Indian football today finds itself in a dangerous paralysis, trapped between courtrooms, boardrooms, and the looming shadow of a FIFA ban. The immediate threat is that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) could once again face suspension by FIFA, a punishment that would bar both the national teams and clubs from international competitions. Yet this looming sanction is only a symptom of deeper structural rot. Clearly, if there is one thing Indian football has mastered, it is the art of tripping over its own shoelaces before the game even begins.
At the heart of the crisis lies the AIFF’s constitution. Since 2017, it has been caught in a cycle of legal battles, draft revisions, and objections. In 2022, FIFA suspended India once already for “third-party interference” before lifting the ban under pressure to save the U-17 Women’s World Cup. Three years later, the AIFF is yet to finalize its constitution and is awaiting the Supreme Court’s judgment, which in turn awaits synchronization with the newly passed National Sports Bill. In the meantime, Indian football has no stable foundation on which to build its future.
Layered onto this legal uncertainty is the collapse of domestic competition. With the Masters Rights Agreement between AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) yet to be renewed, the 2025–26 Indian Super League is on hold. Clubs have warned of shutting down, some have already paused operations, and players face salary suspensions. The Supreme Court has asked both parties to present a solution by August 28, but the damage is already evident: India is without a functioning league just as its national teams prepare for crucial Asian competitions.
The danger is not abstract. Without a league, clubs fail to meet the minimum match requirements for AFC tournaments. Without regular competitive football, national teams cannot progress. And without constitutional clarity, Indian football remains vulnerable to FIFA’s intervention. It is a triple jeopardy: legal, operational, and reputational.
This is not the first crisis in Indian football, but it may be one of the most consequential. A FIFA suspension would embarrass the country, but the greater tragedy is that even without one, the sport is stagnating. Perhaps Indian football neither has the ability to perform on the field, nor the mentality to progress off the field.
