During its first three seasons, the competition operated without official recognition from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the governing body for the sport in Asia.

Football in India has existed in many forms since the game first arrived in the country during the 19th century with the first nationwide club competition, the Durand Cup, beginning in 1888.

Zee would broadcast the National Football League, later the I-League, and other tournaments organized by the AIFF and selected India's international matches.

[18] Meanwhile, Bollywood stars John Abraham, Ranbir Kapoor, and Salman Khan won the bid for the Guwahati, Mumbai, and Pune franchises respectively.

[22] The inaugural season began on 12 October 2014 at the Salt Lake Stadium when Atlético de Kolkata defeated Mumbai City, 3–0.

[27] In October 2014, then FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke stated that the world governing body only recognized the ISL as a tournament, not a league.

[28] During the first three seasons of the Indian Super League, attendance across the competition exceeded the expectations of pundits and the domestic I-League mainly due to the timing of the matches, mostly on working days, and extensive promotion.

[29] Television ratings were also strong for the competition, due to better commentary and telecasting, pre-match and post-match shows, as well as hourly reminders in various channels and social media interaction.

[32] For the first three seasons Atlético de Kolkata emerged as the dominant team by finishing in the top four every year, and winning the Final twice (2014 and 2016) by defeating Kerala Blasters both times.

The competition would also expand by two teams and continue to operate without promotion and relegation, as stated earlier due to the 15 crore attraction of the FSDL each year, but run for 5–7 months instead of 2–3.

[37] In June 2017, IMG–Reliance, the AIFF and the I-League representatives met with the AFC in Kuala Lumpur in order to find a new way forward for Indian football.

[41] The bids would be for ten cities, namely Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Cuttack, Durgapur, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ranchi, Siliguri and Thiruvananthapuram.

IMG realising that the robust business model will soon be exposed, pulled out, thus giving Reliance Industries 65% ownership while Star Sports retains 35%.

[50] Another key recommendation by the AFC in the roadmap was to open a pathway for two I-League clubs' entry into the Indian Super League by the end of the 2020–21 season, subject to the criteria being fulfilled.

[47] Therefore, efforts were taken early on by the organizers to include two historic clubs– Mohun Bagan and East Bengal into the league, which succeeded in the following season.

Before the start of the 2020–21 season, the owners of ATK, KGSPL bought an 80% share in the football section of Mohun Bagan on 1 June 2020 and entered the league.

[55] After the regular season, the team with the most points is declared the Champions and presented with the League Winners Shield, automatically qualifying for the playoffs along with the runners-up.

[84] In 2020, the demand for the two Kolkata giants – East Bengal and Mohun Bagan – to be playing in Indian Super League increased.

[91] British professional services group, Ernst & Young, were hired to draw up a criterion for the team bidding process and they were required to approve the potential owners.

[92] Later that month, it was announced that another Bollywood star, Abhishek Bachchan, would take over the last franchise spot and move the team from Bangalore to Chennai.

League stakeholders, Star Sports, and IMG–Reliance, manage the central sponsorship pool and market the competition to potential investors and sponsors.

[101] On 23 July 2017 it was announced that Hero MotoCorp would extend their deal as the title sponsor of the Indian Super League for another three years.

[103] In September 2014, it was announced that Star Sports would broadcast the ISL through eight channels in five languages in an attempt to reach 85% of the Indian television audience.

[104] The first match of the Indian Super League, between Atlético de Kolkata and Mumbai City on 12 October 2014, reportedly drew a television audience of 75 million people.

[105] Overall, at the end of the first season, it was reported that the ISL drew a total of 429 million viewers across India, just a bit lower than the Pro Kabaddi League, and two and a half times more than the FIFA World Cup.

Antonio López Habas is the longest-serving head coach, having been in charge of ATK, Pune City and Mohun Bagan SG for 111 matches from 2014 to 2024.

of foreigners in a squad varied from 7–10, which was gradually reduced as the league achieved AFC and FIFA recognition, and the organizers emphasized more on developing Indian players.

[124] The Indian Super League Cup was unveiled on 5 October 2014, by Nita Ambani, the founder and chairperson of Football Sports Development.

As these role models have inspired hundreds of thousands of players worldwide, I am sure the ISL trophy will also stand as a symbol of aspiration for many youngsters in an emergent India".

The logo on the top band has the ISL colors assigned to it and the handles are ornately carved and embellished with 24 carats of gold gilt to imbue a sense of pride when held up.