Union Government's intervention creates pathway for Indian Super League 2026; Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya announces Feb 14th as the start date after stakeholder meeting. Pictures BS News Agency.
Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency, New Delhi, January 6, 2026: Union Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya has announced the new season of the Indian Super League (ISL) will start on February 14. The I-League will also run parallelly from the same date.
The announcement was made following a stakeholder meeting between the Government, All India Football Federation officials and representatives of foodball clubs in Delhi on Tuesday.
Announcing that the ISL lockjam has been resolved, Union Sports Minister said, The ISL was delayed owning to some court cases. However, we have been able to speak to all stakeholders and the issue has been resolved, ISL will be held this year. It is the vision of the Honourable PM that sports in India should not suffer and I am glad that we could resolve this."
“The country does well in the sports sector only when our athletes get a chance to play regularly. Only then does the nation gets good players,” Dr. Mandaviya told reporters on Tuesday, before announcing the start of the Indian Football tournaments for 2026 season.
Pictures BS News Agency.
The season format was shared by AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, who was present at the briefing. Speaking about the format, Shri. Chaubey said, "There will be single home and away leg matches. A total of 91 matches will be played with 14 teams taking part in the ISL. For I-League, a total of 55 matches will be played with 11 teams taking part."
I-League Division 1 and 2 will be merged and a total of 40 teams across 5 zones of the country, will compete. The Indian Women’s League (IWL) Division 1 and 2 will also take place.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) will commit a total of Rs. 10.3 crore for the conduct of ISL, Rs. 3.2 Crore for the conduct of I-League and 100% funding for the IWL.
For the conduct of ISL, a total of 40 percent will be invested by the AIFF. The remaining funds will be used from the Annual Calendar for Training and Competitions (ACTC) norms, which the Union Sports Ministry earmarks for sports federations annually.