Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal has suggested that the Indian Super League (ISL) should follow the footsteps of the Indian Premier League's (IPL) auction mode or a player-draft policy rather than the existing free-market policy.
The All India Football Federation has confirmed that the 2025-26 season of the Indian Super League will finally commence on February 14, 2026.
Fourteen teams are participating this time in the ISL. Inter Kashi, who won the I-League in the 2024-25 season, have been promoted and will be the ISL's 14th participant.
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Fixtures will be released by the AIFF in the next few weeks after due consultation with the stakeholders of the ISL, thus ending weeks of uncertainty and speculation.
The clubs have urged the AIFF to waive the INR 1 crore participation fee due to the financial issues, but the governing body has directed them to pay the entire fee in a staggered structure rather than coughing it up at one go.
Should ISL follow IPL auctions?
With no commercial partner yet on board, the ISL clubs will have no access to the central revenue pool.
However, they still need to bear the ever-increasing wages of the players. Although there have been suggestions of a pay cut, reports have emerged that the footballers are not eager to walk down that road.
Jindal has come up with a suggestion that might find buyers in the market.
MORE: When does new season of ISL start?
In a conversation with The Indian Express, he said: "We hope somebody picks it up (broadcast and commercial rights). However, the key for it to work is that it must move to a draft or an auction. The league cannot continue in this free-market way.
"In a league with a centrally allocated budget, you can’t play around. Every successful Indian league—the IPL, WPL, kabaddi, hockey, badminton, table tennis, wrestling, volleyball- runs on an auction. None is a free market except the ISL, and even it began with a draft."
Jindal believes that the concept of marquee players, limited to one or two, should be retained.
He said: "Foreign players could be signed outside the auction but within a salary cap, with one or two marquee signings allowed beyond it. In year one, clubs could also retain three senior Indian players at a pre-determined cost deducted from their purse.
"An auction or draft for Indian players. Clubs could pre-sign five U-23 domestic players from their academies, with full retentions reducing their draft purse or position, as in the IPL or Pro Kabaddi."
ISL to emulate the MLS model for survival?
Jindal has suggested that the Indian top tier should not have any relegation and instead follow the structure of the Major League Soccer (MLS).
"For all this to work, there can be no relegation. However, teams winning the lower leagues can come into the ISL by paying a participation fee. I am proposing a Major League Soccer (MLS) model for India. The MLS is a closed league with franchise-based membership, similar to the IPL or NBA," he said.
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What is the format of the ISL 2025-26 season?
Due to a time crunch and a delayed start to the season, AIFF will conduct the league in a single round-robin format; however, it won't be held at a centralised.
The Times of India journalist Marcus Mergulhao posted on social media that the league will be conducted in a Swiss-system format, like the one used in the Champions League since last season.
Depending on logistics, the number of home and away matches of the 14 teams will be decided in due course.
Related links:
- India's sports calendar 2026
- HIL 2026: Schedule, scores, prize money and TV information
- Australian Open prize money 2026: Winnings breakdown for AO singles by round