New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has announced that the signing of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card holders in the 2026-2027 season of Indian Super League (ISL) is optional. If a club decides to bring in an OCI player, they are considered part of the foreign division.The next ISL season will allow clubs to bring six foreigners into the squad with four more in the playing XI.“From now on, we are telling the teams that we encourage you, if you want, please register the OCIs to play in the league. Besides, from now on, there is no change in the way they get their players,” AIFF Deputy General Secretary M Satyanarayanan said on Wednesday.“It’s 6 foreign visitors. They can get OCIs to play. And AIFF doesn’t interfere by telling clubs what to do. We have just laid out a broad plan. When the (Sports) Ministry’s advice comes, we will implement it,” he continued.The clarification comes after the AIFF press release on June 20, after the SGM, said, “They also want and agree that, in the Indian Super League (ISL) and Indian Football League (IFL), clubs can take eleven players with three foreign players and one OCI player.Another point that needed to be clarified is about the Indian batsmen. The note also said, “… to ensure that Indian players have an opportunity to be exposed and developed, one Indian player must remain on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes of the match.”However, this, too, is optional for ISL clubs.“Clubs also know that one of our biggest Achilles heels was the lack of a good player. We hope, they will help to overcome this,” explained Satyanarayanan.“However, this is not something we can force. We cannot tell the clubs to play the number 9 because, in the end, the selection of the team is the decision of the coach.”“Each game is different, sometimes the coach wants to win, while in other games he can be satisfied with a draw. So it is very difficult for us, and even for the clubs, to fulfill our orders.”“We are not pushing, but the teams have understood that one of the most important things we need is to develop good strikers, and we will continue to work towards this,” he continued.