Supreme Court asks AIFF, FSDL to end row that stalls ISL
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) to sort out the issue concerning renewal of the master rights agreement, which has affected the Indian Super League this season, PTI reported.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi, which heard the matter on Friday, directed AIFF and FSDL to discuss the issue and come out with a solution by August 28, the next date of hearing.
On August 18, the top court agreed to hear the matter involving a row between the AIFF and FSDL over the fate of 11 ISL clubs due to the non-renewal of their contracts with the national federation and the tournament's organisers.
The 11 ISL clubs have warned the AIFF that they "face the real possibility of shutting down entirely" if the impasse regarding the future of the top-tier domestic competition is not resolved soon.
The bench had agreed to hear the plea after amicus curiae and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan submitted that during the tenure of the contract, FSDL has to honour it by conducting the ISL.
The clubs wrote a letter to AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey last week, saying the crisis arising out of the non-renewal of the master rights agreement (MRA) between the national federation and the ISL organisers, FSDL, has "paralysed professional football in India." "Over the past 11 years, through sustained investment and coordinated effort, clubs have built youth development systems, training infrastructure, community outreach programmes and professional teams that have elevated India's footballing credibility both domestically and internationally," the clubs wrote in the letter.
"This progress is now in imminent danger of collapse. The current standstill has created immediate and severe consequences. With operations suspended and no certainty on league continuity, several clubs face the real possibility of shutting down entirely," they said.
