ISL Franchise Mumbai City Renews ISGL Partnership  

Mumbai City FC have renewed their partnership with the Indian Super Gaming League (ISGL), which becomes the club’s principal partner for the ongoing 2026/27 MG Indian Super League (ISL) season.

ISGL is a franchise-based national esports championship in India. Its branding be emblazoned across Mumbai City’s matchday and digital channels, and the two parties will continue to collaborate on content projects and fan events through the season fusing football and gaming.

The deal, one of the first major commercial moves by the club since it returned to its founding owners. City Football Group, owner of Manchester City, bought 65% of Mumbai City in 2019, and during that period the club won two ISL League Winners’ Shields and two ISL Cups. CFG sold its stake last December, claiming doubts over the league’s future, with full ownership returning to Bollywood superstar Ranbir Kapoor and financial supremo Bimal Parekh.

Without CFG’s vast global network and resources, Mumbai City now has to build its commercial base on its own, and keeping partners on board is crucial.

Parekh emphasised, “Over years, our partnership with ISGL has given us an opportunity to explore the growing connection between football, gaming and the next generation of sports fans. ISGL shares our belief in engaging younger audiences through sport, technology and entertainment, and we look forward to bringing fans more exciting experiences at the intersection of football and gaming.”

ISGL founder Santanu Basu pointed to Saransh, who represented Mumbai City in ISGL 2026 and went on to play for India at the Esports World Cup in Paris. “Stories like his are exactly why partnerships like these matter,” he added.

The club has also extended its deal with fertiliser upstart Matix, which began in 2025-26. It appears on the first team’s matchday kit and has branding at the NMSA Ground training facility in Navi Mumbai and the Mumbai Football Arena.

According to ASN data, football (40.1%, US$528.5m+) is the 2^nd largest backed sport in India’s sports sponsorship landscape since Q124, with a quarterly average investment of US$44.1m+. The forecast for Q426 is poised to hit an impressive US$122.2m+, a figure similar since Q126.