Latest news with #IndianSuperLeague
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Pitch Imperfect: The ISL suspension and Indian football's latest crisis
On July 11, the upcoming 2025–26 season of the Indian Super League was abruptly put on hold by its organiser, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), citing uncertainty over the Master Rights Agreement with the AIFF. This unprecedented move has left players, clubs and fans in limbo, and raises fresh questions about the governance and sustainability of Indian football's top-tier league. What exactly is behind this standoff? Does it signal deeper structural issues in Indian football? And how is the Indian football ecosystem affected by this? Guest: Amitabha Das Sharma from The Hindu's sports bureau Host: Reuben Joe Joseph Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Listen to more In Focus podcasts:
News18
7 hours ago
- Sport
- News18
Transfer News: Mohun Bagan SG Rope In Abhishek Singh Tekcham On 4-Year Deal
Last Updated: Mohun Bagan Super Giant signed full-back Abhishek Singh Tekcham from Punjab FC on a four-year deal. Mohun Bagan Super Giant on Thursday announced the signing of full-back Abhishek Singh Tekcham from Punjab FC on a four-year deal for the upcoming season. The 20-year-old from Manipur played in the majority of Punjab FC's Indian Super League matches in the 2024/2025 season. He has made 22 appearances, totaling 1,958 minutes on the field in the ISL. In the previous season, Abhishek Singh Tekcham made 12 Indian Super League appearances for Punjab FC and provided two assists. What Did Abhishek Singh Tekcham Say On Joining Mohun Bagan SG? 'I received offers from several big clubs in the country. But the reason I chose Mohun Bagan Super Giant is because it is the No. 1 club in the country. You win championships at Mohun Bagan. You win trophies. You chase dreams," Abhishek Singh Tekcham was quoted as saying after his move. 'Their continuous trophy-winning journey inspired me to join them. This club is always in the title race. I also dream of winning titles in the club's jersey," Abhishek said, after joining the club. 'While playing for Punjab, I won the I-League. But I have not won the premier competitions in the country – the ISL and the Shield – yet. I hope I'll be able to fulfil that dream by playing for Mohun Bagan. 'Many top stars of Indian football are here. Training and playing with them will benefit me. Though I have played for India, I aim to play in the AFC Championship. That's a dream I want to fulfil," Abhishek added. view comments First Published: July 24, 2025, 15:06 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Al-Ahram Weekly
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Indian football 'hurt, scared' as domestic game hits fresh low - World
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter once called India a "sleeping giant" of football, but the sport is mired in fresh crisis in the country and faces problems from the top down to grassroots. The men's national team are without a coach and the Indian Super League (ISL) -- India's top competition -- is in danger of collapsing over a dispute between the federation and its commercial partner. "Everybody in the Indian football ecosystem is worried, hurt, scared about the uncertainty we are faced with," Sunil Chhetri, the celebrated veteran striker, wrote on X about the fate of the ISL. The former national skipper unwittingly summed up one of the issues facing Indian football when he came out of international retirement in March aged 40. The striker has 95 goals for his country and is only behind Cristiano Ronaldo (138), Lionel Messi (112) and Ali Daei (108) in the all-time international scoring charts. His best days are well behind him, but with no younger replacements coming through he returned to the national side. India's men are 133rd in the FIFA rankings -- their lowest placing in nearly a decade -- and have won just one of their last 16 matches. They have never reached the World Cup and Spaniard Manolo Marquez stepped down this month as head coach after just one year and one win in eight games. His last act was to oversee a 1-0 defeat in Asian Cup qualifying to Hong Kong, population 7.5 million to India's 1.4 billion. Disarray The ISL is usually played between September and April. But a rights agreement between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the company which runs the ISL, ends on December 8 and is yet to be renewed. The league is now paralysed ahead of the new campaign and the uncertainty has affected over 5,000 players, coaches, staff and others. National football team director and former captain Subrata Paul is confident the sport in India -- a country obsessed with cricket -- will come out stronger. "Indian football, like any growing ecosystem, will face its share of challenges and transitions," Paul, regarded as one of India's best-ever goalkeepers, told AFP. "I see this as a time to pause, reflect and refocus. Yes, the recent results and the uncertainty around the ISL are difficult for all of us who love the game, but I see a silver lining as well. "It's an opportunity to strengthen our foundation by investing in youth development, infrastructure and quality coaching." The franchise-based ISL started in 2014 as a league that brought global stars including Italy's Alessandro Del Piero to India, and aimed to promote the game in a new avatar. Bur rather than boom, the ISL has seen dwindling TV ratings and falling sponsor interest. Wenger help and hope Football's global bosses have long been keen to tap the potential that India has as the world's most populous country. Arsene Wenger, the former Arsenal manager and now FIFA's chief of global football development, visited in 2023 to inaugurate an academy. AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey -- who is also a politician with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party -- last month met Wenger, who has backed India's football development, particularly at grassroots level. Chaubey said Wenger believes starting football at 13 years of age, as is the norm in India, is too late. Players should start by eight, he said. While India have never reached the World Cup and again will be absent in North America next year, there has been modest success in the distant past. India qualified for the Olympics four times between 1948 and 1960. At the 1956 Melbourne Games India came fourth after losing the bronze-medal match to Bulgaria. Blatter in 2007 called India a "sleeping giant" -- but it remains in a deep slumber. 'Own benefit' Football is a distant third in popularity in India after cricket and hockey, with the eastern city of Kolkata and the southern state of Kerala hotspots for the sport. Compounding that, there has long been mismanagement by Indian football chiefs, said veteran sports journalist Jaydeep Basu. "The fact that the team which was ranked 99 in September 2023 has come down to 133 basically shows poor management," Basu told AFP. "There is a caucus working in the AIFF of two or three people who are running the show for their own benefit," added Basu, who recently authored a book, "Who stole my football?". (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.) Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Indian football 'hurt, scared' as domestic game hits fresh low
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter once called India a "sleeping giant" of football, but the sport is mired in fresh crisis in the country and faces problems from the top down to grassroots. The men's national team are without a coach and the Indian Super League (ISL) -- India's top competition -- is in danger of collapsing over a dispute between the federation and its commercial partner. "Everybody in the Indian football ecosystem is worried, hurt, scared about the uncertainty we are faced with," Sunil Chhetri, the celebrated veteran striker, wrote on X about the fate of the ISL. The former national skipper unwittingly summed up one of the issues facing Indian football when he came out of international retirement in March aged 40. The striker has 95 goals for his country and is only behind Cristiano Ronaldo (138), Lionel Messi (112) and Ali Daei (108) in the all-time international scoring charts. His best days are well behind him, but with no younger replacements coming through he returned to the national side. India's men are 133rd in the FIFA rankings -- their lowest placing in nearly a decade -- and have won just one of their last 16 matches. They have never reached the World Cup and Spaniard Manolo Marquez stepped down this month as head coach after just one year and one win in eight games. His last act was to oversee a 1-0 defeat in Asian Cup qualifying to Hong Kong, population 7.5 million to India's 1.4 billion. - Disarray - The ISL is usually played between September and April. But a rights agreement between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the company which runs the ISL, ends on December 8 and is yet to be renewed. The league is now paralysed ahead of the new campaign and the uncertainty has affected over 5,000 players, coaches, staff and others. National football team director and former captain Subrata Paul is confident the sport in India -- a country obsessed with cricket -- will come out stronger. "Indian football, like any growing ecosystem, will face its share of challenges and transitions," Paul, regarded as one of India's best-ever goalkeepers, told AFP. "I see this as a time to pause, reflect and refocus. Yes, the recent results and the uncertainty around the ISL are difficult for all of us who love the game, but I see a silver lining as well. "It's an opportunity to strengthen our foundation by investing in youth development, infrastructure and quality coaching." The franchise-based ISL started in 2014 as a league that brought global stars including Italy's Alessandro Del Piero to India, and aimed to promote the game in a new avatar. Bur rather than boom, the ISL has seen dwindling TV ratings and falling sponsor interest. - Wenger help and hope - Football's global bosses have long been keen to tap the potential that India has as the world's most populous country. Arsene Wenger, the former Arsenal manager and now FIFA's chief of global football development, visited in 2023 to inaugurate an academy. AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey -- who is also a politician with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party -- last month met Wenger, who has backed India's football development, particularly at grassroots level. Chaubey said Wenger believes starting football at 13 years of age, as is the norm in India, is too late. Players should start by eight, he said. While India have never reached the World Cup and again will be absent in North America next year, there has been modest success in the distant past. India qualified for the Olympics four times between 1948 and 1960. At the 1956 Melbourne Games India came fourth after losing the bronze-medal match to Bulgaria. Blatter in 2007 called India a "sleeping giant" -- but it remains in a deep slumber. - 'Own benefit' - Football is a distant third in popularity in India after cricket and hockey, with the eastern city of Kolkata and the southern state of Kerala hotspots for the sport. Compounding that, there has long been mismanagement by Indian football chiefs, said veteran sports journalist Jaydeep Basu. "The fact that the team which was ranked 99 in September 2023 has come down to 133 basically shows poor management," Basu told AFP. "There is a caucus working in the AIFF of two or three people who are running the show for their own benefit," added Basu, who recently authored a book, "Who stole my football?". AFP has contacted the AIFF for comment. fk/abh/pst
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Indian football 'hurt, scared' as domestic game hits fresh low
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter once called India a "sleeping giant" of football, but the sport is mired in fresh crisis in the country and faces problems from the top down to grassroots. The men's national team are without a coach and the Indian Super League (ISL) -- India's top competition -- is in danger of collapsing over a dispute between the federation and its commercial partner. "Everybody in the Indian football ecosystem is worried, hurt, scared about the uncertainty we are faced with," Sunil Chhetri, the celebrated veteran striker, wrote on X about the fate of the ISL. The former national skipper unwittingly summed up one of the issues facing Indian football when he came out of international retirement in March aged 40. The striker has 95 goals for his country and is only behind Cristiano Ronaldo (138), Lionel Messi (112) and Ali Daei (108) in the all-time international scoring charts. His best days are well behind him, but with no younger replacements coming through he returned to the national side. India's men are 133rd in the FIFA rankings -- their lowest placing in nearly a decade -- and have won just one of their last 16 matches. They have never reached the World Cup and Spaniard Manolo Marquez stepped down this month as head coach after just one year and one win in eight games. His last act was to oversee a 1-0 defeat in Asian Cup qualifying to Hong Kong, population 7.5 million to India's 1.4 billion. - Disarray - The ISL is usually played between September and April. But a rights agreement between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the company which runs the ISL, ends on December 8 and is yet to be renewed. The league is now paralysed ahead of the new campaign and the uncertainty has affected over 5,000 players, coaches, staff and others. National football team director and former captain Subrata Paul is confident the sport in India -- a country obsessed with cricket -- will come out stronger. "Indian football, like any growing ecosystem, will face its share of challenges and transitions," Paul, regarded as one of India's best-ever goalkeepers, told AFP. "I see this as a time to pause, reflect and refocus. Yes, the recent results and the uncertainty around the ISL are difficult for all of us who love the game, but I see a silver lining as well. "It's an opportunity to strengthen our foundation by investing in youth development, infrastructure and quality coaching." The franchise-based ISL started in 2014 as a league that brought global stars including Italy's Alessandro Del Piero to India, and aimed to promote the game in a new avatar. Bur rather than boom, the ISL has seen dwindling TV ratings and falling sponsor interest. - Wenger help and hope - Football's global bosses have long been keen to tap the potential that India has as the world's most populous country. Arsene Wenger, the former Arsenal manager and now FIFA's chief of global football development, visited in 2023 to inaugurate an academy. AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey -- who is also a politician with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party -- last month met Wenger, who has backed India's football development, particularly at grassroots level. Chaubey said Wenger believes starting football at 13 years of age, as is the norm in India, is too late. Players should start by eight, he said. While India have never reached the World Cup and again will be absent in North America next year, there has been modest success in the distant past. India qualified for the Olympics four times between 1948 and 1960. At the 1956 Melbourne Games India came fourth after losing the bronze-medal match to Bulgaria. Blatter in 2007 called India a "sleeping giant" -- but it remains in a deep slumber. - 'Own benefit' - Football is a distant third in popularity in India after cricket and hockey, with the eastern city of Kolkata and the southern state of Kerala hotspots for the sport. Compounding that, there has long been mismanagement by Indian football chiefs, said veteran sports journalist Jaydeep Basu. "The fact that the team which was ranked 99 in September 2023 has come down to 133 basically shows poor management," Basu told AFP. "There is a caucus working in the AIFF of two or three people who are running the show for their own benefit," added Basu, who recently authored a book, "Who stole my football?". AFP has contacted the AIFF for comment. fk/abh/pst
