ISL 2026-27 season to get underway on 10 October, to feature 13 teams; competition returns to home-and-away format
The 2026-27 Indian Super League (ISL) season will feature 13 teams, and will return to the traditional home-and-away and playoffs format.
The 2026-27 season of the Indian Super League (ISL) will get underway on October 10, with the competition set to run until May 2027. The league confirmed the dates through its official social media channels on Saturday.
The upcoming campaign will feature 13 teams, with a total of 163 matches scheduled to be played across the season. The ISL will also return to its traditional home-and-away format after changes to the competition structure in recent seasons.
The playoffs format will also make a return, with the top six teams in the league standings qualifying for the knockout stage and competing for the ISL Cup.
The ISL 2025-26 season had followed a single-leg round-robin format with each of the 14 clubs playing 13 matches. East Bengal topped the ISL 2025-26 standings with 26 points, the same as their arch rivals Mohun Bagan Super Giant. East Bengal won the title by virtue of a superior goal difference compared to that of Mohun Bagan Super Giant.
Defending champions East Bengal will be among the teams competing in the 2026-27 season. They will be joined by Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Bengaluru FC, Kerala Blasters, FC Goa, Mumbai City FC, NorthEast United FC, Odisha FC, Punjab FC, Inter Kashi FC, Chennaiyin FC, Churchill Brothers FC and Sporting Club Delhi.
Churchill Brothers are expected to feature in the upcoming campaign, although their participation remains subject to regulatory approval and clearance from the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
The Goa-based club completed the acquisition of the sporting licence previously held by former ISL side Jamshedpur FC in August.
The move paved the way for Churchill Brothers to potentially make their return to the ISL, but they still require the necessary regulatory clearances before their participation can be confirmed.
Diamond Harbour FC miss out after promotion
Diamond Harbour FC had earned promotion to the ISL after winning the 2025-26 Indian Football League (IFL) title. However, the Kolkata-based club will not be able to take up its place in the Indian top flight for the upcoming season.
Diamond Harbour FC failed to fulfil the administrative fee criteria required for participation in the 2026-27 ISL season. As a result, the club will not compete in the ISL despite securing promotion on sporting merit.
The club will also not participate in the IFL during the 2026-27 campaign. Instead, Diamond Harbour FC will return to the IFL for the 2027-28 season.
This means the Kolkata-based outfit will once again compete in the second tier of the Indian club football system from the 2027-28 season.
About the Author
PN Vishnu is a contributor with the LiveMint Sports team, where he primarily covers cricket, football and other major sporting events. A passionate sports journalist with nearly a decade of experience in digital media, Vishnu has been an ardent follower of sports for more than 10 years. While he enjoys covering a wide range of disciplines, his biggest sporting passions remain cricket and football. He is also a devoted supporter of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League and Manchester United in English football. <br><br> Vishnu pursued a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, in 2016 and graduated in 2017. Since then, he has built an extensive career in sports journalism, working with leading media organisations including Deccan Chronicle and Firstpost. In 2025, he worked for CricXtasy for six months before joining LiveMint in February 2026. <br><br> Over the years, he has reported extensively on marquee sporting events such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Super League (ISL). His reporting has also provided opportunities to interact with some of the game's leading personalities, including India cricketers Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhruv Jurel. <br><br> Away from the newsroom, Vishnu enjoys unwinding with books, discovering new music and binge-watching television series.
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