AIFF marketing partner not keen to introduce relegation in ISL

The All India Football Federation's (AIFF) marketing partner has proposed to exempt the Indian Super League (ISL) from promotion and relegation over the next few years.

The Reliance-owned Football Sports Development Limited, the federation's marketing partner, tabled these proposals during a renewal meeting in Mumbai earlier this month, claimed News9 Sports.

The negotiations are pertaining to the renewal of an existing 15-year marketing rights deal signed in 2010 which draws to a close in December this year.

The ISL kickstarted in 2014 with eight teams and operated without official recognition from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the first three seasons. It was in 2019, that ISL was approved as the country’s premier football league after its key stakeholders agreed to follow a roadmap laid by the AFC.

Promotions began in 2023-24 with Punjab FC becoming the first team to leap into ISL as I-League champions, followed by Mohammedan Sporting.

And despite AFC's reminders to AIFF on June 4 last year, the relegation system is yet to be initiated.

In a meeting at AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on October 14, the ISL attained top-tier status from the 2022-23 season with the recommendation of promotion beginning for I-League champions from the 2023-24 season and relegations from 2024-25.

During its executive committee on July 20, 2024, the federation approved the decision to not introduce relegation in ISL from 2024-25 and has given assurance to dwell on the new proposal placed in the meeting on March 5.

The eight founding teams of the ISL paid a ‘franchises fee’ of roughly Rs. 15 crores each for 10 years in return for getting a similar amount from a sponsorship revenue pool, a model based on the Major League Soccer of USA.

The agreement ended after the 2023-24 season, and the clubs joining through a bid were legally bound to keep paying the fee till completion of their 10 years in the tournament.