The global football players’ union FIFPro has called on FIFA to intervene in what it calls an “alarming situation” for players in the Indian Super League (ISL), where multiple clubs have suspended or deferred salaries amid uncertainty over the league’s future.
In a letter to FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom, FIFPro’s Alex Phillips criticised “unlawful” contract suspensions and warned that the instability is putting players’ livelihoods and careers at risk. He urged FIFA to leverage its “vast wealth and power” to find a resolution, pointing to President Gianni Infantino’s ties with the Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), ISL’s organiser.
The crisis stems from the pause in the upcoming ISL season by FSDL, with no clarity on the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) beyond December 8 due to a pending Supreme Court case. The court has orally observed that the agreement should not be renewed until a final order is made.
As a result:
- 3 clubs have frozen salaries outright
- Others have deferred payments
- 6 clubs have not begun pre-season training
Phillips warned that the lack of a confirmed season schedule or financial stability is hurting the entire football ecosystem in India.
FIFPro’s stance also draws from a 2018 report co-authored by Phillips, which recommended expanding India’s top-tier league to 16 teams with relegation by 2022–23 and urged FIFA to play a proactive role in long-term football development in Asia and Africa — especially in India, now the world’s most populous nation.
Phillips concluded that FIFA cannot ignore the situation in a country representing “one in five people on the planet”, framing it as an issue of global football responsibility rather than a domestic dispute.
