Formulated roadmap after studying best practices of some top leagues: AIFF

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has "taken references" from the world's top leagues in Spain, Germany, and England while drawing its roadmap for the next 21 years, including establishing an all-powerful governing council and a management committee.

As part of a new governance structure for the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League, the AIFF has put in place a governing council and the management committee to oversee the two leagues' regulatory and operational functioning. The AIFF shared the governing and managing council policies with the 14 ISL clubs, including the 2025-26 season, on Tuesday. According to the charter, the league will be governed and managed by the two committees, with the potential commercial rights partner having three seats in each of the bodies.

"It's a roadmap for the next 21 years about how the country's top two leagues are going to be managed, administered, promoted and developed by these two bodies. "We have taken references from some of the top leagues of the world and proposed to implement the global best practices into India's top two football leagues," AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey told PTI.

As per a proposal by stakeholders, the 22-member governing council is likely to be headed by the president of the AIFF, and it will be the highest supervisor body for the ISL. The management committee, which will be in charge of ensuring the smooth functioning of the league, will be led by the AIFF's secretary-general.

The governing council will comprise 14 club owners, three office bearers of the AIFF, three nominated members from commercial partners, and two independent partners who do not have any conflict of interest. The body will meet once a year, preferably three months prior to the league, and can decide on matters relating to finance and other important things.

"We have done a thorough study on how some of the best football leagues are run; we have followed their structures before framing these policies," Chaubey said.  The managing committee will include chief executive officers of five ISL clubs, including two from the previous season's winners and runners-up and three elected by the clubs.

The managing committee will also feature three members from the commercial partners and three office bearers from the AIFF. The management committee will meet once every month and as and when required when the league is in progress. The managing council will decide on the routine operational matters, including running the day-to-day operations of the league.

Below them there will be six other committees to run the league in a professional manner, including regulatory oversight to formulate, approve and enforce competition regulations, codes of conduct and other disciplinary frameworks in accordance with the existing AIFF, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA regulations.

Integrity matters, as do compliance, supervision of how these committees shall perform, and strategic oversight to ensure that ISL policies and operations are consistent with football development objectives set out by the AIFF and international best practices. Fairness and transparency will also come under the ambit of these six committees.

Meanwhile, the AIFF continues to wait for a response from the continental body regarding whether ISL clubs will get AFC slots despite playing fewer than the mandatory number of matches this season.

"We have already written to them, and it is up to AFC to decide," the AIFF chief said. While a team is required to play in 24 games during a season, the ISL sides will be featuring in only 13 matches during a curtailed season this time.