In the last one week, the phrase ‘Committee of Administrators’ (CoA) has become the buzzword in Indian sport with as many as three top sporting federations in the country being affected by the court appointed body.
First things first: What is a CoA?
In short: A CoA is a group of prominent people, from the sporting field or otherwise, who overlook the running of a National Sports Federations (NSF) as the previous governance is reorganized to fall in line with the National Sports Developmental Code. This includes a fresh constitution and streamlining election processes to ensure best practices – such as office bearers having fixed tenures and age caps.
Earlier this week, FIFA banned the All India Football Federation (AIFF) over third-party influence, although this was only partly due to the CoA’s role. The most notable CoA intervention in Indian sports prior to this was when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was placed under CoA administration in 2017, to mixed reviews. The BCCI subsequently got its house in order and had new leadership.
At present, there are a number of India’s NSFs under the court’s ambit and made to comply with the Sports Code. To be noted, all of this is in just 2022. Here’s a look:
Football
In May, the Supreme Court had placed the AIFF under the aegis of a CoA that it had selected; consisting of former Chief Election Commissioner Dr. SY Quraishi, Justice (retd) Anil R Dave and former Indian football team captain Bhaskar Ganguly.
This was after it relieved Praful Patel from his post as President as his term had already ended in December 2020 – having served three terms of four years each – which is the maximum time period an administrator can serve as per the NSC. While FIFA did not initially have issues with the SC intervention, some subsequent actions of the CoA set the ball rolling for suspension.
Read More: Why did FIFA ban India? What does it imply and how can it be lifted?
Indian Olympic Association
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is the chief governing body for Indian athletes, responsible for the selection and management of players for the Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth Games.
In August, The Delhi High Court appointed a CoA to take over the affairs of the IOA, citing its “persistent recalcitrance” to comply with the Sports Code. The CoA comprised Justice (retd) Anil R Dave, Dr. SY Quraishi, and former Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs Vikas Swarup. The members of the CoA were to be assisted by three eminent sportspersons – Olympic medalist shooter Abhinav Bindra, former long jumper Anju Bobby George, and archer Bombayla Devi Laishram.
However, the IOA got interim relief from the Supreme Court on Thursday with the apex court saying that the order may have negative repercussions on the nation, ordering the status quo into the affairs of the IOA.
It should be noted that in December 2012, the IOA was suspended by the International Olympic Committee for more than a year due to the presence of tainted officials and government interference. Already, last month the IOC had threatened suspension unless the IOA failed to conduct its elections at the earliest.
Hockey
In May, soon after the AIFF, the Indian hockey federation (Hockey India/HI) was also placed under a CoA. The Delhi HC appointed a 3-member COA after finding HI in violation of the NSC. Two members of the hockey CoA overlapped with the AIFF one, namely former SC judge Anil R Dave and Dr. SY Qureshi, who were joined by Moscow Olympics gold medalist and hockey team captain Zafar Iqbal.
The ruling came after a petition filed by former India player Aslam Sher Khan, who had challenged Indian IOA President Narinder Batra’s appointment as life member of Hockey India. The HC maintained that Batra’s life membership and HI CEO Elena Norman’s post was illegal.
However, unlike the AIFF, hockey seems to have support from its global parent body. A delegation from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) visited India this week and in a joint statement with the CoA said that both the election process and final draft of the constitution will be finalised.
Table tennis
In February, the Delhi High Court suspended the Table Tennis Federation of India’s (TTFI) executive committee and appointed a CoA to run its affairs. Chief Justice (Retd.) Geeta Mittal, Chetan Mittal (senior advocate) and SD Mudgil (former decathlete) were named as members of the Committee.
However unlike the other NSFs, this came after current table tennis player Manika Batra’s complaint alleging charges of match-fixing against coach Soumyadeep Roy and officials during the Tokyo Olympics qualifier.
There was more controversy in store for CoA as they were taken to court by players for selecting a player (Archana Kamath) who did not meet the eligibility criteria laid out for the Commonwealth Games but was Batra’s regular women’s doubles partner. Diya Chitale moved court and was eventually selected in the team.
Chess
In June, just months before India were to host the Chess Olympiad, the Delhi High court said the All India Chess Federation (AICF) election of Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan violated the sports code. Chauhan was also the tournament director of the Chess Olympiad.
However, a few days later the Supreme Court allowed Chauhan to continue as an interim arrangement until August 15, in view of the Olympiad. Now that the Olympiad is over, it remains to be seen how the chess federation goes ahead.
Judo
In June, the Delhi High Court appointed former Allahabad High Court judge, Justice Pankaj Naqvi, as the administrator of the Judo Federation of India (JFI). The court’s order was passed on a batch of writ petitions by the Haryana State Judo Association, Karnataka Judo Association, and Bombay Judo Association concerning certain disputes in the Judo Federation of India amongst its office bearers. Indeed, the JFI has been embroiled in legal cases for a couple of years over elections, voting rights and player selections.
Equestrian
The Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) has been in the dock for the last few years as well for not complying with the sports code. They have been battling cases over their election process and in-fighting since 2020. Dr SY Quraishi was the court appointed observer for the EFI as well and in July raised concerns over the call for elections. As of now, this NSF is in limbo.
In the past, NSFs have gotten back on track after falling in line with the sports code. In 2020, the Archery Association of India received government recognition once more after eight long years. It had been withdrawn for its failure to conduct elections in accordance with the National Sports Development Code.
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