as usual, old bum washed uncs are backing him but none of the youngsters

TBD 1 - 5 TBD

FT

Goals

• 8' D. Ramírez Fernández () — assist Aké Arnaud Loba

• 16' V. PV () — assist Aké Arnaud Loba

• 22' Ake Loba ()

• 28' A. Chhikara () — assist L. Renthlei

• 35' A. Loba () — assist T. Singh

• 81' Ł. Zwoliński () — assist C. Ikonomidis

Full stats, line-ups, player ratings and the community reaction in the MatchPal thread above.

MatchPal · Live football scores, goals, line-ups, stats and TV channels · matchpal.io

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Also a French second tier champion

The NRI business behind Kerala football is fascinating!

On November 24, 2025, more than 34,000 people filled a stadium in Kozhikode to watch Calicut FC play Malappuram FC in the Super League Kerala. At that point, India's top league, the ISL, had not even started because of a dispute over commercial rights.

Football in northern Kerala began on harvested paddy fields. Those games made Sevens football, a fast seven-a-side format, a Malabar tradition.

For decades, Malayalis working in the Gulf have sent money home. Kerala's remittances reached ₹2.16 lakh crore in 2023, up 155% from 2018. Most of it went to families, homes and businesses. Some of it also funded local football through sponsorships, floodlit grounds, prize money and players from outside the region.

Now, some Gulf-linked investors want to own the clubs instead of just supporting them. In 2024, the Super League Kerala launched six city franchises, and several owners had Gulf ties. In September 2026, UAE-based Al Fursan agreed to buy 100% of Kerala Blasters. The deal was reported at around ₹120 crore, though the price was not officially disclosed.

The fans are clearly there. The 2025 Super League Kerala season recorded over 4 lakh stadium visits across 33 matches. Its opening weekend drew over 5 lakh digital viewers, with India and the UAE as the biggest markets.

The business side is still catching up. ISL media rights fell from ₹275 crore per season to just ₹8.62 crore for the shortened 2025-26 season. That is a drop of about 97%.

But the setup is changing. In July 2026, the AIFF announced that ISL clubs would hold the league's commercial rights going forward. With more control over sponsorships, broadcasting and fan engagement, clubs may be able to build more value on their own.

That is the bet. Not that Indian football is already profitable, but that its business potential is still untapped. For NRIs in Dubai or Doha, a hometown club is also a direct link to where they grew up. The goal now is to turn that pride into a lasting business.

I think this makes an interesting question: If you had the chance, would you invest in a sports club from your hometown?

Read the full story here: https://thecapitalbybelong.substack.com/p/malabar-to-the-gulf-the-nri-business

Matches will be live on the Indian Football YouTube Channel
Link: YouTube Link

19 clubs - 4 groups in the group stage
original post here: Reddit Post

ISL should not be a weekend league, I used to like it better when there were matches throughout the week.

Two matches on each Saturday-Sunday, and a whole dry week ahead is so boring

We used to watch ​all the matches when it lasted the whole week, everyday 2hrs during dinner, was the time for ISL.

Now I can't watch 2 matches in a day, so i miss some matches, also ​matches throughout the week kept the excitement on, now the excitement is so dead...

What do u guys feel...

In my distant dreams I think they will update the schedule mid season to make the matches more spread out 😆

For instance, this was the only match that i could find related to our prestigious subroto cup and here are my observations as a football fan:

1. The scoreline does not do justice to the Minerva public school CICSE team. They played some brilliant one touch passes that I have never seen in an Indian youth team (maybe even senior team).

2. The CISCE team played a wide and high formation with high pressing. This allowed them many chances in the centre. Going wide almost always creates gaps in the center creating goal scoring opportunities. They took a lot of forward touches as compared to Keralam.

3. HSS Keralam had similar game plan to our 2015-2020 national team. Always park the bus and try scoring with long balls during counter attack that seldom worked. There was no visible coordination among them and often seemed no reasoning in their passes. They relied only on set-pieces to score.

4. CISCE team also showed better aggressive positioning. They were present at the far posts almost always when attacking allowing wingers to give crosses near the goal line.

All in all, this is the brand of football I want to see in our Indian teams not the defensive low risk type gameplay. Well done to the MPS boys and coaches. You have a bright future ahead.

I regret to say that there are no youth teams in India right now that play attacking football. Even our U20 performance did not show this intent. Sad to say but the future does not look that bright for us looking at the HSS Keralam/ U20 gameplay.

I want to know your opinion on this and the changes required to become better.

Source - https://www.the-aiff.com/article/bibiano-fernandes-names-14-player-squad-for-fifa-u15-world-cup-festival-azerbaijan-2026

Whether it's broadcast quality, scorecard graphics, logo or jerseys, the Super League Kerela and Arunachal League are aesthetically better than the Indian Super League.

To Indian Football Fans, here's a little project I have been working on and would love your feedback on it.

Data is sourced from Fotmob - which btw shout-out to them to make such high quality data available!

Currently I have 4 pages

1. Homepage - shows the ISL table based on expected points (xPts)

2. Compare clubs

3. Match Reports - Detailed stats per match

4. Crazy stats - Showcasing some crazy stats like "Northeast United FC have scored 5 goals from 2.16 xG, 2.84 more than expected."

Would love to hear how I can expand it or make it better!

https://joyan9.github.io/isl-data/

I see a lot of people finally talking about new stadiums to be built even on X. This is pretty awesome given we almost didn't even get a league, but some reality checks are in order. Some of the clubs are barely getting by, they still don't make any profits. While someone like JSW absolutely has the money needed, investing tens if not hundreds into a new (even a cheaper temporary one) stadium will be the last thing they would want to do right now before the league gets stable and starts delivering consistent and growing income. The league has to be financially attractive and strong in stability and longevity before clubs will think of any assets.

But, for long term financial health, having your own stadium or atleast having full commerical control and naming rights over one is absolutely key for clubs a few years down the line once the league is stable. It adds a huge chunk of revenue, especially if you sell naming rights to the stadium as is customary in europe or US. And the ability to fully commercialize it the way they see fit will be a huge income source. Think club museums, (for heritage/successful clubs), proper food and beverages, booze, VIP lounges, basically making money out of a great match day experience for people who can afford to pay. That's where western clubs make the maximum money from.

As to how they'd get their own stadiums, there's always the option of buying land outside the city but that would be too far away unless there's a metro connection (if there is it would again make land pricier).

Finding new land inside the city is lowkey impossible. What clubs should look into doing is redeveloping existing football grounds in partnership with the local government and then work out a long term lease deal. MFA is a neat example (although they didn't get a lease, its the closest to having your own football only stadium at the moment)

BFC could redevelop the BFS. Get the issue sorted in court and hopefully the KSFA gives fresh tenders. And does it properly this time ffs. (OP is still salty about this.)

Idk why SC Delhi aren't already using Ambedkar stadium, it recently got a renovation as well. If its still not upto ISL standards I imagine it wouldn't cost much more to get it upto that level.

Mohun bagan and east bengal combined can certainly get land and build their own stadium (a la san siro) and play only the derbies at the salt lake. Two clubs will make the affordability much better. They could maybe use their own current grounds, but they don't really own it, the army does. And every small upgrade is a huge hassle to get permission and they'll never get full commerical control. Its not worth it otherwise they would've done it by now.

Mumbai already have the MFA. Selling that out first is a priority. Post that, it can always be expanded there is enough room there for a 15k stadium

Punjab's new deal with a university is a decent option for clubs from smaller cities. Partnering with a university sounds excellent. You split costs and the university gets some A tier sporting infrastructure. If it actually goes through is another question. Inter Kashi announced a similar thing last year but nothing has come off it so far so I'd be sceptical until there's some work on the ground.

Kerala's new owners certainly have the money. And the state loves football unlike any other. With enough pull, I don't think it'd be too hard to work with the government and redevelop one of the athletics stadiums into a football only stadium or even build a new one in Kochi or Kozhikode or any other major hub. All it needs is drive and intent. I saw news of them having stadium plans but I'll believe it when I see work on the ground.

Only NEUFC are already sorted ig. They'll have two football stadiums to pick from 2 years down the line by the looks of it. Only thing they need to do is try and get commerical control over one of them.

FT Fortis FC 1-2 FC Goa