“Made Me Smile…”: Sunil Chhetri’s First Reaction To ISL Suspension

Former captain and top striker Sunil Chhetri on Wednesday said the current state of “uncertainty” in Indian football is very concerning and the sport’s ecosystem is “worried, hurt, and scared” by the top-tier ISL being put on hold indefinitely. Chhetri, who turns up for Bengaluru FC in the league, said he has been inundated with phone calls and messages expressing apprehensions about the future of the sport in the country. “It began with worrying about how I am on borrowed time with what I have left in the tank. But speaking with players from across clubs, I’ve realised that my selfish problem isn’t as important,” the 40-year-old Chhetri posted on X.

“The current situation that Indian football finds itself in, is very concerning. I’ve received a flurry of texts from players, staff members, physios, masseurs – not just from my club, but from other clubs as well.

“Everybody in the Indian football ecosystem is worried, hurt, scared about the uncertainty we are faced with,” he added.

The ISL (Indian Super League) has “paused” the 2025-26 season because of uncertainty related to the renewal of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the event organizers and the All India Football Federation.

The league typically operates from September to April, and the existing MRA between Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), which manages the event, and the AIFF is set to end on December 8, 2025, when the ISL will have entered its third month.

This came after a Supreme Court order to AIFF, instructing the organization not to finalize new terms of the MRA with FSDL, the top governing body’s commercial partner managing the ISL, until a final ruling is issued in the AIFF draft constitution matter.

FSDL serves as the commercial partner of AIFF, having signed a 15-year MRA in 2010. As per the MRA, FSDL disburses Rs 50 crore each year to the AIFF, receiving in return the rights to broadcast, manage, and commercialize Indian football, encompassing the national team as well. Chhetri mentioned that he was on holiday when he first heard about the league’s suspension.

“…I must admit it made me smile. And that’s because I was on vacation, hadn’t moved as much as I would have liked to, and hadn’t been eating as clean as I usually do. I had more time than I had bargained to get in shape.

“That ‘fortnight’ has now changed to ‘indefinitely’ and that smile’s been wiped out. I know that the think tank and all those involved in running the sport are working to get the football season up and running, and I’m hopeful that there is a solid fix sooner rather than later,” he said.

The star player, who has come out of international retirement to bolster the Indian team that is enduring continuous poor results, urged for patience nonetheless.

“I may not have all the answers, but my message to all those involved with Indian football – and more importantly the ones whose livelihood depends on it, the players, staff, kitmen, masseurs, medical teams, production crews, operations staff – please stay calm.

“We’ll ride this storm together. Stick together and look out for each other. Keep training and getting better. Football has to resume soon. It will,” he signed off.

The AIFF has said it is “conscious” of ISL’s importance to the football ecosystem but had to respect the law of the land by following the Supreme Court directive.