India’s Manisha scores a goal during the Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 match between India and China Taipei at Western Sydney Stadium on March 10, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
New Delhi: GMR Sports has expressed interest in the commercial rights tender floated by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the men’s and women’s club football competitions.
FanCode and Capri Sports (part of Capri Global) are the other two parties that have also expressed interest in the proposed 15+5 year commercial rights cycle.It was learned that Capri Sports’ interest is focused on women’s tournaments within the packages offered by FIFA.
“Indian cricket is no less than Bollywood abroad” | Bombay Sports Exchange
FIFA hopes to sell commercial rights to the competitions for a period of at least 15 years. If the bidders agree, it could be extended to 20 years.The commercial rights, part of the AIFF’s Vision 2047, include two packages: Package A (Indian Super League and Federation Cup) and Package B (Indian Women’s League, I-League 2 and possibly the Women’s Federation Cup).
GMR Sports is involved in several sports properties: Delhi Capitals (IPL franchise), Dubai Capitals (ILT20 franchise), India Capitals (Legends League Cricket franchise), UP Yoddhas (Pro Kabaddi League franchise), Telugu Yoddhas (Kho Kho franchise), Seattle Orcas (Major League Cricket franchise), Southern Brave (The Hundred franchise), Hampshire Cricket, Utilita Bowl and Premiership Rugby League stadiums.
After the Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued on March 2, interested parties were asked to pay Rs 2.5 lakh for the tender document. Interested parties then attended a pre-bid conference on March 11.The deadline for submitting bids is March 19, and bids (technical and commercial) will open on March 20.AIFF’s previous attempt to sell commercial rights found no takers in November. However, this came against the backdrop of uncertainty surrounding the ISL, which finally began after a five-month delay on February 14.
reconnaissance
Which company do you think will win the AIFF commercial rights tender?
The 2025-26 ISL season is currently being played in a truncated format and needs intervention from the Sports Minister to get the ball rolling. All 14 teams agreed to play the season, which will witness 91 matches on a home-and-away basis.Earlier, the global broadcast rights of the ISL were sold to FanCode for Rs 8.62 crore, resulting in it being sub-licensed to Sony Sports Network. Meanwhile, global and local production rights have been acquired by Kaleidscope Production and Services (KPS Studios).
For the full list of matches, venues and timings, check the full IPL 2026 schedule, fixtures and match dates here.
