New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has clarified that signing of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cardholders in the 2026-27 season of the Indian Super League (ISL) is optional. If a club decides to bring in an OCI player, they will be considered part of the foreigner quota.The next ISL season will allow clubs to bring in six foreigners in the squad with a maximum of four in the playing XI.“As of now, we are telling the clubs that we encourage you, if you want, please enlist OCIs to play in the league. Other than that, as of now, there is no change in the way they get their players,” said AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayanan on Wednesday.“They are six foreigners. They can get some OCIs to play. And AIFF does not interfere in telling the clubs what to do. We just set out the broad outlines. As and when any direction comes from the (Sports) Ministry, we will implement it,” he continued.The clarification comes after an AIFF media release on June 20, which followed an SGM, said, “It is further proposed and approved that, in the Indian Super League (ISL) and the Indian Football League (IFL), clubs may field a starting eleven comprising three foreign players and one OCI player.”Another point that needed clarity related to Indian strikers. The same media note said, “… to ensure adequate match exposure and development opportunities for Indian forwards, one Indian striker must remain on the field for the entire 90 minutes of the match.”However, this, too, is optional for the ISL clubs.“The clubs are also aware that one of our biggest Achilles’ heels has been the lack of a quality striker. Hopefully, they will help address that,” explained Satyanarayanan.“However, this is not something we can enforce. We cannot tell clubs to play a No. 9 because, ultimately, team selection and tactics are the coach’s decision.”“Every match is different—sometimes a coach wants to go for a win, while in other games they may be satisfied with a draw. So it is very difficult for us, or even for the clubs, to implement such a mandate.”“We are not insisting on it, but the clubs understand that one of our key priorities is to develop and produce quality strikers, and we will continue working towards that,” he continued.
