ISL has not received a single bid - Report
The future of the league still in doldrums with question marks raised over AIFF's handling
FC Goa is still involved in the AFC Asian Champions League Two
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has put the future of Indian Super League (ISL) in more crisis after the ISL tender closed without a single bid for India's top-level club football.
For a league that was once predicted to be the league that will facelift Indian football, no bids for ISL signals more problems along the way.
On October 16, the AIFF released its request for proposal wherein they planned to find a new partner for ISL's broadcast, sponsors, digital and merchandise rights. The AIFF hired KPMG as advisors, and Justice L. Nageswara Rao kept a close eye on the proceedings.
The development is particularly conflicting because the tender was promoted in such a way that it was set up shape up the next step for ISL. However, it has exposed football's structural deficiencies that has been plaguing this country for years.
Why No Bid For ISL?
The ISL's broadcasting rights seemed to have been going a good path with four names in the fray - FSDL, FanCode, Conscient Heritage Group and a foreign consortium.
However, when the submission window shut on November 7, there was no bid on the table. One interested party was knocked off due to conflict of interest whereas others reportedly decided the numbers were not upto the mark.
The concerned parties' raised that the financial structure and revenue-sharing model to long-term planning, were just not up to the mark.
