INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE clubs have jointly rejected a proposal put forward by the All India Football Federation to include Churchill Brothers FC Goa in the top division this season.
The clubs declared they did not want the number of teams to be increased in ISL’s 12th season, which began on February 14 with 14 teams participating, asserting that such a move would be “inconsistent with merit-based participation and undermines competitive integrity”.
“Given that this issue was previously deliberated upon and aligned in discussions with the AIFF, we are unclear on the basis for reopening the matter,” the clubs stated in a joint letter to the federation.
“The ISL 2025–26 league structure is closed and final. It forms the basis of existing sporting, operational, financial and contractual commitments. No expansion or alteration is acceptable at this stage.”
The response came hours after AIFF had sought the clubs’ opinion on FC Goa and Sporting Club Delhi’s letters written before the league began. Those letters stated that given Churchill Brothers’s service to club football they do not have any objection to their inclusion. AIFF had also enclosed an email from Churchill Alemao, dated February 20, which cite those letters in their letter to the clubs.
“The ISL 2025-26 league structure is closed and final,” the clubs have written. “It forms the basis of existing sporting, operational, financial and contractual reliance. No expansion or alteration is acceptable at this stage.”
The clubs have also said that budgets and sponsorship arrangements were based on the competition being restricted to 14 teams. “Alteration would impose disproportionate burdens and may give rise to contractual and legal exposure,” the clubs have written.
“We further record that the two clubs referenced have themselves stated that they would abide by the decision of the majority of clubs and the AIFF. In the circumstances, and given the surrounding context, it appears those communications may have been made under situational pressure,” the joint letter from the clubs reads.
“In any event, as the overwhelming majority of participating clubs do not consent to any expansion, and as the federation retains regulatory authority over league composition, this matter ought to be treated as closed.”
Churchill Brothers is owned by Churchill Alemao, a former chief minister of Goa. Alemao has served twice as a Member of Parliament and four times as a Member of the Goa Legislative Assembly.
The executive committee’s decision to not allow Churchill Brothers was among the six points listed by the clubs. Undermining competitive integrity and lack of regulatory basis were among the other points.
The “closure” letter places Churchill Brothers in a difficult position. Although eligible to compete in the Indian Football League, the second tier of men’s football in the country, the club did not attend the meeting between the AIFF and IFL clubs and does not feature in the schedule released so far.
