Indian Super League 2025-26 Fixtures: Schedule, Venues and Where to Watch Live

The Indian Super League 2025-26 season starts on February 14, 2026, and runs through May 17, 2026. The 12th edition of India’s top football competition features 14 teams playing 91 matches in a single-leg home and away format. Mohun Bagan Super Giant, the defending champions, host Kerala Blasters FC in the opening match at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata at 5:00 PM IST.

FC Goa takes on Inter Kashi FC in the second fixture of opening day at 7:30 PM IST at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa. The season ends with seven simultaneous matches on May 17, including Chennaiyin FC versus JSW Bengaluru FC at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. All 14 clubs confirmed their participation on January 12 after months of uncertainty about whether the season would happen at all.

The league operates without playoffs or an ISL Cup final this year. The team finishing top of the table after 91 matches becomes the outright champion. This format change came due to the shortened season caused by multiple delays in getting the competition started.

How the League Almost Died and Got Revived

The ISL was put on hold in June 2025 because the All India Football Federation and Football Sports Development Limited couldn’t agree on a contract. The crisis could not be resolved despite many attempts in the second half of 2025. A tender process launched on October 16 received no bids, putting the entire league in jeopardy.

The Supreme Court stepped in after stakeholders approached the judiciary for intervention. Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced on January 6, 2026, that the league would start on February 14. This marked the first time India’s top football competition needed court involvement to survive. The AIFF and participating clubs finalized arrangements in early January to meet the deadline.

The delayed start forced organizers to cut the season short. Previous editions ran from September through March, giving teams more time between matches. The February to May window compresses 91 matches into just over three months. Clubs get less recovery time and fewer opportunities to rotate squads during the campaign.

Key Fixtures and Derby Dates

The Kolkata Derby between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal FC takes place on May 3, 2026, at 7:30 PM IST. Both clubs share Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, the 68,000-capacity venue also known as Salt Lake Stadium. The fixture falls late in the season when league positions could still shift dramatically.

Mohun Bagan plays seven home matches at the venue while East Bengal gets eight home fixtures. This imbalance arose from the single-leg format, where each team plays 13 matches total. The schedule puts more weekend dates for East Bengal at the shared ground.

Most matches occur on Saturdays and Sundays as double headers. Weekday fixtures fall primarily on Mondays and Thursdays. The final matchday on May 17 sees all remaining games kick off simultaneously to prevent any team from gaining an advantage by knowing results before their match starts.

Chennaiyin FC hosts the ceremonial final league match against Bengaluru FC on May 17. The kickoff time remains to be determined pending final broadcast arrangements. Both clubs have large fan bases, and the fixture could decide playoff qualification if the format included knockouts, though this season crowns only league winners.

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Teams Participating in ISL 2025-26

Fourteen clubs compete this season with two notable changes from previous editions. Inter Kashi FC earned promotion to replace Churchill Brothers after a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling. Hyderabad FC rebranded as Sporting Club Delhi on October 7, 2025, and relocated their operations to the capital.

The complete list of participating teams includes Mohun Bagan Super Giant, East Bengal FC, Kerala Blasters FC, Bengaluru FC, Mumbai City FC, FC Goa, Chennaiyin FC, NorthEast United FC, Jamshedpur FC, Odisha FC, Punjab FC, Mohammedan SC, Sporting Club Delhi, and Inter Kashi FC.

Inter Kashi won the I-League title but faced challenges from Churchill Brothers over promotion rights. The CAS ruling in Inter Kashi’s favor came late, giving the promoted club little time to build a squad. They previously played home matches in Kalyani, West Bengal, during their I-League campaign.

Mohammedan SC relocated temporarily to Jamshedpur for financial reasons. The historic Kolkata club will play only four home matches at JRD Tata Sports Complex instead of their traditional Kishore Bharati Krirangan ground. Cash flow problems forced the decision despite protests from supporters who wanted matches in Kolkata.

Each club can register six foreign players, with a maximum of four allowed on the field during matches. Several foreign players left their clubs during the months of uncertainty about the league’s future. Teams scrambled to sign replacements once the February 14 start date got confirmed in early January.

Venues and Stadium Details

Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata hosts both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal matches. The 68,000-capacity venue saw Lionel Messi play an exhibition game in December 2025. India’s biggest football ground produces deafening noise during derby matches that visiting players find hard to handle.

Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium holds over 60,000 people and is used by Sporting Club Delhi, Punjab FC, and sometimes Chennaiyin FC. Recent work improved some facilities, but the pitch still gets waterlogged and muddy during heavy rains.

Kerala Blasters want to play at EMS Stadium in Kozhikode with room for 50,000 fans. League officials have not signed off on the venue yet due to questions about meeting the required standards. Kerala might need backup plans if approval falls through.

Marina Arena sits by the water in Chennai and fits 40,000 supporters for Chennaiyin FC home games. The location looks great, but evening fixtures get uncomfortable when humidity stays high through the summer.

FC Goa treatsthe  Fatorda Stadium like a home fortress. Just 19,000 seats means the crowd stays close to the action. Goa’s football-mad culture fills the ground even when the opposition does not bring traveling support.

Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar handles double duty for Odisha FC and Inter Kashi FC. The 15,000 capacity venue will host plenty of matches with two clubs calling it home. Inter Kashi landed there after their late promotion left them scrambling for a ground.

Other venues include Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur, where Mohammedan SC temporarily plays, Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in distant Guwahati for NorthEast United, and Mumbai’s tiny 7,000-seat arena that Mumbai City FC uses until they secure something bigger.

Broadcast Rights Still Undecided

No official broadcaster exists for ISL 2025-26 as of late January. The AIFF invites bids for ISL 2025-26 broadcast rights through a Request for Proposal issued on January 19, 2026. A pre-bid conference took place on January 23 with four potential bidders attending the meeting.

Sony Sports Network, Zee Sports, FanCode, and UK-based firm Two Circles emerged as interested parties. The bid submission deadline falls on February 1, 2026, giving the AIFF less than two weeks to finalize a deal before the season opener. Minister Mansukh Mandaviya suggested Prasar Bharati, India’s public broadcaster, as a backup option if commercial negotiations fail.

The previous ISL season aired on Sports18 Network with streaming on JioHotstar. That partnership ended when the league suspended operations in June 2025. Clubs expressed concerns about starting the season without confirmed broadcast revenue, as television money forms a major part of their annual budgets.

A decision on broadcasting should come within days of the February 1 deadline. If no deal materializes, matches may stream online through free platforms or air on public television with limited production quality. The uncertainty has frustrated clubs that want marketing campaigns tied to broadcast partners.

Financial Changes and New Regulations

The ISL dropped the franchise fee system from this season onwards. Clubs used to pay large amounts just to take part in the competition. Each team now pays ₹1 crore as a participation fee but gets that money back through the shared central revenue pot.

The total budget for 2025-26 comes to ₹24.26 crore, which is less than before. The AIFF puts in ₹9.77 crore straight away, with the rest coming from club fees and sponsor money. The smaller budget makes sense given the shortened season and all the commercial uncertainty.

Promotion and relegation should start from this season, though nothing has been confirmed in writing yet. Clubs that go down get parachute money worked out by how long they spent in the top flight. This payment helps soften the hit from losing their place in the first division.

Every club must install video support systems for the next five years. League rules now require proper camera setups and technical staff, even though Video Assistant Referee technology will not go live until around 2031. Clubs have to spend money on this infrastructure now to prepare for future implementation.

The changes to try to put ISL finances on steadier ground after Bengaluru FC suspended salaries during the contract mess showed how easily club budgets can collapse. Smaller teams especially struggled to pay wages during the months when no matches took place.

AFC Qualification and Continental Slots

The ISL provides two qualification spots for AFC competitions, but through indirect routes. The shortened 19-match league season falls short of the AFC’s 24-match requirement for direct group stage entry into continental tournaments. This means ISL champions enter the AFC Champions League Two preliminary rounds rather than guaranteed group stage spots.

FC Goa qualified for ACL2 preliminaries by winning the AIFF Super Cup in December 2025. They earned the right to represent India in Asian competition alongside whichever club wins the league title. If Mohun Bagan wins the ISL, the runners-up would take the second AFC slot because Mohun Bagan faces a ban from AFC competitions until the 2028-29 season.

The AFC gave Indian football a break from the 24-match rule for one season while the league fixes its problems with its structure. This exemption takes into account the unusual circumstances that caused the season to be delayed and cut short. However, the AFC expects India to meet the full requirement in future years or risk losing direct qualification pathways.

ISL winners previously entered the AFC Champions League group stages when the league ran longer seasons. The current format reduces India’s continental prestige and makes it harder for clubs to gain experience against Asian opposition. Some clubs privately expressed frustration that off-field problems cost them better AFC access.

The Super Cup winner’s AFC qualification adds importance to that knockout tournament. Clubs take the competition seriously because it offers a path to Asian football outside the league structure. FC Goa’s December victory gave them valuable planning time for their continental campaign starting later in 2026.

What to Expect This Season

Mohun Bagan Super Giant enters the competition looking to repeat their 2024-25 triumph. The Kolkata giants kept their core squad intact during the chaos of the past six months. Playing most home matches at Salt Lake Stadium works in their favour, given how well they know the ground.

Kerala Blasters FC made it to the 2023 final but still wait for their first ISL trophy. Their February 14 opener against Mohun Bagan could define how the rest of their season plays out. The yellow army follows the team everywhere and makes life tough for visiting sides at EMS Stadium.

Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, and FC Goa have the squads to compete at the top end of the table. Mumbai City FC put together expensive rosters in recent years, but results have not matched the spending. NorthEast United FC and Jamshedpur FC should finish somewhere in the middle without serious title hopes.

East Bengal FC, Mohammedan SC, and Odisha FC will find this season tough going. Punjab FC and Sporting Club Delhi both went through major changes recently and need time to settle. Inter Kashi FC got promoted late and had almost no time to prepare properly, which puts them in danger of going straight back down.

Playing so many matches in such a short time puts pressure on every squad. Some weeks see teams take the field every three or four days. Heat and tiredness become real problems once April and May arrive. Teams with quality backup players can rotate and stay fresh while others struggle.

Stay updated on all ISL 2025-26 fixtures, results and breaking football news at JeetWin Sports.