New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has clarified that the signing of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cardholders for the 2026-27 season in Indian Super League (ISL) is optional. If a club decides to bring in an OCI player, they will be considered part of the foreign quota.The next ISL season will allow clubs to bring six foreigners in the squad with a maximum of four in the playing XI.“For now, we have told the clubs that we encourage you, if you want, please enlist the OCIs to play in the league. Apart from that, for now, there is no change in the way of recruiting their players,” AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayanan said on Wednesday.“They are six foreigners. They will get some OCIs to play. And the AIFF will not interfere in telling the clubs what to do. We only put the broad outlines. As and if there is any direction from the (Sports) Ministry, we will implement it,” he continued.The clarification comes after the AIFF’s media release on June 20, following an SGM, said, “It is further proposed and approved that, in the Indian Super League (ISL) and the Indian Football League (IFL), clubs may field a starting eleven consisting of three foreign players and one OCI player.Another point that needs clarification relates 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, too, is optional for ISL clubs.“Clubs also know that one of our biggest Achilles heels is the lack of a quality striker. Hopefully, they can help solve that,” explained Satyanarayanan.“However, this is not something we can enforce. We cannot tell clubs to play a No. 9 because, in the end, team selection and tactics are the coach’s decision.”“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’s very difficult for us, or even for the clubs, to implement that mandate.”“We do not insist on this, but the clubs understand that one of our main priorities is to develop and produce quality strikers, and we will continue to work for that,” he continued.