BCCI – the association managing cricket in the country has been mired under a lot of controversies ranging from rampant conflicts-of- interests, widespread political and family control of leadership of cricket associations, and corruption. In this backdrop Supreme Court of India appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Justice Lodha to make recommendations for reforms in BCCI.
Major recommendations of Lodha committee:
- Restructuring BCCI to run it like CEO headed organization, BCCI office bearer can’t be a minister or government servant, cap on age (70yrs) & tenure(3 yr term with max 3 terms)
- Each state to be represented by one body which would be given one vote. Also members of North East would get representation
- Bring BCCI under RTI
- Institution of ethics officer to resolving issues related to conflict of interest, ombudsman and electoral officer to conduct board elections
- Legalizing betting, monitoring grants provided to BCCI (by CAG nominee) as well as state associations.
- Restructuring of IPL governing council, establishing players associations.
Effectiveness of recommendations:
These recommendations if implemented in spirit would:-
- Further the interest of public in sports.
- Improve ethical standards and discipline,
- streamlines creative efficiency in sports management,
- Provide accessibility and transparency in sports management,
- Prevent conflict of interest and eradicate political and commercial interference thus improving sporting culture in India.
But many of these recommendations have been resisted by legislators and those running the sports federation. Taking all the stakeholders into confidence, steps need to be taken so that the recommendations are implemented for reforming and restructuring BCCI.
Application of these recommendation to other sports-
Most sports federations in India, like BCCI suffer from:
- Lack of transparency and democratic accountability,
- Interference by politicians and bureaucrats
- Prevalence of regionalism
Hence, recommendations like monitoring grants, institutionalization of ethics officer, ombudsman, CEO run organization etc would go a long way in professionalizing the way the sports are administered.
Measures need to be taken so that bodies that administer sports have members from sporting fraternity who would also take into account the sports community. We also need to augment investment in less followed sports as well with the help of private players.
There is a need for change in the way sports are administered right from central level to local sports bodies. For past many years India isn’t realizing its full potential at international events. With huge success of Kabadi leagues, silver medal in badminton at Rio Olympics, youth is leaning towards sports other than cricket. In order to sustain the interest and realize the full potential of the sporting youth, coaches who nurture the upcoming talent should also be recognized and remunerated adequately.
