Overview
- Thirteen of fourteen clubs said they will play only if there is no participation fee, the AIFF assumes league‑level operational costs, and a time‑bound commercial and governance roadmap is provided.
- The collective reply, authored by Sporting Club Delhi CEO Dhruv Sood, included Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Kerala Blasters, FC Goa and others, with Jamshedpur FC not represented.
- The AIFF sought confirmations by January 1 to brief the AFC, the Sports Ministry and the Supreme Court, with a ministry submission due January 2 and court proceedings resuming January 5.
- Clubs asked the AIFF to seek a one‑time waiver of the AFC’s 24‑match minimum for ACL 2 eligibility, a shortfall that could cost India its slots and endanger FC Goa’s playoff place.
- The AIFF outlined two truncated options for a February start—conference groups with a centralised championship round or a single‑leg league without playoffs—after a court‑supervised commercial tender found no bidders.