The Indian Super League (ISL) is India’s top-tier men’s professional football league. Since 2022-23 it has been the sole top division; the old I-League, now called the Indian Football League (IFL), is the second tier, with promotion and relegation between the two.
The 2026-27 season, played as the MG Indian Super League after MG Motor came in as title sponsor, is the 13th ISL season. It kicked off on 10 October 2026 with 13 clubs. East Bengal are the defending champions after winning their first ISL title in 2025-26.
This season also brings a new structure. The clubs now run the league’s commercial side through a club-led company under a four-year deal signed with the AIFF on 8 July 2026, while the AIFF keeps regulatory control. The league is a full home-and-away double round-robin, and the top six return to an ISL Cup playoff.
The ISL was launched on 21 October 2013 by IMG–Reliance, Star Sports and the All India Football Federation. Like the IPL, many clubs are backed by major business groups and celebrities from cricket and Bollywood.
Below are the latest owners, head coaches and captains of every ISL 2026-27 club.
ISL 2026-27 owners, head coaches and captains
All 13 clubs, alphabetical. Captains marked TBA have not been officially named yet.
| Club | Head Coach | Captain | Owner(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru FC | Pep Muñoz (Spain) | Sunil Chhetri | JSW Group (Sajjan Jindal; Parth Jindal) |
| Chennaiyin FC | Clifford Miranda (India) | TBA | Abhishek Bachchan, MS Dhoni, Vita Dani |
| Churchill Brothers | Dimitris Dimitriou (Cyprus) | Kingslee Fernandes New | Churchill Brothers FC; bought Jamshedpur FC’s company and ISL licence from Tata Steel (Aug 2026) |
| Delhi (Sporting Club Delhi) | Tomasz Tchórz (Poland) | Lamgoulen Hangshing New | Vijay Madduri, Varun Tripuraneni, Rana Daggubati |
| East Bengal FC | Antonio López Habas (Spain) | TBA | Emami East Bengal FC Pvt Ltd: Emami Group (77%), East Bengal Club Pvt Ltd (23%) |
| FC Goa | Gouramangi Singh (India) | TBA | Jaydev Mody (65%), Akshay Tandon (23%), Virat Kohli (12%) |
| Inter Kashi | Carlos Vaz Pinto (Portugal) New | Sumeet Passi New | RDB Group (chairman Vinod Dugar) |
| Kerala Blasters FC | Ashley Westwood (England) | Adrián Luna New | Al Fursan Sports Investment LLC (UAE), buying 100% from Magnum Sports over eight months; Ofioh Sports is operational partner |
| Mohun Bagan Super Giant | Panagiotis Dilmperis (Greece) | Subhasish Bose | RPSG Group (Sanjiv Goenka): Kolkata Games & Sports (80%), Mohun Bagan club company (20%) |
| Mumbai City FC | Manolo Márquez (Spain) | Akash Mishra New | City Football Group (65%), Ranbir Kapoor and Bimal Parekh (35%) |
| NorthEast United FC | Juan Pedro Benali (Spain) | TBA | John Abraham (95%), Jaya Balan (5%) |
| Odisha FC | TG Purushothaman (India) | TBA | GMS Inc. (USA) |
| Punjab FC | Pavlos Dermitzakis (Greece) | Nikhil Prabhu | RoundGlass Sports |
Kerala Blasters note: Adrián Luna stayed on as captain, but missed the opener with blisters on both heels, so Vibin Mohanan wore the armband against Inter Kashi.
Out of the ISL this season: Jamshedpur FC (withdrew; licence moved to Churchill Brothers), Mohammedan SC (relegated to the IFL) and Diamond Harbour FC (promoted, but barred after failing to pay the participation fee). Hyderabad FC no longer appears; its licence now sits with Delhi.
ISL 2026-27 head coaches: appointment dates
Seven of 13 clubs began the season under a head coach appointed since July, including Inter Kashi, who named Carlos Vaz Pinto days before their opener. Time in charge is counted to 14 October 2026.
| Club | Head Coach | Appointed | Time in charge | Replaced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NorthEast United | Juan Pedro Benali | 22 May 2023 | 3 years, 145 days | — |
| Delhi | Tomasz Tchórz | 18 Dec 2024 (at Hyderabad FC) | 1 year, 300 days | — |
| Odisha | TG Purushothaman | 5 Feb 2026 | 251 days | Sergio Lobera |
| Bengaluru | Pep Muñoz | 26 Mar 2026 | 202 days | Renedy Singh |
| Kerala Blasters | Ashley Westwood | 27 Mar 2026 | 201 days | David Català |
| East Bengal | Antonio López Habas | 7 Jul 2026 | 99 days | Óscar Bruzón |
| Mohun Bagan SG | Panagiotis Dilmperis | 7 Jul 2026 | 99 days | Sergio Lobera |
| Punjab | Pavlos Dermitzakis | Jul 2026 | About 3 months | Panagiotis Dilmperis |
| Mumbai City | Manolo Márquez | 18 Jul 2026 | 88 days | Petr Kratky |
| Churchill Brothers | Dimitris Dimitriou | 18 Jul 2026 (confirmed for ISL) | 88 days | — |
| Goa | Gouramangi Singh | 24 Jul 2026 | 82 days | Manolo Márquez |
| Inter Kashi | Carlos Vaz Pinto New | Oct 2026 | Under 2 weeks | Abhijit Mondal (interim) |
| Chennaiyin | Clifford Miranda | 2025 | — | Owen Coyle |
ISL 2026-27 opening week results
Five of the six matchday-one games have been played. Punjab FC vs Odisha FC on 14 October closes the round, and East Bengal begin their title defence away to Churchill Brothers on 18 October.
| Date | Match | Score | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Oct | Bengaluru FC vs SC Delhi | 3–2 | Menno Koch headed the 89th-minute winner |
| 10 Oct | FC Goa vs Chennaiyin FC | 1–1 | Chiki equalised for Goa |
| 11 Oct | Inter Kashi vs Kerala Blasters | 0–2 | Vibin Mohanan 18′, Andre Green 90+4′ (Pune) |
| 11 Oct | Churchill Brothers vs Mumbai City | 2–1 | Gaurav Bora 57′ (club’s first ISL goal), Sebastián Gutiérrez 86′; Sergio Llamas pen 90+3′ |
| 12 Oct | NorthEast United vs Mohun Bagan SG | 1–0 | Jithin MS 90+2′ |
| 14 Oct | Punjab FC vs Odisha FC | 7:30 PM | — |
What changed since the last update
The biggest changes: Inter Kashi have a new head coach, five more clubs have confirmed captains, and Churchill Brothers won their first ISL game.
| Date | Club | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 2026 | Churchill Brothers | Win 2-1 over Mumbai City at Fatorda in their first ISL match |
| 10 Oct 2026 | League | Season kicks off as the MG Indian Super League; Bengaluru beat SC Delhi 3-2 in the opener |
| Oct 2026 | Inter Kashi | Carlos Vaz Pinto (Portugal, ex-Sreenidi Deccan and Gor Mahia) named head coach, replacing interim Abhijit Mondal; Sumeet Passi named captain |
| Oct 2026 | Churchill Brothers, Delhi, Mumbai City | Captains confirmed: Kingslee Fernandes, Lamgoulen Hangshing and Akash Mishra |
| Oct 2026 | Kerala Blasters | Adrián Luna stays as captain; Westwood confirmed as coach for 2026-27 |
| 9 Oct 2026 | Punjab FC | 27-man squad announced with ten academy graduates; Nikhil Prabhu continues as captain |
| 29 Sep 2026 | Kerala Blasters | Magnum Sports agrees to sell 100% of the club to UAE consortium Al Fursan, led by Sheikh Ahmad bin Faisal Al Qasimi; handover over eight months |
| 19 Aug 2026 | Diamond Harbour | Barred from the season after missing the fee deadline; league confirmed at 13 clubs |
| 14 Aug 2026 | Churchill Brothers | Tata Steel transfers Jamshedpur FC’s company and ISL licence to Churchill Brothers for a token ₹100 |
| 31 Jul 2026 | Jamshedpur FC | Withdraws from ISL 2026-27 after nine seasons |
| 24 Jul 2026 | FC Goa | Gouramangi Singh named head coach after Manolo Márquez left |
| 18 Jul 2026 | Mumbai City FC | Manolo Márquez replaces Petr Kratky |
| Jul 2026 | Punjab FC | Pavlos Dermitzakis replaces Panagiotis Dilmperis |
| 8 Jul 2026 | League | AIFF and clubs sign four-year club-led commercial agreement |
| 7 Jul 2026 | East Bengal / Mohun Bagan SG | Antonio López Habas joins East Bengal; Panagiotis Dilmperis joins Mohun Bagan |
| May 2026 | Mohammedan SC | Relegated to the IFL after finishing bottom |
| 27 Mar 2026 | Kerala Blasters | Ashley Westwood replaces David Català |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Bengaluru FC | Pep Muñoz appointed head coach |
Note: This is not an official website. Details are compiled from Wikipedia, the official ISL site, club announcements and news reports, and are correct as of 14 October 2026. If you spot an error, comment below or reach us through the Contact Us page.
