Bengaluru FC suspends player salaries indefinitely amid ISL uncertainty

Bengaluru: Bengaluru FC, one of India’s most prominent football clubs, has announced the indefinite suspension of salaries for its first-team players and staff amidst mounting uncertainty surrounding the future of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2025–26 season. The decision, communicated via an official club statement on Monday, underscores the growing crisis in Indian football as administrative deadlock casts doubt over the upcoming season.

The club cited “a very difficult decision” brought about by the lack of clarity regarding the ISL’s future. “Running and sustaining a football club in India has always been an uphill climb,” the statement read, emphasising that the club has traditionally prioritised the well-being of its players and staff. However, the ongoing impasse between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) — the joint venture overseeing the ISL — has left clubs in limbo, unable to plan for the new campaign. With the previous 15-year Master Rights Agreement set to expire in December 2025 and legal proceedings over the AIFF’s draft constitution ongoing in the Supreme Court, clubs have not been allowed to negotiate new terms with FSDL, putting the league’s continuity at risk.

Bengaluru FC’s youth development programmes, including operations for both men’s and women’s youth teams and the BFC Soccer Schools, remain unaffected. The club has urged the AIFF and FSDL to resolve the stalemate quickly, asserting that the ongoing uncertainty “benefits no one” and that “a prompt resolution is vital for the future of Indian football.”

This move follows similar actions from other ISL clubs, many of which have suspended player contracts or pre-season activities due to the ongoing dispute. The AIFF is set to meet with club representatives in the coming week to seek a resolution to the crisis and provide clarity on the way forward for domestic football in India.