New Delhi: Following appeals from top football stars and fans for clarity on the Indian Super League (ISL), the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has announced that the dates for the upcoming ISL season will be declared next week.

AIFF officials held an emergency meeting on Saturday to review and accept the report submitted by the AIFF-ISL Coordination Committee. This committee was formed after the AIFF Executive Committee meeting and the annual general meeting held on December 20, 2025.

The Coordination Committee was asked to submit its report to the AIFF Secretariat by January 2, 2026, which it did. The AIFF officials formally accepted the report and recommended that the league be organised by the All India Football Federation.

Accordingly, AIFF will conduct the league, and the start dates will be announced next week.

The ISL had been in limbo since talks between Football SPORTS Development Limited (FSDL) and AIFF broke down. Both parties had been unable to decide on renewing the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with AIFF. FSDL refused to start the 2025-26 season on time as the MRA was set to expire midway on December 8, 2025, with no clarity on its renewal.

On Thursday, AIFF received letters from almost all ISL members confirming their willingness to participate in the 2025-26 season. However, their participation depends on satisfactory financial and governance assurances provided by AIFF.