Time to question CoA relevance in sports federations
In the larger interest of the nation in hosting the U-17 Women’s World Cup, the Supreme Court modified its order in the All India Football Federation case. It repealed the Committee of Administrators (CoA). It put the day-to-day affairs of the AIFF in the hands of an administration led by the acting secretary-general. Apart from the court’s verdict, the focus also shifted to the CoA, a body whose existence FIFA termed as “third-party intervention”.
According to various communications between FIFA, the sports ministry, the CoA, and other stakeholders, the initial concern for FIFA was the presence of 36 eminent sportspersons in the electoral college. Things could have been different if the CoA had been more accommodating of FIFA’s worry before submitting the draft constitution to the court. One has to understand that the AIFF constitution has to be in line with the sports ministry’s National Sports Development Code of India. But at the same time, it cannot overlook FIFA and AFC statutes.
This is not the first time a CoA was in the dock. In May 2019, the Supreme Court had to intervene in the Archery Association of India (AAI) case to set aside the constitution drafted by a one-person administrator. Even in the case of BCCI, though the CoA conducted the organisational elections, the constitution is still in the Supreme Court for further clarifications. The constitution of CoAs has always led to heated debates about their need and efficacy.
After what FIFA had said (third-party intervention) and how the SC reacted, there is a clear possibility to revisit the presence of CoAs in other sports federations. But again, one has to bear in mind that the CoAs result from National Sports Federations violating provisions of the Sports Code—a set of guidelines that must be followed for good governance. In other words, CoAs are the creation of NSFs, and messy administrations are the result. This must be considered a wake-up call, and perhaps it is time that all stakeholders unite and get the rut out of the sporting system for the benefit of sports and sportspersons.