NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Thursday that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has recognised the shortened 2025–26 Indian Super League (ISL) season, with clubs from India eligible only for indirect entry into the AFC Champions League 2 through zonal qualifiers.Because of the delayed start to the season, Indian clubs will not be able to complete the mandatory 24 matches — across the top-tier league and domestic cup — required for direct entry into AFC club competitions.Most clubs are expected to play a total of 16 matches during the season, including at least three games in the AIFF Super Cup and 13 matches in the ISL.“With the exception of any additional slot(s) allocated to a Member Association in accordance with Articles 3.4 and 3.5, Member Associations that fail to fulfil the Member Association Eligibility Criteria shall, subject to Article 4.4, be eligible to be allocated only indirect slots for the relevant AFC Club Competition,” the AFC said in a letter to the AIFF dated January 15.“In such cases, the number of direct slots for the relevant Member Association(s) in the relevant AFC Club Competition shall be wholly converted into indirect slots (e.g. 2+1 becomes 0+3),” Shin Man Gil, the AFC’s deputy general secretary, competitions and football, said in the letter.The 2025–26 ISL season is scheduled to begin on February 14, with all 14 clubs confirming their participation earlier this week. A total of 91 matches will be played in the curtailed season, with each team playing 13 single-leg matches against the other teams.“In light of the foregoing, kindly be informed that, should the 2025/26 ISL s season be organised as proposed in your letter, Article 4.3 of the Entry Regulations shall apply for the purposes of entry into the relevant AFC club competitions,” the AFC letter stated.Earlier, ISL clubs had asked the AIFF to approach the AFC for a one-time relaxation of the 24-match requirement to allow direct entry into the ACL 2.Following the clubs’ request, AIFF deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan wrote to the AFC seeking a one-time exemption.“In light of the exceptional circumstances impacting Indian football this season, we respectfully request that your esteemed office grant the AIFF and the clubs participating in the ISL, a one-time exemption from the minimum requirements set forth in the AFC Regulations.”“Specifically, we request that a minimum of sixteen (16) matches be deemed sufficient for clubs participating in the ISL to qualify for direct entry into club competitions organized by the AFC, and the ISL season scheduled to take place between 14 February 2026 and […] along with the Super Cup held between 25 October 2025 and 7 December 2025, be considered to be sufficient for the purposes of maintaining direct entry slots in the relevant club competitions organized by AFC.““Such an exemption would significantly support the AIFF’s efforts to restart the league, serve as an important encouragement to the clubs during this challenging period for all stakeholders in Indian football,” Satyanarayan added.Last Saturday, the AIFF asked clubs to submit details of their proposed home venues so that fixtures could be prepared and broadcast and commercial partners finalised.The ISL 2025–26 season had remained uncertain since July, after the AIFF’s commercial partner Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), owned by the Reliance Group, put the league on hold amid uncertainty over the Master Rights Agreement (MRA).The MRA expired on December 8, 2025, after negotiations between the two sides failed.
