Under the tender, the bidder would receive a 15-year exclusive right to monetise all commercial assets of the ISL and pay a minimum annual guaranteed fee of Rs 37.5 crore or 5% of gross revenue, whichever was higher.
The tender was issued following a Supreme Court order dated September 1 directing the AIFF to invite bids through an open, competitive and transparent process for selecting a commercial partner for the ISL. The court also appointed former Supreme Court judge L. Nageswara Rao to oversee the process.
The AIFF constituted a three-member bid evaluation committee chaired by Justice Rao with AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey and Kesvaran Murugasu as members.
Chaubey did not respond to ET’s queries.
“The deadline for submission of bids in response to the Request for Proposal (RFP) for awarding the right to monetise the Commercial Rights for the Indian Super League (ISL) concluded today. No bids were received within the stipulated timeframe,” the AIFF said in a statement.”The AIFF Bid Evaluation Committee will convene over the weekend to review the situation and deliberate on the future course of action,” it added.
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With no interest from bidders, the AIFF may have to revisit and soften the tender terms, industry executives said, adding that the structure made the tender unviable.
“The tender kept the same unsustainable structure. AIFF wants to control every decision, even routine ones, while pushing all financial risk to the rights holder and clubs. No investor finds that workable,” said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified.
Experts pointed out that global leagues follow a different governance model. The English Premier League operates as a private company with clubs as shareholders, while the Football Association holds a special share.
“The AIFF needs a more viable model that benefits all stakeholders instead of saddling clubs and broadcasters with losses. It must also learn from the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and invest in grassroots talent and infrastructure,” said another industry executive.
The ISL commercial rights are held by Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), a JioStar company, which had paid Rs 700 crore for a 15-year agreement.
During discussions on a future structure earlier this year, FSDL proposed shifting to a joint ownership model through a holding company, with 60% ownership for clubs, 26% for FSDL and 14% for AIFF, aligning with international league governance.
Negotiations stalled after the AIFF pushed for an all-cash agreement of Rs 50 crore per year, with a 5% annual escalation, instead of equity participation.
A senior sports business executive familiar with league finances said the cumulative losses are significant. “In the past 15 years, FSDL, the clubs and the broader ecosystem have invested heavily and still lost over Rs 5,000 crore,” the person said.
According to another official, the tender terms allowed the AIFF to retain complete control without assuming any financial risk. “The AIFF wanted guaranteed income without taking any responsibility. No serious investor would accept that,” the person said.
Launched in 2014, the ISL is India’s top tier football league with 12 franchise teams. Matches are usually played from September to April.
In 2023, FSDL signed a broadcast deal with Viacom18, now part of JioStar, valued at Rs 550 crore for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
