It’s mid-September, and in India that can only mean one thing: Football season is upon us. The now firmly entrenched first division of the country, the Indian Super League, kicks off on September 13 and with it comes new narratives as it brings the world’s most popular sport back into mainstream Indian focus.
The headline news, of course, is that Mohammedan Sporting Club are in. The first great serial winning side in Indian football history, Mohammedan’s promotion from the I-League means the big three are finally reunited at the top. You see, football’s power centers may have drifted away from Kolkata over the past few years, but the soul of the game remains the maidan and all that comes with it: the history, the traditions, the politics, the one-upmanship, the (now mostly under control) violence. Without the black and white of MSC, that tapestry had been incomplete. Not anymore. Now, the ISL will finally get a taste of the whole experience (or as much as the modern, sterilised environment will allow) — like this year’s Durand Cup did already, when fans of all three came together to protest the horrific assault and murder at RG Kar hospital and forced the cancellation of a Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal derby. With Kolkata still coming to grips with that night, fans will remain vocal and the ISL will be reminded of a fundamental truth: you really can’t keep sports and society apart.
On field, the ISL will be grappling with two extreme ends. On one part, there’s an unprecedented level of stability at the club management level — of the 13 sides, there are only three who have new coaches and with that should come more consistent performances, the coaches’ philosophies easier to implement the longer the players have trained under them. Last season we saw a proper battle for the top spot, and for the playoffs and more of that kind of end-season pressure will only help the development of the Indian footballer. The promised implementation of relegation can’t come soon enough.
Which is what takes us to the other end of it: the instability at the club ownership level. The sustainability of a football club has always been an issue with most owners often commenting (on or off the record) on just how loss-making an enterprise this can be. We saw it happen real-time with Hyderabad FC last season as they plummeted from challenging for the title in ’22-’23 to near bankruptcy in ’23-’24… it’s a scene that’s played out all too often in the levels below the ISL (even with storied clubs like Salgaocar) and a reminder that sustainability at the ownership level should remain one of the primary priorities of the league. Primary investor Bunkerhill’s troubles with Mohammedan ahead of the season is a warning sign they can ill-ignore.
It’s not just the ISL, though. Promotion-relegation as a concept is excellent, and absolutely the only way forward, but it also demands that clubs must be able to (at least) survive in the lower divisions and not just the big one. From that angle, it’ll be interesting to note how the All India Football Federation (AIFF) handles the organisation and marketing of the I-League and I-League 2. In an environment where a private state league (the Super League Kerala) has been able to nail a broadcast contract with a major player (Disney+ Star), it’ll be a particular bad look for the federation if they can’t do the same for the national leagues under their ambit.
Oh, speaking of the federation, their completely awful handling of Igor Stimac’s sacking meant that they struck a compromise for the national head coach job. Manolo Marquez will now manage both the senior NT and FC Goa in a role that we’ve rarely ever seen in top level football anywhere and it will be fascinating to watch how the (very, very capable) Catalan juggles the unique demands of each. The national team may not be involved in any major tournaments but there are Asian Cup qualifiers on the horizon and his first two matches will have shown Marquez the scale of the task on his hands.
It’s almost as big a task, in fact, as stepping into the shoes of Ivan Vukomanovic. The state of Kerala fell in love with the big Serb from the get-go and despite not landing any trophies, the past three years have been the best time to be a Kerala Blasters fan. Mikael Stahre has his task cut out, and he needs to have a strong start to make an early impression on a fanbase that is as vocal about their disappointments as they are about their loyalty.
One person who doesn’t need to impress anyone anymore is Sunil Chhetri: but he hasn’t needed to do that for about a decade now, and that’s not stopped him. Now retired from national team duties, he’s appearing alongside Bhaichung Bhutia in promos for both NT matches and indeed the ISL… but he’ll be keen to show he’s got so much more to give on the pitch for his club. All indications point to this being his last season lacing up his boots, automatically making this unmissable, but it’d be unwise to predict what the great footballer will choose to do.
Just as risky would be to predict who’ll come up on top at the business end of the first division. Bagan will be in the mix, because of course they will be (plus have you seen that squad of theirs?), and so will Mumbai City (can anyone stop Zuala Chhangte?) but Odisha (Hugo Boumous is back with Sergio Lobera…hello!), Goa (Marquez will Marquez his way through the league), Chennaiyin (never write off Owen Coyle), the Kerala Blasters (never write off Adrian Luna) and the very exciting NorthEast United FC (that Durand Cup win was just superb) all could have a substantial say in the race. It really is anyone’s to win.
With so much happening, Indian football in 2024-25, led by the ISL, promises to be quite something. You’d not want to miss it for anything.