Sunil Chhetri Breaks Silence Over ISL Postponement: 'Everybody In Indian Football Ecosystem Is Worried'

Last Updated:July 16, 2025, 13:20 IST

Sunil Chhetri has expressed concern over Indian football's future as ISL is put on hold due to contractual uncertainties.

Sunil Chhetri came out of international retirement in March (Picture credit: AFP)

Star Indian footballer Sunil Chhetri has said that the current situation that Indian football finds itself in is very concerning, after the Indian Super League was put on hold indefinitely, in what has come as a major setback in Indian football’s latest series of downfalls.

Chhetri, who turns up for Bengaluru FC in ISL, said that he has been inundated with phone calls and messages expressing apprehensions about the future of football in India, which is under a serious cloud.

On Friday, FSDL had said that in the absence of a confirmed contractual framework beyond December, they find themselves unable to plan, organise, or commercialise the ISL.

“When my phone went off a few weeks ago informing us of a delay in pre-season by a fortnight, 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," Chhetri tweeted on Wednesday afternoon. 

“That ‘fortnight’ has now changed to ‘indefinitely’ and that smile’s been wiped out. It began with worrying about how I am on borrowed time with what I have left in the tank," Chhetri said. 

“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," Chhetri added. 

The ISL put the next season on hold because of uncertainty surrounding the renewal of the MRA between the event organisers and the AIFF. 

ISL runs from September to April, and the current MRA between FSDL, which organises the tournament and the AIFF is scheduled to expire on December 8.

This was after a SC directive to the federation in which the latter was asked not to negotiate new terms of the MRA with FSDL, their commercial partner running the ISL, until a final judgment is delivered in their draft constitution case.

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