AIFF leaves Indian striker call to clubs, clears OCI confusion

“But this is not something we can implement. We cannot tell (the clubs) to play a No. 9 because, ultimately, it is for the coach (to decide). Every match, the coach’s tactics may differ; in some, (the striker) may remain for the entire match, in some they won’t. So it is very difficult for us to implement it. We are not insisting on it, but broadly, they know that we have to focus on getting some good strikers, so we will work on that,” he added.

The AIFF and the Managing Committee of the ISL outlined a club-led commercial model for the Indian Super League today.

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This marked a sharp contrast with the definitive tone of the directive the AIFF laid out in its June 20 statement. “Additionally, to ensure adequate match exposure and development opportunities for Indian forwards, one Indian striker must remain on the field for the entire 90 minutes of the match,” the AIFF had said in its statement.

Finding a dependable striker has long been India’s biggest weakness, with successive coaches struggling to identify Sunil Chhetri’s successor.

OCI Clarity

Satyanarayan has also clarified that players holding an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card will be counted as foreigners at least for the upcoming 2026/27 season. The federation had said in the same June 20 statement earlier that clubs in the ISL and second-tier IFL, formerly known as the I-League, “may field a starting eleven comprising three foreign players and one OCI player”.

“As of now, we are telling the clubs that we encourage you, if you want, please enlist OCI card-holders to play in the league. Other than that, there is no change in the way they get their players. AIFF doesn’t interfere and tell the clubs what to do (with their squads). We just set out the broad outlines,” he said.

It is understood that clubs were particularly concerned about the striker rule and the OCI clarification. They also questioned whether “three foreigners and one OCI player” effectively changed the foreign-player limit.
Clubs also feared mandatory Indian strikers would inflate player values and hurt the league’s sustainability.

FC Goa CEO Ravi Puskur said that the league being sustainable was the core focus in the agreement between clubs and the AIFF. The agreement runs for four years, with an opt-out clause after two.

“However, given the way things are progressing, it will probably not happen,” said Satyanarayan on the latter part. A start date of September 4, 2026, had been earlier decided on for the 2026/27 season of the ISL, with the intention being to have a full-fledged season.

Puskur was one of three club representatives present at the announcement, along with NorthEast United CEO Mandar Tamhane and Sporting Delhi CEO Dhruv Sood. “The key word that we would like you guys to take away from this is the fact that the league is sustainable in terms of financial capability,” he said.

“Now we have the rights, we need to go up and monetise that. It is our intention to put out an RFP to get potential broadcasters on board as soon as possible. We don’t want to be making decisions with regard to broadcasting fixtures without having consulted with both the broadcasters and the AIFF. That will be the first priority.”

The clubs will be constituting a holding company to manage the commercial aspects of the league. A side that is relegated from the ISL over the course of the four years will be replaced by the club getting promoted in this company.

Additionally, Satyanarayan has said that clubs have been asked to give adequate notice if they intend to back out of the agreement after two seasons. He also said that the four-year agreement will end only after a full season, as opposed to the Master Rights Agreement between AIFF and its former commercial partner FSDL, which expired in December last year.