‘We are now staring at a permanent paralysis’: Indian Super League players, domestic and international, urge FIFA to step in to solve crisis

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan and Sunil Chhetri were among the ISL players who gave a joint statement asking FIFA to intervene to solve the Indian football crisis. (Instagram)

With the future of the Indian Super League still up in the air, Indian players as well as international stars on Friday urged FIFA to step in and solve the ongoing crisis. In joint statement on Instagram, India and Bengaluru FC keeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, FC Goa and Indian defender Sandesh Jhingan and former India skipper and Bengaluru FC’s Sunil Chhetri were among a host of players who urged the top footballing body of the world to intervene in the current Indian football crisis.

“It’s January and we should be on your screens as apart of a competitive football game in the Indian Super League,” Gurpreet said. “Instead, here we are driven by fear and desperation to say aloud something which we all know,” Jhingan added. “Players, staff, , owners and the fans deserve clarity, protection and more importantly, a future,” Chhetri said.

“But more importantly, we are here to make a plea. Indian football government is no longer able to fulfil its responsibilities. We are now staring at a permanent paralysis. This is the last-ditch effort to save what we can. So we are calling the FIFA to step in and do what it takes to save Indian football. We hope this message gets to the power that are in Zurich. This call is not political, it is not driven by confrontation but by necessity. It might sound like a big word but the truth is that we are facing a humanitarian, sporting and economic crisis. And of course, we need rescuing at the earliest. We just want to play football, please help us do it,” other players said in the statement.

On Thursday, Thirteen of the 14 Indian Super League (ISL) clubs told All India Football Federation (AIFF) that they “may be ready and willing” to take part in the delayed 2025-26 season if there is no participation fee and the national body takes financial responsibility for the organisational and operational costs of running the truncated competition.

Putting conditions on their participation in the ISL, the clubs also requested the national federation to furnish “a clear, time-bound roadmap for execution of the long-term plan, including defined timelines for appointment of a commercial partner and/or broadcaster, finalisation of the league’s revenue, governance, and risk-sharing framework, and transition to a financially self-sustaining competition model consistent with statutory governance norms”.

The ISL clubs also urged the AIFF to actively seek commercial or institutional support from the Government of India to minimise costs and help make the 2025-26 season sustainable.