An Indian football crisis, starring Nita Ambani

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

From the editor: Say hello to ‘future splainer’

Yes, this is our final installment of our daily weekday news edition. The poignant farewell note is kinda done (read it here). So let’s move on to the good news—and FAQs on what to expect from here on out. This is the bright future of splainer!

Advisory: Our weekend edition is still going strong. It will drop every Saturday as usual. What makes me super excited: It has a brand new team—led by Akhil Sood, alongside Mekhala Singhal and Devarsi Ghosh. They bring lots of talent and experience to the table—and can’t wait to take the weekend mag to the next level. You will still get all the stuff you love—book and entertainment recommendations, travel guides etc—now delivered by a dedicated and talented team. I can’t wait to see what they will do moving forward. The very best news for everyone: It’s totally free!

Souk: I assume all of you have discovered the brilliant buying recommendation platform we launched last month (lots more in my explainer). Every pick is either personally vetted by us or comes from a brand we trust. We have been showcasing the products and stories on splainer every day—and am delighted to say the traffic and engagement have been phenomenal!! You will also continue to receive twice-a-week special curations in your inbox—plus special discounts and invites to future events.

Taste: This is our most over-the-top and delightful offering. In December, we will publish a lavishly designed anthology that explores taste through a South Asian lens—in collaboration with Chiki Sarkar and Juggernaut Books. It includes:

Essays by Srinath Perur on why Boney M is embedded in Indian pop culture, Aatish Taseer on why homes of terribly rich Indians look like luxury hotels, Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan on her DDLJ bus tour of Switzerland, and Sandip Roy on the hidden history of Bengali snobbery.
A lively and (very candid) discussion of fine dining hosted by Nobel-winning economist Abhijit Banerjee—with four of the most celebrated Indian chefs.
New York Times critic Parul Sehgal in conversation with one of the most talented and thoughtful Indian authors of our time—Vivek Shanbhag.
Gorgeous images and insights from artists like Subodh Gupta, Mithu Sen, Shahzia Sikander, Salman Toor and more.
A gorgeous visual book-within-a-book on the history of four motifs across space and time—from the pineapple to the madras check, cummerband and bandhani.

Now, here’s the thing. This is a special maiden edition of an annual series—with limited, numbered copies that will be offered exclusively to you at a special discount. Not because we need to sell. But because we want to say thank you for all the years of love and support.

So onward splainer subscribers—to fresh and beautiful pastures!

An important postscript: You can unsubscribe from the Advisory email any time—with the link at the bottom. The Souk email has a glitch which will be sorted soon—for now email dearsouk@splainer.in if you want out. We will sort the website and app over the coming weeks—to reflect the new verticals etc. Patience is requested:)

Our daily list of Souk picks

Editor’s note: As you may have noticed, we just unveiled a beta version of Souk—which has one simple goal: To help you find unique, high quality products that are worth your time and money. We’re picking our faves from their latest curation in the House & Living section—this one’s all about essentials to dress up your dining table!

One: Handmade Rattan Placemat from Ikea is handwoven, sturdy, and adds a dash of quirky charm to your table. The natural rattan brings in texture, while the neutral tone makes it easy to pair with everything from printed linens to plain dinnerware. It works beautifully as a placemat, but looks just as good under a vase or a morning coffee setup.

Two: Napkin rings aren’t exactly a dining essential, but they certainly make a table pop. These Neerja rings are made in Jaipur using traditional blue pottery techniques (yes, even though they’re green), with a smooth glazed finish that instantly adds polish. The shape is classic, the colour eye-catching. The result will be fodder for dinner conversation.

Three: This Thistle Raspberry Table Napkin Set from Sanctuary Living keeps things simple but special. Each cotton slub napkin is soft to the touch, with a relaxed drape that suits everything from weekday breakfasts to weekend dinners. The raspberry-pink hue feels fresh, and the tiny embroidered thistle blossom in the corner adds just the right amount of character. Beautiful on the table, but not too delicate to actually use.

You can check out the rest of the list here. There is much, much more over at souk.splainer.in for you to discover, be it Thai cooking essentials or pet-friendly carpets!

PS: This is a beta launch and feedback—good or bad—is key. So please email the team at dearsouk@splainer.in with your thoughts. We want to get this right!

An Indian football crisis, starring Nita Ambani

Rinse and repeat—Indian football has been plunged into an existential crisis once again. The upcoming ISL season has been delayed for months due to a contractual dispute between All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Nita-behn—who rules Football Sports Development Ltd, a Reliance company. Let us explain.

Pehle, a refresher: The Indian Super League (ISL) is the top division of men’s club football in India and the primary pipeline of players to the national team. The inaugural season was held in 2014—when it drew comparisons to the glitz and glamour of the IPL. Bollywood celebrities and Indian cricketers are among those who own stakes in the clubs.

On the field, it is similar to the early days of the US’ Major League Soccer (MLS)—each club signs a big-name ‘marquee player’ who comes to India for one final payday. The ISL has 13 teams—and usually follows the September to April calendar.

The Nita-behn factor: Before ISL came along, there was the I-League—launched in 2007 as part of a ten-year deal between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Zee. But in 2010, AIFF ripped up that deal and signed a $155 million, 15-year Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with FSDL—and kicked the I-League to the side. FSDL is fully owned by Reliance—and Nita Ambani is its founder and chairperson.

MRA ka maamla: That Master Rights Agreement expires on December 8. This means that there can’t be any ISL matches—if it is not renewed. This has not happened because of, well, paisa. The ISL has not turned out to be anything close to an IPL:

[The first season] saw an average attendance of 25,408. But in the recently concluded season, despite boasting the iconic Kolkata outfits of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, the numbers dropped to 11,084. High operational costs, poor gate revenue, and diminishing broadcast numbers mean clubs have struggled to make it a profitable venture. In 2014, ISL’s TV viewership amounted to 429 million, but the cumulative numbers for TV and digital platforms fell to around 130 million for 2024-25. An estimated expenditure of a mid-table ISL club last season was close to Rs 60 crore ($6.8 million), with nearly half the amount written off as a loss in the balance sheet.

Point to note: The combined losses of FSDL and the ISL clubs are estimated to be Rs 5,000 crore, or $570 million—since the league’s inception.

Enter, the Supreme Court: Can a leaf stir in India without our esteemed justices jumping in? Nope. In April, the Supreme Court blocked all negotiations over the MRA—demanding AIFF first hold elections for its top offices. The indefinite suspension, of course, screwed over the clubs. The unhappy Odisha FC owner Rohan Sharma said:

It becomes harder to justify to my stakeholders to sink crores upon crores with nothing to show for it, and no end in sight. We have: no clarity when the League will Start, nowhere to practise/play/work in Odisha, no way to get sponsorship since there’s no season, no way to engage investors with an expiring participation agreement.

Enter, FIFA: Now, international football bodies—FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)—have entered the fray. They have given AIFF until October 30—to sort out this mess and adopt a new constitution—or face suspension from FIFA. AIFF does not have a great track record with FIFA. It was suspended in 2022—mainly because of its chief Praful Patel’s shenanigans over term limits.

Where we are now: With the FIFA danda poised over its head, both parties—AIFF and FSDL—have swung into action. They presented a new proposal to the Supreme Court.

For starters, Nita-ji will cede her commercial control over the league.
But this means AIFF has to find a new partner—by October 15, or so it promises.
The domestic knockout competition—Super Cup—will be held on schedule in September—funded with Rs 12.5 crore or $1.43 million from Reliance.
The ISL will kick off in December—fingers crossed—with a new jodi.

The big picture: We can wring our hands over delays and possible suspensions. But the uglier truth is that the soaring costs and salaries of the ISL had no connection to the actual state of Indian football:

The professional standards and overseas expertise that ISL introduced were meant to usher in improved performances, but the last decade has been a mixed bag. Two consecutive Asian Cup appearances in 2019 and 2023 notwithstanding, the Blue Tigers have failed to make a mark internationally. With no competitive win since November 2023, India risks missing out on Asian Cup qualification.

Yet, clubs spend 60% of operational costs on players and coaches—who don’t count for much on the international stage.

Reading list: Nick Miller in The Athletic has the best reporting on the AIFF-FSDL crisis but is paywalled. Ashish Negi in Khel Now broke the news on FIFA-AFC’s ultimatum to AIFF. Sportstar has a history lesson on whether eleven years of ISL have failed Indian football, as well as the reporting on AIFF-FSDL’s latest proposal. We did a Big Story on the last time AIFF was banned in 2022.

The problem with Justice Pancholi

India’s system of appointing judges was designed to keep politics out of the courts. But a fresh controversy over one judge’s promotion shows how that system itself may be compromised.

First, a quick SC refresher: The Collegium—constituted of the Chief Justice of India and four senior justices—recommend names for Supreme Court and High Court appointments. On paper, the government can pass on a recommendation and send it back to the Collegium—but if the Collegium insists, the government must accept its decision. In reality, though, the government drags its feet and applies behind-the-scenes pressure on the Collegium. The process is opaque, and the public rarely learns why some names are chosen—or others are dropped.

What happened now: On August 25, the Collegium recommended two judges for elevation to the Supreme Court—Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Vipul Pancholi. The President cleared both within two days. But Justice Pancholi’s record has been marred by allegations about his integrity—which were raised by Justice BV Nagarathna, the lone dissenter in the five-member Collegium.

What Nagarathna said: She pointed out that Pancholi had earlier been transferred from Gujarat to Patna—amid whispers of “serious integrity issues.” At the time, the Collegium itself had endorsed the transfer. Now, the same body is elevating him to the Supreme Court. She said the about-face puts “the credibility of the Collegium system at stake.”

The other cause for suspicion: Pancholi is nowhere close to being the most senior judge in the potential pool of justices—he ranks #57 nationwide. And he is essentially from Gujarat—which is already well-represented on the Supreme Court bench. There are three women judges who are senior to Justice Pancholi. FYI: Justice Nagarathna is the lone female judge of the Supreme Court.

The shadiest bit: is that Nagarathna’s note of dissent has not been uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website. She specifically requested the same—and it ought to be made public as per “the Court’s recent emphasis on transparency and publishing Collegium decisions.” Also this: “the statement issued on the Court’s website yesterday regarding the recommendation… was conspicuously silent on the dissent.”

The long-term picture: Justice Pancholi is in line to become Chief Justice of India for 1.5 years starting in 2031. (Frontline, paywalled. The Leaflet)

Venice Film Festival: A colourful curtain raiser

About the festival: The 82nd edition of the prestigious Venice film festival kicked off in Italy on Wednesday—and will run through September 6. The winners take home the Golden Lion award. Fun fact: Venice film festival is actually the oldest film festival—even older than the coveted Cannes:

The film festival was established in 1932, then a non-competitive event, by the La Biennale di Venezia, hosting films like “Grand Hotel” and “It Happened One Night.” By 1935, they decided to make it an annual event. Suspicions that the festival was succumbing to fascist influences actually led to the establishment of the Cannes Film Festival, as an alternative, after the 1938 edition.

Though not as prestigious as Cannes, the Venice film festival is an important pitstop in the race for the Oscars. Some of the past winners include ‘Belle de jour’ (1967), ‘Au revoir les enfants’ (1987), ‘Brokeback Mountain’ (2005), ‘Poor Things’ (2023) and, last year’s ‘The Room Next Door’.

What to expect: There are a number of big-studio premieres—such as Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’, Kathryn Bigelow’s political thriller ‘A House of Dynamite’ and Noah Baumbach’s comedic drama ‘Jay Kelly’—which got a 10-minute standing ovation. It has the odd duo of George Clooney and Adam Sandler—see the trailer below:

Of special note: Luca Guadagnino’s drama ‘After the Hunt’—headlined by Julia Roberts—is not competing for any award, but is still getting all the buzz. Then there is festival magnet Yorgos Lanthimos’ satire ‘Bugonia’ with Emma Stone—which btw just dropped its trailer:

The biggest shocker: Someone is actually making a movie about killing Gazans—and it has A-list backers—including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Alfonso Cuaron and Jonathan Glazer: ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’—directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania:

The film tells the story of a young Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year along with six of her family members. Rajab and her family had been fleeing Gaza City when their vehicle was shelled, killing her uncle, aunt, and three cousins. Rajab and another cousin initially survived and contacted the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) by phone from the car seeking aid. The car was later found with Rajab and the paramedics who had come to help all dead.

No, it’s not about the tens of thousands of kids killed in the past 23 months… but it’s a start. Btw: the killing kicked off the first set of Palestine protests in Columbia. Quote to note, while the film’s producer Jonathan Glazer refused to comment on Gaza itself, the director said:

The heart of this film is something very simple, and very hard to live with. I cannot accept a world where a child calls for help and no one comes. That pain, that failure, belongs to all of us. This story is not just about Gaza. It speaks to a universal grief. I believe that fiction (especially when it draws from verified, painful, real events) is cinema’s most powerful tool. More powerful than the noise of breaking news or the forgetfulness of scrolling. Cinema can preserve a memory. Cinema can resist amnesia.

As for Indian movies: A restored 4K version of Bimal Roy's ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ will be screened—as will Anurag Kashyap-backed ‘Songs of Forgotten Trees’—which marks the directorial debut of Anuparna Roy. Hindustan Times has more on the synopsis.

Finally, the red carpet: Venice is not known for its fashionista moments, but we still have our faves who served the looks. First up, Fernanda Torres in this bedazzled set:

Next, Cate Blanchett in this Armani Privé Masterpiece.

We also loved Tilda Swinton’s classy custom Chanel look.

Last but not least: We are obsessed with Julia Roberts’ nonchalant look complete with a cardigan with Luca Guadagnino’s face. Lol.

Reading list: Associated Press has everything you need to know about the film festival. New York Times has the list of movies expected in the Oscars race. Reuters has the geopolitical angle. Vanity Fair has the best red carpet looks so far. Deadline has the Gaza film.

MAP Academy & Nalli Fellowship is now open!!

Editor’s note: As you know, the wonderful MAP Academy is our content partner for Advisory. It is one of the few Indian institutions deeply invested in cultural research and education. They also offer rare funded opportunities for researchers, designers, archivists, journalists, writers and educators. The Nalli Fellowship is one of them.

Over to MAP Academy…

Are you working on the histories and practices of South Asian textiles and their socioeconomic, environmental or cultural implications?

The MAP Academy & Nalli Fellowships is offering four Research Fellowships of Rs 5.5 lakh each, for the study of textiles from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Tibet, Afghanistan, Myanmar, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Applications are welcome from individuals—students, journalists, educators, designers, researchers—as well as from collectives and non-profit organisations. The grant must be used to support one year of research, which may be part of a longer-term project.

Applications will be assessed by an Advisory Committee, based on the responses in the submitted form, which will also double as the project proposal. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed via an online video call, after which a final selection will be made.

Applications will remain open until October 15, 2025.

Find out more, and apply through this link. For any queries, contact us at: fellowships@map-india.org.

what caught our eye

business & tech

In Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh, three people died and a child went missing after a van, allegedly misled by Google Maps onto a closed bridge, was swept away by the Banas river.
Financial Times (login required) has a good read on how Trump’s deportation flights have spawned a booming industry, with companies vying for billions to fly immigrant detainees out of the US.
India’s fast-growing EV sector is hitting a roadblock as China’s curbs on rare earth exports—imposed right after Trump’s tariff move—tighten supplies.
Trump’s 50% tariffs are squeezing India’s solar industry—just as it was scaling up production to make the country a clean-energy manufacturing hub.

sports & entertainment

Rapper French Montana is now engaged to Dubai princess Sheikha Mahra, who previously made headlines with a candid instagram post accusing her ex-husband of infidelity.
Anthony Ippolito, best known for playing Al Pacino in ‘The Offer’, will don the role of Sylvester Stallone in Peter Farrelly’s upcoming film on the making of ‘Rocky’.
Linkin Park will reportedly co-headline the 2026 edition of Lollapalooza India, although the official lineup is yet to be confirmed.
Three months after the stampede at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in which 11 people were killed, RCB has announced an initiative to address fans’ grievances.
When it rains, it pours for Manchester United—as they lost to fourth-tier team Grimsby Town on penalties in the EFL Cup, piling the pressure on head coach Ruben Amorim.
The makeup of this season’s 36-team UEFA Champions League is now confirmed, with the final draw held on August 28. ESPN breaks down the best and worst team schedules and the big games to look out for.
Pakistan has withdrawn from the Men’s Hockey Asia Cup—taking place in Bihar—citing security concerns. Bangladesh has been named the replacement.

health & environment

Scientists have discovered that a single tree can host a trillion microbial cells inside its trunk—an entire hidden ecosystem of bacteria specialized to different species and tissues.
Rajasthan has become the first State to roll out a detailed framework for managing stray dogs, following a Supreme Court directive on controlling the canine population.

meanwhile, in the world

A porn site in Italy has triggered outrage after posting doctored photos of high-profile women—including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and opposition leader Elly Schlein—using images lifted from social media and public sources.
A new US rule tightens the F-1 student visa programme—barring Indian students from transferring universities until they complete one year of study.
Israeli troops staged a rare overnight ground raid near Damascus, hitting sites after two nights of airstrikes on a Syrian military base.
Israel’s planned Gaza assault is faltering as exhausted soldiers—worn down by months of service—are either refusing duty or not showing up at all.
Videos online show the Minneapolis school shooter—who killed two children and injured 17—had messages like “Nuke India,” “Kill Donald Trump,” and “Israel must fall” scrawled on his weapons.
Parents to a 16-year-old, who died by suicide in April, have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI—claiming that their son died after ‘months of encouragement from ChatGPT'.

meanwhile, in India

Government sources say trade talks between India and the US can resume without lifting the 25% tariff, but striking a deal won’t be “practical” if the duties stay.
Kohima, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Aizawl, Gangtok, Itanagar and Mumbai have been ranked the safest cities for women, while Patna, Jaipur, Faridabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Srinagar and Ranchi are at the bottom, according to the NARI 2025 women’s safety index.
Scroll has a good read on how India’s researchers will be crippled by a ban on Sci-Hub, with a 2021 study showing that even top institutions lack proper access to academic publications.
Karnataka has reported over 80,000 teenage pregnancies in the past three years, The Hindu notes, as shock spreads over a Class 9 student delivering a baby in her school hostel.

Five things to see

One: It’s been a week since Israel announced its military is moving into Gaza City for a “full-scale assault.” New York Times compared the satellite images of Zeitoun, a neighborhood in Gaza, from August 8 and August 25 and found that in just a matter of three weeks, a large part of the neighborhood has been turned into a barren wasteland. As you can see below:

Two: Italian photographer Ray Giubilo took this “one-in-a-million” image of Jasmine Paolini during her first round US Open match against Destanee Aiava—which Paolini won 6-2, 7-6(4). What makes this image extra special: “Tennis photography isn’t known for its sense of humour. The images are often clean, sharp and intense but rarely are they hilarious.” In case you’re wondering, Paolini loved it and called it “maybe the picture of the year”. (The Guardian)

Three: Chinese scientists have found a way to make succulents glow-in-the-dark—because why not. They injected the leaves with tiny afterglow phosphor particles: “These phosphors—similar to what makes toys glow in the dark—allow the succulents to glow brighter.” Ok, there is a justification for this bit of whimsy—these awesome glowy plants that can be recharged by sunlight could be lamps of the future. Watch a video of how it works below. (Gizmodo)

Four: Will Smith continues his downward spiral. After releasing his dreadful single ‘Pretty Girls’, he is busy messing up on his comeback tour ‘Based on a True Story’. The actor posted some clips from a UK concert on social media which was quickly called out as being AI-generated. Exhibit A:

Curiously, neither YouTube nor Instagram labelled it as content made with AI—a policy they’ve been pushing for the last 18 months. See the entire vid below. (Futurism)

Five: Fans of ‘The Office’ are hoping and praying its spinoff ‘The Paper’—set in a struggling newspaper—will be every bit as funny. The hilarious scene of an edit meeting—that we will dearly miss—offers hope. FYI: The first four episodes of the 10-episode series drop on September 4 on JioHotstar.