Sports Governance Bill could bring significant changes in Indian sports
CHENNAI: After much discussion, debate and a little bit of haggling by stakeholders, the draft National Sports Governance Bill is set to see daylight soon. Union sports minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, has said that the proposed governance bill will be tabled in the Parliament for discussion and subsequent amendment this Monsoon session. The Bill is likely to be tabled next week. Implementation will be the key for its success.
This will be one of the most significant steps in Indian sports. The Bill should also include cricket as well. As of now, there is no set of uniform sports law of legal codes except for the National Sports Development Code 2011. With the passing of the Bill (after getting nod from both Houses), a lot of changes is expected in Indian sports ranging from governance to dispute resolutions. If implemented well, it could bring in positive changes too. Hopefully, the proposed sports bill will address all outstanding issues that are plaguing the country’s sporting ecosystem.
The proposed Bill strives to give more representation to women and bring in transparency in sports administration.
Court cases should stop
Going by the recent trend in court judgments (and affidavits in courts by the sports ministry), there is a concerted effort by all stakeholders to resolve outstanding issues relating to elections. Over the last few years because of the Rahul Mehra vs Union of India 2010-11 case and various court orders, things got complicated. Every NSF election could be challenged because of the 13 pitfalls suggested by Rahul Mehra, which the Delhi High Court had asked all NSFs and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to follow. Not even one NSF has followed all the provisions of this 13 pitfalls as outlined by Mehra. And to follow it in the district level seems to be biggest concern. Similarly, in case of the draft Bill also, if the proposed National Sports Board interfere in district administration then it can once again turn into a mess. The number of districts will run into more than 25,000 for all NSFs. In any case, district and state associations are usually governed by state laws. Sports is state subject.
In 2024 alone, at least four NSFs (tennis, volleyball, wrestling and rowing) landed up in court because of elections. Recently, rowing and volleyball had some relief after the court modified the earlier orders. Then, there were a few NSFs like the equestrian and judo whose disputes are yet to be resolved. Interestingly, the judo federation is run by an administrator for close to three years and for some reason or the other election has not been called. Even the proposed new constitution has faced opposition from certain judo federation members. The Bill aims to bring an end to long court battles and appointments of administrators who usually leave the posts reluctantly after dragging it for a while.