Indian Football League to be broadcast on DD Sports, Unite8; live-streaming on ZEE5, YouTube and WAVES

The 2026-27 campaign of the Indian Football League kicks off on October 30, with Real Kashmir FC taking on debutant Nagaland United SC at the TRC Stadium in Srinagar. | Photo Credit: AIFF Media

The Indian Football League (IFL) 2026-27, the second division of men’s football in India, will be accessible to fans across multiple television and digital platforms, with Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) and DD Sports coming on board as broadcast and streaming partners.

The IFL, rebranded from I-League, hopes to reach a much wider audience demographic, having a viewership of 17.56 million viewers from television alone.

Doordarshan will continue its association with the league and will live telecast all matches of the season on DD Sports, while selected fixtures will also be telecast on Unite8 Sports.

On the digital front, all matches will be live-streamed on Zee5, WAVES, Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform.

Fans can also live stream all matches for free on the official YouTube channel of Unite8 Sports. The multi-platform distribution network aims to take IFL to a wider audience, make Indian football more accessible to fans across the country and also bring in new fans to the game.

“The 2026-27 season represents an important step forward for the Indian Football League, both in terms of the competition on the pitch and the way we connect with football fans across the country. We look forward to an exciting season and to building on the growing interest in Indian club football,” Nildeep Mondal, CEO, Indian Football League, said.

The deal also marks the return of ZEE to Indian football. The broadcaster had previously signed an agreement with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to show the I-League – an agreement that continued between 2006 and 2010.

“With Z5 and Unite8 Sports, we’re taking the IFL to football lovers across the country. This is a long-term commitment. Together with the IFL, we look forward to building a legacy for the league and for Indian football,” Bavesh Janavlekar, Chief Business Officer, Zee Sports Network said.

The 2026-27 campaign kicks off today on October 30, with Real Kashmir FC taking on debutant Nagaland United SC in the season opener at the TRC Stadium in Srinagar.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 PM IST. The season will run until March 20, 2027, featuring 11 clubs competing in a full home-and-away round-robin format.

The return to a full-fledged home-and-away season marks an important development for the competition, with each club set to play 20 league matches across the campaign.

The 11-team lineup brings together clubs from different footballing regions of the country, including new entrants Nagaland United SC and Samaleswari Sporting Club, further broadening the league’s geographical footprint.