New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has clarified that the signing of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card holders in the 2026-27 season of India. Indian Super League (ISL) is optional. If a club decides to bring in an OCI player, it will be considered part of the foreigner quota.The upcoming ISL season will allow clubs to field six foreigners in the squad with a maximum of four in the playing XI.“Currently, we are telling the clubs that we encourage you, if you want, to please enlist the OCIs to play in the league. Other than that, as of now, there is no change in the way they get their players,” AIFF General Secretary M Satyanarayanan said on Wednesday.“They are six foreigners. They have some OCI to play. And AIFF does not interfere in telling the clubs what to do. We have just established the broad outlines. As and when any direction comes from the (Sports) Ministry, we will implement it,” he continued.The clarification comes after an AIFF media release on June 20, which followed an SGM, said: “It is also proposed and approved that, in the Indian Super League (ISL) and the Indian Football League (IFL), clubs can field a starting eleven including three foreign players and one OCI player.”Another point that needed clarification related to the Indian strikers. The same media note said, “…to ensure adequate match exposure and development opportunities for Indian forwards, an Indian striker must remain on the field for the full 90 minutes of the match.”However, this is also optional for ISL clubs.“The clubs are also aware that one of our biggest Achilles’ heels has been the lack of a quality striker. I hope they will help deal with this,” explained Satyanarayanan.“In any case, this is not something we can enforce. We cannot tell the clubs to play a No. 9 because, in the end, the selection of the team and the tactics are the decision of the coach.”“Each game is different – sometimes a coach wants to go for a win, while in other games they can be satisfied with a draw. So it is very difficult for us, or even for the clubs, to implement such a mandate.”“We don’t insist, but the clubs understand that one of our key priorities is to develop and produce quality strikers, and we will continue to work on that,” he continued.