Karan Yadav has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Super League (ISL), becoming the first CEO of the competition under its new club-led League Office structure.

Yadav brings nearly two decades of experience across football, media, sports marketing, commercial strategy and operations. His career began in football media before moving into sports rights, sponsorship, athlete management and the business side of professional sport.

From football publication to sports business

Yadav began his football journey in 2010 when he co-founded TheHardTackle.com, a digital football publication. As Editor-in-Chief, he built and led a global editorial team of more than 50 writers and 10 editors.

His career subsequently expanded beyond media. He worked across sports rights management, sponsorships and athlete management before leading the sports and content practice at Wavemaker, part of WPP.

He later headed sports sponsorships and activations at ACKO before joining JSW Sports as Chief Commercial Officer.

His work at JSW Sports

At JSW Sports, Yadav oversaw a business with a Rs. 300-plus crore P&L covering sports franchises, talent management and brand consulting.

His work also included commercial strategy around Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra. He was involved in JSW’s kitting partnership with Team India for the 2024 Paris Olympics and played a key role in launching the Neeraj Chopra Classic in 2025.

The combination of football media experience and senior-level commercial management now puts Yadav in charge of one of Indian football’s most significant competitions.

What will Karan Yadav do as ISL CEO?

As CEO, Yadav will lead the ISL League Office and work with the league’s clubs and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on its strategic, commercial and organisational direction.

His responsibilities will include strengthening relationships with clubs, broadcasters and sponsors while developing a unified strategy for the league’s long-term growth.

His appointment also comes at an important structural juncture for the ISL, with the competition moving to a club-led model. Yadav is therefore the first CEO to lead the League Office under this new structure, with his role extending across both the commercial and organisational sides of the competition.