Indian Super League appoints Karan Yadav as CEO

The Indian Super League (ISL) on Monday announced Karan Yadav as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), marking a new leadership chapter for India’s premier football league, as it operates under a new club-led model.

With close to two decades of experience across sports, media, marketing, commercial strategy and operations, Yadav brings a combination of football roots and sports-business expertise to the League Office, according to a release. 

His career in sport began with football in 2010, when he co-founded TheHardTackle.com, a digital football publication that he built and led as Editor-in-Chief, managing a global team of more than 50 writers and 10 editors. His career has spanned commercial strategy, sales and marketing, sports rights management, athlete management, and operations.

He has led the sports and content practice at Wavemaker (WPP), headed sports sponsorships and activations at unicorn startup ACKO, and most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer at JSW Sports, where he led a Rs 300-plus crore P&L across sports franchises, talent management and brand consulting.

At JSW Sports, he also shaped the commercial strategy for Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, managed JSW’s kitting partnership with Team India at the 2024 Paris Olympics and played a key role in launching the Neeraj Chopra Classic, India’s first global athletics IP, in 2025, the release said.

As CEO, Yadav will lead the League Office and the strategic, commercial and organisational direction of the ISL, working closely with the League’s clubs and the All-India Football Federation (AIFF).

His mandate will include shaping the League’s overall strategy and commercial direction, strengthening relationships with clubs, broadcasters, sponsors and other stakeholders, while building a high-performing League Office that supports the long-term growth and sustainability of the competition.

The model also creates greater opportunity for alignment between the League Office and clubs across commercial strategy, partnerships, broadcast, fan engagement and the development of the competition. Yadav will lead this effort while working with the clubs to build a cohesive League strategy and strengthen the ISL’s position within the wider Indian football ecosystem.

“The ISL is entering an important new chapter, and I am excited by the opportunity to help shape what comes next. The club-led model gives us a strong foundation to work with the clubs and the Managing Committee of ISL, with a shared ambition for the League and for Indian football. Our focus will be on building a strong and effective League Office, strengthening the League’s commercial and broadcast proposition, deepening its connection with fans and creating an environment where clubs can grow sustainably. Ultimately, we want to build a League that is stronger, more connected and capable of taking Indian football forward,” said Yadav, as quoted by the release.

For Yadav, the appointment brings his career in football full circle. From building a football publication as a passionate fan and writer, to working across the commercial and operational side of professional sport, he now returns to the game in a leadership role at the heart of Indian football.

Yadav becomes the first CEO of the ISL under its new club-led League Office structure, taking charge at a pivotal point in the League’s evolution. His appointment brings together commercial, operational and stakeholder leadership at a time when the ISL is strengthening its structure and ambitions within Indian football. (ANI)