The Indian Super League (ISL) appointed Karan Yadav as its first ever Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on 21 September 2026 in Mumbai, giving India’s top tier football league a dedicated executive head for the first time in its 12 year history. The Indian Super League announced the appointment under its new club-led operational model, where the 14 clubs will handle commercial operations while the All India Football Federation (AIFF) retains regulatory oversight. The move comes just weeks before the ISL 2026-27 season is scheduled to kick off, ending months of uncertainty around the league’s future structure and broadcast roadmap.
What Is the Indian Super League?
What is the Indian Super League? The Indian Super League is India’s top tier professional men’s football league, contested by 14 clubs in a home and away format and recognised as the country’s premier domestic competition by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since October 2019. The Indian Super League operates on promotion and relegation with the second tier and its champions qualify for AFC Champions League Two qualifiers.
The Indian Super League was founded on 21 October 2013 and kicked off its inaugural season on 12 October 2014 with eight franchise teams. The Indian Super League was created through a partnership between the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), which is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries with Star Sports as partner, and IMG-Reliance. The league was modelled on franchise based competitions like the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Major League Soccer (MLS) of the United States to raise the profile of football in India.
The All India Football Federation was formed on 23 June 1937 at the Army Headquarters in Shimla and received FIFA affiliation in 1948 and became a founding member of the AFC in 1954. The AIFF is headquartered at Football House, Sector 19, Dwarka, New Delhi and is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The AIFF governs all organised football in India, including the national teams, the ISL, the I-League now called Indian Football League (IFL), youth and women’s competitions, coaching and refereeing.
When Did the ISL Start and Who Owns It?
When did the ISL start? The Indian Super League started on 12 October 2014, when Atletico de Kolkata defeated Mumbai City FC in the opening match at Kolkata and went on to become the inaugural champions.
Who owns and runs the ISL? The Indian Super League is owned and regulated by the AIFF, which holds the sporting and regulatory rights. Until 8 December 2025, the commercial rights were held by FSDL under a 15 year Master Rights Agreement (MRA) signed in 2010 for about ₹700 crore, under which FSDL paid the AIFF an annual fee of about ₹50 crore and managed broadcast, sponsorship and commercialisation. After the MRA expired, the AIFF and the clubs agreed in July 2026 to transfer commercial rights to the clubs under a club led structure, while the AIFF retains administration, discipline, refereeing and sporting governance.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 21 October 2013 |
| First season kick off | 12 October 2014 |
| Top tier status granted | October 2019 by FIFA and AFC |
| Current number of clubs | 14 |
| Current champions | East Bengal FC (2025-26, first ISL title) |
| League Winners Shield holders (Premiers) | East Bengal FC (2025-26) |
| Organising body | AIFF and ISL Managing Committee |
| Former commercial partner | FSDL (2014 to 8 December 2025) |
Who Is Karan Yadav and Why Is He the First CEO of ISL?
Who is Karan Yadav? Karan Yadav is a sports business executive with close to two decades of experience across football, media, marketing, commercial strategy and operations, appointed on 21 September 2026 as the first ever Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Super League. The Indian Super League said Yadav brings football roots from co-founding TheHardTackle.com and strong sports business expertise from JSW Sports, ACKO and Wavemaker.
The Indian Super League announced on 21 September 2026 in Mumbai that Yadav would become the first CEO of the league under its new club-led League Office structure. The Indian Super League said the appointment brings together commercial, operational and stakeholder leadership at a pivotal moment, as the league rebuilds after a period of financial stress and governance transition.
Yadav began his football journey as a fan and writer. In 2010, while working as a software engineer at Infosys, he co-founded TheHardTackle.com, a fan written football publication that grew to more than 50 writers and 10 editors and provided live text commentary for Indian football matches at a time when television coverage was limited. From that fan media start, he moved to the commercial side of professional sport.
His professional track spans multiple verticals. He served as Chief Commercial Officer at JSW Sports Pvt Ltd from April 2023 to September 2026, heading revenue across JSW owned teams and properties including Delhi Capitals (IPL and WPL), Pretoria Capitals (SA20), Bengaluru FC (ISL), Haryana Steelers (PKL) and Soorma Hockey Club (HIL), plus talent management for Neeraj Chopra and the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS). Before that he was Director, Sponsorships and Activations at ACKO from November 2021 to March 2023, leading the insurer’s sports and entertainment partnership vertical, IPL franchise partnerships and negotiations with rights holders. He held leadership roles at Wavemaker (GroupM) from 2018 to 2021 as Business Director for Sports and Live and later Head of Content and Sports (South), handling BCCI sponsorships, IPL franchise deals, branded content and sports rights strategy. His earlier experience includes roles as General Manager Operations and later Senior Vice President at IOS Sports and Entertainment, an MBA internship with New York Red Bulls in the United States, engineering at Jaypee Institute of Information Technology and an MBA and Master’s in Sports Management at Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst, with an initial career as Senior Systems Engineer at Infosys from 2008 to 2011.
Yadav described the appointment as a return to his roots, noting that the club led model gives the league a strong foundation to work with the clubs and the Managing Committee of ISL. The Indian Super League said Yadav will focus on building a strong League Office, strengthening the commercial and broadcast proposition, deepening fan engagement, and creating a sustainable growth environment for clubs. As the first CEO, Yadav reports to the Managing Committee and acts as the bridge between the clubs, the AIFF and external partners for broadcasting and sponsorship.
What Is the Club-Led Operational Model?
What is the club-led operational model? The club-led operational model is a governance structure where the participating clubs collectively hold the commercial rights and run the business operations of the Indian Super League, while the AIFF keeps control over sporting, disciplinary and regulatory matters. The Indian Super League clubs manage sponsorship and broadcast sales through a Special Purpose Vehicle, while the AIFF owns the league and governs sporting integrity.
Under the club led model finalised on 8 July 2026 in New Delhi, the 14 ISL clubs will manage sponsorship, marketing, media rights sales and central costs through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) or a Managing Committee vehicle. The AIFF will retain ownership of the league, hold administrative oversight, provide referees, approve calendars and retain veto powers on integrity, disciplinary and sporting governance. The clubs will retain veto on commercial and operational matters. This mirrors global practice in leagues such as the Premier League in England, where clubs are the primary commercial stakeholders.
Key features agreed at the joint press conference addressed by AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan, Head of Competitions Akshay Rohatgi, Ravi Puskur (CEO, FC Goa), Mandar Tamhane (CEO, NorthEast United FC) and Dhruv Sood (CEO, Sporting Club Delhi) include a clear division of roles. Commercial rights for the league are handed to the clubs for an initial period of four years, with an option for clubs to exit after two years with due notice to the AIFF. The AIFF collects a fixed administration fee of about ₹1.1 crore per club, totalling about ₹15.4 crore if all 14 clubs participate, plus 10 percent of net profits. Clubs will also offset the earlier ₹12.4 crore annual contribution that the previous commercial partner was to give the AIFF. The Managing Committee will issue the Request for Proposal (RFP) for broadcast and secure title and associate sponsors. The calendar is aligned with FIFA Men’s International Match Windows in September, October, November and March and with AFC club competition schedules to balance national team preparation and continental participation for clubs like FC Goa and East Bengal FC. The National Sports Governance Act and a recent Supreme Court direction that the AIFF must own and operate its leagues are kept as legal anchors, so the arrangement is described as AIFF owned but club operated on the commercial side.
Why Did the ISL Move Away from the Old Commercial Structure?
Why did the ISL stop or face uncertainty? The Indian Super League faced a prolonged pause because the 15 year Master Rights Agreement between the AIFF and FSDL was set to expire on 8 December 2025, and the Supreme Court restrained the AIFF from renewing it on existing terms until the draft constitution case was decided. This legal gap halted planning for the 2025-26 season and forced a later shift to a club-led commercial framework in 2026.
The 2025-26 season was put on hold in July 2025 amid this legal uncertainty. After intervention by Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in June 2026 and meetings with club CEOs, the federation and clubs shifted to an interim solution. The clubs proposed a club led structure on 14 May 2026, arguing that operating the league themselves could cut costs in production, logistics, administration and central execution, especially for a full season. The AIFF, which had earlier resisted the proposal, agreed in principle in June and formally signed the four year framework on 8 July 2026.
The previous season was eventually held in a truncated single leg round robin format from 14 February to 21 May 2026 with only 91 matches, each team playing 13 matches instead of the usual home and away double round robin of about 180 matches. East Bengal FC won its first ISL title and fourth overall Indian top division title, ending a 22 year league title drought, in that shortened season.
Financial sustainability was the core driver. Club CEOs stressed that the new model must be run on what clubs can recover, after several years of losses. The truncated 2025-26 broadcast deal, where FanCode acquired exclusive TV and digital rights for ₹8.62 crore and sublicensed television coverage to Sony Sports Network, showed the revenue pressure. Centralised cost optimisation, lean management and a broadcast driven revenue plan were presented as the way to stabilise the league before any long term commercial auction.
Why the ISL was called a failure by some critics? The criticism before the reform focused on high central costs, limited relegation, the dominance of the MRA holder over scheduling and commercial decisions, and the squeeze on the I-League. The club led pilot is presented by the AIFF and clubs as a correction that gives clubs ownership of the economic interest while keeping regulatory control with the federation.
How Will the Club-Led Model Work in 2026-27?
The Indian Super League’s 2026-27 implementation plan turns the club led principle into a clear operational calendar and financial checklist.
The AIFF sent letters to all 14 clubs giving them two weeks from 8 July to confirm participation. Each club must pay a participation fee of ₹1.1 crore in two instalments of ₹55 lakh each, with the first due by 20 July 2026 and the second by 14 August 2026. By 20 July, 12 clubs had paid the first instalment, with two seeking extensions on operational grounds, and by 14 August 13 clubs had cleared both instalments.
The Managing Committee, with representation from clubs such as FC Goa, NorthEast United FC and Sporting Club Delhi, will run day to day commercial affairs from the League Office headed by the CEO. Karan Yadav, as first CEO, leads strategy, commercial growth, broadcast negotiations, sponsorship sales, marketing, fixture planning support and stakeholder coordination. The AIFF retains authority to approve the competition regulations, club licensing, player status and registration, referee appointments and disciplinary processes.
| Component | Who Handles It |
|---|---|
| Commercial rights (sponsorship, marketing) | Clubs via SPV or Managing Committee |
| Broadcast rights sale (RFP and auction) | Clubs or Managing Committee |
| League administration, calendar approval, player registration | AIFF |
| Refereeing, integrity and disciplinary matters | AIFF with veto power |
| Operational delivery, production, logistics, club growth | CEO and League Office with club oversight |
The new CEO will also need to coordinate with Genius Sports, which had been proposed as a data and technology partner in the initial club proposal, and with future broadcast and production partners secured through the RFP. The federation has said an independent audit and transparent profit sharing mechanism will be built into the four year agreement.
When Will ISL Start and Where Can Fans Watch It?
When will the ISL start? The Indian Super League 2026-27 season is scheduled to start on 4 September 2026, with the AIFF’s tentative calendar showing the league running to April 2027 in a full home and away format that restores the regular seven month season after the shortened February to May campaign in 2025-26.
When will ISL 2026 start and when did the last season run? The last season, ISL 2025-26, ran from 14 February to 21 May 2026 in a shortened format. The Indian Super League 2026-27 restores the regular seven month window from September to April, aligning with India’s football season after the Durand Cup in July to August and before the Federation Cup (formerly AIFF Super Cup) in April to May.
Where can fans watch ISL and on which channel? The television and streaming partner for ISL 2026-27 has not been finally confirmed and is being decided through an open RFP process jointly run by the AIFF and the Managing Committee. For ISL 2025-26, fans watched on FanCode for streaming and Sony Sports Network for television, but the 2026-27 rights are under fresh bidding.
For the 2025-26 season, FanCode, a Dream Sports company, won exclusive TV and digital rights for ₹8.62 crore and sublicensed linear television coverage to Sony Sports Network, with streaming on the FanCode app and website and television on Sony Sports. Production was handled by KPS Studios. For 2026-27, the RFP issued on 25 July 2026 closed on 8 August 2026, with technical bids opened on 8 August and commercial bids on 10 August. Two packages were offered, one combining media rights with live production and one for media rights alone. Until the winner is announced, fans are advised to follow official updates on indiansuperleague.com and the-aiff.com.
ISL 2026 Schedule, Points Table and League Format
The Indian Super League returns to its original format in 2026-27. Each of the 14 clubs will play every other club twice, once at home and once away, in a double round robin league stage. The top teams at the end of the league stage qualify for playoffs, and the season ends with the ISL Final to decide the champions who receive the ISL Trophy. The team finishing first in the league stage receives the League Winners Shield and is called the Premiers.
Relegation and promotion are now part of the system. The bottom placed ISL team is relegated to the Indian Football League (IFL), previously the I-League, and the IFL champion is promoted to the ISL, subject to licensing criteria. East Bengal FC enters as defending champions and premiers, while Diamond Harbour FC is among the newly promoted sides for 2026-27 and Mohammedan SC was relegated in 2025-26.
During a season, the ISL table and ISL standings are updated after each matchday. Teams are ranked on the points table by total points, with three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss, followed by goal difference if points are equal. Fans following isl match today, isl live score and isl score updates can track standings that show matches played, wins, draws, losses, goals for, goals against and total points.
ISL Broadcasting Rights and Channel Details
Indian Super League broadcasting rights have changed across seasons and are sold through a transparent tender overseen by a major audit firm, in line with the National Sports Code and FIFA and AFC guidelines.
| Season | Digital and TV Rights Holder | Production | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | FanCode (digital) with sublicence to Sony Sports Network (TV) | KPS Studios | ₹8.62 crore |
| 2026-27 | To be announced via RFP of 25 July 2026 | To be announced (two package model) | Under bidding |
The shift to a club led commercial model makes isl broadcasting rights the most important revenue line for the league. The CEO’s mandate includes securing a long term broadcast partner, expanding language feeds and distribution on cable and DTH, and improving the commercial proposition for sponsors who rely on reach during the peak February to May and September to April windows.
ISL vs I-League: How India’s Football Pyramid Works
What is the Indian football league called at the top level? The Indian Super League is the top tier, called Level 1 of the Indian football league system, while the Indian Football League, formerly the I-League, is Level 2 and feeds promotion to the ISL.
The Indian Super League was recognised as the sole top division in October 2019 after an AFC roadmap meeting in Kuala Lumpur involving the AIFF, FSDL, ISL and I-League stakeholders. From 2023 onward, promotion from the I-League to the ISL was introduced on sporting merit, with Punjab FC and Mohammedan SC earning promotion in successive seasons, while relegation from the ISL remained suspended until 2025-26. Now both promotion and relegation operate, subject to the AIFF Club Licensing criteria.
| Feature | Indian Super League (ISL) | Indian Football League (I-League) |
|---|---|---|
| Level on pyramid | 1 (top tier) | 2 (second tier) |
| Founded as top tier format | 2014, top tier from 2019 | National league from 1996 as National Football League, I-League from 2007 |
| Number of clubs 2026-27 | 14 | 11 confirmed |
| Format 2026-27 | Home and away double round robin plus playoffs | Home and away round robin |
| Continental qualification | Champions qualify for AFC Champions League Two qualifiers | Champions can be promoted to ISL |
| Commercial model | Club led, AIFF regulated | AIFF regulated |
The distinction matters for fans who search for football india league and indian super league standings, because the tables, indian super league stats and indian super league schedule for the ISL are separate from the IFL table and fixtures.
Significance for Indian Football and the Way Forward
The Indian Super League’s appointment of its first CEO marks a structural shift from a centrally controlled commercial entity to a collective ownership model that is common in mature leagues around the world. The Indian Super League had operated for 11 seasons without a dedicated chief executive, with strategic and commercial functions handled by FSDL as the master rights holder. The creation of a CEO led League Office with club oversight addresses governance clarity, a key demand in the Supreme Court’s view that the federation must own and operate its national leagues.
For the AIFF (as of September 2026), the club led model reduces fiscal risk while preserving regulatory control, and it aligns with the Vision 2047 strategic plan to make India a leading football nation. For the 14 clubs, including popular sides like Kerala Blasters FC, FC Goa, Bengaluru FC, Mumbai City FC, Jamshedpur FC, Mohun Bagan Super Giant and NorthEast United FC, the model links revenue directly to performance on commercial execution, broadcast distribution and fan growth. For the national team ecosystem, a stable September to April calendar helps longer player release periods that the AIFF has requested from clubs for national interest.
The way forward depends on three near term tests. First, confirmation of a broadcast partner and production quality that restores reach after the fragmented 2025-26 arrangement. Second, timely participation confirmations and fee payments from all 14 clubs to lock the fixture list. Third, effective execution by the new CEO in building sponsorship categories, ticketing through indian super league ticket and isl football tickets channels, and digital engagement that converts the large search interest for isl match today, isl football today and isl table 2026 into stadium and screen audiences.
If the pilot succeeds over the next two seasons, the AIFF has indicated it could extend the club led framework for longer terms. The Indian Super League’s stated ambition, repeated by both the federation and the new CEO, is to make the league one of the best in Asia, financially sustainable and fan centric, while keeping sporting integrity firmly with the federation.
Key Takeaways
- The Indian Super League (ISL) appointed Karan Yadav as its inaugural CEO on 21 September 2026 under a new club led League Office structure.
- The club-led operational model gives 14 ISL clubs the commercial rights via a Special Purpose Vehicle while the AIFF retains regulatory, disciplinary and refereeing control.
- The Indian Super League started on 12 October 2014, was founded on 21 October 2013, and was recognised as India’s top tier league by FIFA and AFC in October 2019.
- The Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the AIFF and FSDL from 2010 expired on 8 December 2025, leading to the truncated 2025-26 season of 91 matches won by East Bengal FC.
- The ISL 2026-27 season is scheduled from 4 September 2026 to April 2027 in a full home and away format with promotion and relegation to the Indian Football League (IFL).
- For 2025-26, FanCode held exclusive TV and digital rights for ₹8.62 crore and sublicensed TV to Sony Sports Network, while the 2026-27 broadcast partner will be decided through an RFP issued on 25 July 2026.
