03 January,2026 10:03 AM IST | New Delhi | IANS
India and ISL star Sunil Chhetri. Pic/PTI
With the future of the Indian Super League (ISL) in limbo, Indian footballers have urged the sport's global governing body, FIFA, to step in and resolve the issue of the franchise-based tournament.
Leading figures of Indian football, including Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan, and Sunil Chhetri, have publicly appealed to FIFA to step in amid the ongoing crisis facing the sport in the country.
"It's January, and we should be on your screens as a part of a competitive football game in the Indian Super League," Gurpreet said in a video featuring other players, too. "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. The Indian football government is no longer able to fulfil its responsibilities. We are now staring at permanent paralysis. This is the last-ditch effort to save what we can. So we are calling on FIFA to step in and do what it takes to save Indian football. We hope this message gets to the powers that are in Zurich. This call is not political. The truth is that we are facing a humanitarian, sporting, and economic crisis. We just want to play football, please help us do it," the other players said in the statement.
The ISL has been on hold after the expiration of the Master's Rights Agreement between the All India Football Federation and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the organisers of ISL.
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