NEW DELHI: Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said the delayed 2025-26 season of Indian Super League (ISL) will begin on February 14 after being put on hold due to the absence of a commercial partner. He added that all 14 clubs will take part. The I-League, which was also paused, will be held “around the same time” with all 11 teams involved.“There was lot of speculation regarding ISL but today the government, football federation and 14 clubs, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal included had a meeting and we have decided that ISL will start February 14. All clubs will participate,” Mandaviya said.All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey was present at the meeting and spoke after the minister’s announcement. He explained the structure and funding of the leagues.The ISL will be played in a home-and-away format with 91 matches. Officials are still working on the logistics. The I-League will be conducted in a shorter format with 55 matches.“A Rs 25 crore central pool has been made for only the conduct of the ISL. 10 percent of this fund will come from AIFF, 30 percent was to come from a commercial partner but since we don’t have on right now the AIFF will pitch in with that contribution,” Chaubey said.“In all, the AIFF will give Rs 14 crore for ISL and about 3.2 crore for I League till we find a commercial partner,” he added.Chaubey also said a Governing Council Board will be set up to oversee the leagues in the future and that it will be “empowered to take all commercial decisions.”The 2025-26 ISL season was put on hold in July due to the uncertainty over the renewal of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the league’s former organisers, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), and the AIFF.