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Source: The post is based on the article “Explained | Why are Indian sports bodies under scandal and scrutiny?” published in The Hindu on 24th July 2022.
What is the News?
The sports Bodies like the All India Football Federation(AIFF) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) face potential ban/suspension if elections to the executive body are not done immediately.
What is the Sports Code?
The Sports Code or National Sports Development Code of India was introduced in 2011 by the Central government.
Purpose: To introduce good governance practices in the management of sports at the national level without interfering with the autonomy of the national sports bodies.
The code lays down restrictions on the age and tenure of the office-bearers of federations apart from envisaging transparent functioning along with free and fair elections.
What happens when a sports body is found in violation of the sports code?
The respective federations can be put under a Committee of Administrators (CoA). That is what happened with the football and hockey association.
For example, the Supreme Court appointed a three-member CoA led by a former Supreme Court judge to run the AIFF whose president had to resign as continuing in the post would be in violation of the Sports Code as he had been the president for more than 12 years.
– Similarly, the Delhi High Court observed that the Sports Code was violated by Hockey India and a CoA was formed to run the game’s administration in India.
