1 lakh per day, may lead to “disqualification of the club from participation”.In the early communication on the topic, AIFF had said that in the event payments are not paid for seven days, they shall issue a notice of disqualification to the club(s). If no payments are made for the four days that follow, the club(s) will be disqualified from next season’s ISL.“A fine of Rs 1 lakh per day shall be levied for each day of delay from the due date until actual payment. Upon the expiry of seven days of continued non-payment, AIFF shall issue a notice of disqualification to the club. If the default is not remedied within four days from the date of such notice, the club shall be deemed disqualified from participation in the next season of the ISL, without any further communication,” said the communication by the AIFF to the 14 ISL clubs.AIFF also clarified that their decision (s) “shall be final, binding, and not appealable.”The revision to the financial model saw AIFF’s contribution to the league’s operational costs go from Rs 9.7 crore to zero. The federation, which is running the ISL this season, posted a revenue deficit of Rs 25.9 crore in its 2024-25 audited statements.In the aftermath of Reliance-subsidiary FSDL’s exit in December 2025, AIFF has been running the show without the annual Rs 50 crore that it used to get as commercial rights. The governing body is hoping to land a new partner for the next 15-20 years, with the bidding process closing on March 26. As TimesofIndia.com had reported, GMR Sports, FanCode and Capri Sports have thrown their hat in the ring so far.
