The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday confirmed that it did not receive any bids in response to its Request for Proposal (RFP) for awarding the rights to monetise the commercial assets of the Indian Super League (ISL).
In an official statement, the federation said the deadline for submission of bids concluded earlier in the day, but no submissions were made within the stipulated timeframe.
"The AIFF Bid Evaluation Committee will convene over the weekend to review the situation and deliberate on the future course of action," the statement read.
The development comes as the AIFF looks to redefine its commercial framework for the ISL, India’s top-tier football competition, after the conclusion of its previous agreement cycle.
The AIFF floated the RFP on October 16, inviting bids for a 15-year contract to monetise the League's commercial and media rights.
The bid submission deadline was November 5, with the bids scheduled to be opened on November 11.
The failure to attract bidders is likely to raise questions over the league's current commercial viability and the federation's ability to monetise the country's flagship football competition after its decade-long partnership with Football Sports Development Limited ended.
According to the RFP, only companies with a minimum net worth of Rs 250 crore were eligible to bid, with an annual minimum guarantee of Rs 37.5-crore payable to the AIFF.
Among the key features of the RFP were a waiver of franchisee fees for ISL clubs from the 2025-26 season, the introduction of a video support system (and subsequently VAR), and the implementation of promotion and relegation from 2025-26 as per the Supreme Court directive.
The new commercial partner would also have been responsible for match production with at least 11 cameras, marketing, media rights sales, and grassroots investment -- of which 70 per cent was to be distributed among ISL clubs and the rest to I-League teams.
The RFP further required the partner to fund grassroots development, ensure transparency in media rights allocation, and adhere to a salary cap of Rs 18-crore per club starting from the 2025-26 season.
For the first five years, the commercial partner would have had to provide the football video support system, to be upgraded to VAR from Year 6 onwards.
With the deadline lapsing without any bids, the AIFF now faces a fresh challenge in securing a commercial framework for the ISL -- the country's top flight that was launched in 2014 amid hopes of transforming Indian football's profile and revenue base.
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